Need more draft? Help!

[markups]

Hi everybody,

I need some help, and so far I have been able to search past posts for the answers. But this stove and chimney combination is not working well together. Here are the details: Recently installed stainless Home Saver liner in 21-22 ft. chimney, Englander stove. I just spent the better part of the summer building the hearth and installing the liner. It's a 6" ovalized insulated liner without any bends. The thimble seemed low, but I wasn't going to take on the project of raising it, also I didn't want to get too close to the ceiling. (Curious though why it was installed so low originally/ what stove?)

We're new in the house (VA/mountains) and our house is constantly cold. (Built in the 30's) The chimney is cinder block and lined with a terracotta liner, and now my new stainless. The chimney is approx. 6' above the nearby roofline, but does not extend past the full height of the house. (see pics)

The stove is impossible to start and keep going and smokes like crazy when the door is opened even with all of the air vents open. The wood seems dry, but I have not ruled out its dryness. The stove will most certainly not burn for long, it seems we need to always keep the door cracked open to maintain any burn.

I would love to hear all of your thoughts. Thanks again for the help, and the amazing site.

 

[begreen]

Coming out of the stove with a 90º and then a long horizontal piece is hurting draft. It's recommended to have at least 3' vertical coming off the stove before the 90. The horiz. pipe should be pitched upward toward the thimble at least 1/4" per ft. There's plenty of room for the stove pipe to be higher.
Also, what was the outdoor temperature when this picture was taken? Which model Englander, 12-FPP?

 

[kborndale]

The colder it gets the better it will draft, also as begreen said that 90 as soon as it exits the stove is a draft killer. How dry is your wood?

 

[markups]

Hey, thanks for the replies. The stove pipe is angled upward, the pic doesn't show the angle well. I always thought the thimble was too low, but as I mentioned I didn't want to cut a new thimble. I'm not that confident of a mason. The pipe configuration was as good as I could create. Not sure about the wood dryness, and the temp outside was 50-60. The manual for this stove lists 9 different possible models, all of which they consider from the same family. 12-FPP, 12-FPL, 12-FPG, 50-SFP12P, 50-SFP12L, 50-SFP12G, 50-TFP12P, 50-TFP12L, and 50-TFP12G. The plate on the back offers the same information: the list of models. I bought this stove used but never used by the previous owner.

 

[brenndatomu]

Outdoor temps not low enough for good draft, unless you have a more ideal chimney system...which that stove pipe certainly is not.
Your wood may not not dry enough either...try a small load of known dry wood...cut up an old pallet, or if you can find some construction scraps (non PT 2X material) then you can see if that helps some...things very well may be fine once it gets cold...but it wouldn't surprise me if you still get some smoke rollout when reloading though...

 

[begreen]

OK, the 12-FPP can be closer to the corner walls. That would shorten the horizontal run. I would do that. Then wait for temps to drop into the 40s and see if draft improves. I think it will.

 

[markups]

Super. I'll go ahead and shorten the horizontal, try some verified dry wood, and also wait for temps to drop. Thanks for the advice, I really
appreciate it.

 

[Rickb]

I would try some 2x4/2x6 scraps before I did anything else. with the 90 it will be hard to get started but with 20ft of liner I would thing it would draft pretty hard once the chimney is warmed up. For starting grab a small propane torch and get the draft going.

 

[markups]

Excellent Rickb. Thank you. That was my thought also. I know it's not correct, but I have seen similar setups before and they function well. Thanks for your advice.

 

[kennyp2339]

I'm leaning towards the wood being the issue, if there was a poor draft, with the door cracked open you would be getting smoke back into the house, plus the warmer temps outside are hurting the draft to, wait for the cold, verify that your burning dry wood by taking a room temp split, re-splitting it and testing the fresh face with a moisture meter, you want 20% or less.

 

[markups]

Thank you very much for the help everyone!