Hatteras wood heater insert

[Cricher]

I have a wood heater insert in my home. I checked the flue draft. I can get a good fire going but when I close the doors and open the vents, the fire goes out the fire box fills with smoke. The chimney flue is clean, I can hear the damper open and close.
Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[begreen]

The most common cause of this symptom is wood that is poorly seasoned. Also, this old insert may be slammed in with not direct connection to the chimney flue or chimney liner. That can weaken draft.

When was the chimney last cleaned?

 

[Cricher]

Last year. This is the first time I'm trying to use it. We bought the house 2 years ago

 

[begreen]

If it's a slammer install, then it's no longer code approved unless connected to a liner.

 

[Cricher]

The chimney is clay lined. I know a bit about Z liners, but the heating device in this case as you mentioned is a insert. How and what would you connect the liner to?

 

[begreen]

It depends on how the flue exit on the insert is designed. A lot of these old guys had a rectangular slot. If so, this needs an adapter to convert it to 8" round. An 8" stainless liner will be expensive. Many owners at this juncture switch to a modern insert which takes a less expensive and easier to fit 6" liner. The advantage is a cleaner burning stove that saves wood and provides a nice fire view. The downside is they really want fully seasoned wood to perform well.

 

[Cricher]

Thank you for your information. It has helped me a lot.