Hello everybody I am new to this forum and thank you in advance for your responses.
I recently moved into a home that has a EWF30 from Vermont Castings (one of the reasons I was attracted to the house). This fireplace does not seem to perform the way it should. When I close down the damper, the fire dies way down even with the air control all the way up. When I open and close the air control lever, it does not seem to make much of a difference, I feel as though I have no control of the fire. Also, every time I have a fire the viewing glass turns black with creosote, which takes a very long time to clean. I am burning good wood, seasoned mixed hardwood, then I throw on seasoned oak before I go to bed for longer burn time. My burn times are good as I will have hot coals the next morning 8 hours later. I've tried a few things to fix the problems based on the advice of my local rep and no success. I just recently measured the chimney and found it to be 14.5' with one offset. The installation manual says it should be at least 19'. I never thought draft was an issue because the fire would blaze away when the damper was open. The local rep says I need to extend the chimney and chase but is not saying that it would fix my problem for sure. I am hesitant to spend the money to extend my chimney without knowing that I will have guaranteed results. I do have an outside air kit installed.
Any input regarding the issue I am having and what I should do would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
I recently moved into a home that has a EWF30 from Vermont Castings (one of the reasons I was attracted to the house). This fireplace does not seem to perform the way it should. When I close down the damper, the fire dies way down even with the air control all the way up. When I open and close the air control lever, it does not seem to make much of a difference, I feel as though I have no control of the fire. Also, every time I have a fire the viewing glass turns black with creosote, which takes a very long time to clean. I am burning good wood, seasoned mixed hardwood, then I throw on seasoned oak before I go to bed for longer burn time. My burn times are good as I will have hot coals the next morning 8 hours later. I've tried a few things to fix the problems based on the advice of my local rep and no success. I just recently measured the chimney and found it to be 14.5' with one offset. The installation manual says it should be at least 19'. I never thought draft was an issue because the fire would blaze away when the damper was open. The local rep says I need to extend the chimney and chase but is not saying that it would fix my problem for sure. I am hesitant to spend the money to extend my chimney without knowing that I will have guaranteed results. I do have an outside air kit installed.
Any input regarding the issue I am having and what I should do would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you