New stove drafted great. . .All of a sudden does NOT

[rtv900]

So I have an issue with a new stove, Quadrafire Explorer III. I am new to this stove but have been burning wood for about 10 years. The stove was working perfectly, but now the drafting is weird.
Basically, if I open the door any more than a half inch it just drafts into the room non stop. I am used to a little smoke spillage if it is opened quickly or something, but that is not the case here. I can only barely crack it, and the latch even needs to be partially engaged to keep it more closed than if you just rest the door against the cam lock thing. Until a few days ago I could open the door 180 degrees out if I wanted to and it still would not spill smoke other than maybe a few seconds at first.
I'd guess since it's been installed I've burned maybe 1/3rd of a cord.
One odd thing last night I also noticed which I've never seen is when I was starting it smoke was leaking out around the pipe seams. This went away once the fire got going but still.
The fire burns ok once it's established and the door is closed, but no matter what now if I open the door it drafts into the room completely.
I went out last night and opened up the bottom cap thing on the insulated pipe to see if there was buildup or something, and there was a little on the sides but nothing alarming, I could see the smoke making the 90 degree turn up and it comes out the top and looks normal to me.
The only difference between this setup and my last stove pipe setup is that I put a mesh at the top of the pipe as per code. Could it be that the wires are coated and choking it off?
It's just confusing because the stove does work fine other than spilling smoke endlessly if the door is opened, so any time I have to tend to it or add wood I end up looking at a haze of smoke around all my overhead lights for a half hour.
Any suggestions would be appreciated as I am ultra frustrated and don't know what to do.

 

[Chimney Smoke]

Sounds like you have a draft reversal. I experience the same thing when the outside air is heavy and still and my clothes dryer is running. I assume this is only happening on a cold start up?

 

[rtv900]

That's the thing, I wouldn't be too concerned on just a cold start and I am used to that to some degree, but the reason I am really concerned is that it is not just when cold. I could have the thing up to 400 degree, door closed, running fine as usual. If I open the door same deal, all in the room. Now of course when it's warm the smoke isn't really visible anymore but I can still smell it and I often see tiny red embers flying upward out the door. The are very fine and disappear almost immediately but they are a visible indicator.
It also seems like it's harder to start and seems like it won't draft as much.

 

[Simonkenton]

Your pipe is clogged.

 

[stevea621j]

I had a similar issue. When I went up on the roof to look, the screen under the cap had become clogged with soot. I cleaned that off and it worked like new again. Now I keep an eye on it but haven't seen another buildup like that.

 

[rtv900]

Drat.
I have been suspecting that stupid mesh.
Can chimney sweeps get to that from the bottom with their rods? Because I had to rent a manlift to install it because the slope of the property makes it almost 40 feet up and I am not comfortable enough that high on a ladder to do it without a lift.

 

[Warm_in_NH]

The screen they made you put on the cap is most likely clogged.

 

[jatoxico]

Cap is often the weak link in the chain. Since it sounds somewhat inaccessible do you have a pair of binoculars to get a good look at iyt?

 

[kennyp2339]

My money is on the screened cap having build up, once that is clean burn hotter to prevent clogs, also check your wood supply for dryness, buy a moisture meter.

 

[rtv900]

I do have some binos. I am going to try looking up through the pipe from the access cap below on a sunny day and see if I can tell.
Unfortunately I have no way of looking from above.

 

[Simonkenton]

I think he meant to look from the side with the binoculars. How could you see anything looking up the pipe, binoculars or not?

 

[rtv900]

well I think if it is sunny when I look up I would see the light out the top, and possibly be able to see if it is obstructed right?
no different than any long straight pipe that opens up on the other end. If it's clear you could see some light at the end.

 

[Highbeam]

My money is on the screened cap having build up, once that is clean burn hotter to prevent clogs, also check your wood supply for dryness, buy a moisture meter.

I too believe the screen is clogged. It is, after all, a filter. This is not necessarily due to the burning habits or fuel quality of the operator. It is what happens when you put a filter on the end of a smoke stack. Especially one that is 40 feet tall! Yes, bad habits will clog it quicker but perfect burn habits can also clog it. Then there are those folks that never have cloggage.

I removed my mesh filter on one stack and ordered the next cap without one. It's optional and I hope that you are absolutely certain that the filter is required. Not some putz inspector's opinion. They are not usually required unless you live in some sort of high fire area and even then it's not like they will actually stop sparks or fire.

Some mesh screens are much finer than others. See if your sweep can open up the mesh size a bit. If it is really a local law for you then inquire about what the mesh size requirement is. 3/4" 1/2" etc.?

Expect to have to clean this several times per burning season and you can't do it from below.

Cripes, in PA they have had old masonry chimneys for hundreds of years with no cap at all, much less a filter attached.

 

[rtv900]

yeah next time I have a reason to have a manlift on the property I am getting rid of those stupid screens. I wish I never put them on and the worst part is, before I did I even thought to myself that this might end up being a problem when the wires get coated.
Boy I wish I didn't ignore my judgement.

 

[begreen]

If the screen is plugging it's telling you something. We went 8 years with no issue at the screen. Then a couple years back I burned a batch of 2 yr seasoned maple that got soaked due to poor location and covering. The cap screen clogged up after a couple month's burning this wood. It alerted me to the issue of creosote build up. I wasn't happy about it but fortunately our chimney is more accessible without heavy equipment. Point being, with 40ft of flue cooling down the flue gases, a plugged screen may be indicating this chimney is going to need frequent cleaning.

 

[rtv900]

I agree. But to clarify, I don't actually have 40 feet of flue, the top is about that high off the ground. The pipe comes out the wall on the 2nd floor, so it comes out about 10-12 feet from the ground, and the ground is sloped on that side.
So if I put a manlift out there I put it even further down the hill where it kind of levels out a little, further increasing the reach up to it.
Bottom line, the actual flu is probably 25 feet total.
But my wood is currently NOT covered (I just moved) and I hate it uncovered. So I'm sure that isn't helping

 

[begreen]

That sheds a different light on the subject. The wood sounds like it could be damp. The best way to tell is with a moisture meter but if you don't have one there are some simple tests. Wet wood is heavier. If you bank two splits together and they are dry to the core they will ring with a musical sound. If they are wet they will go thud. If you re-split the wood in half, then press the freshly split face up against your cheek it will feel cool and damp if the wood is not fully seasoned. With a moisture meter you test the wood moisture on this freshly exposed face of the wood too, not on the end grain. The wood should be at roughly room temp for the moisture meter test.

 

[rtv900]

good info, I will try that. I don't have a meter but maybe I just aught to get one since I plan on burning wood forever.
I gotta get a cover on there too

 

[begreen]

Moisture meters are not too expensive unless you go for a good cabinetry or flooring model. They can be found for under $30 at Lowes and Harbor Freight.

 

[jatoxico]

I don't actually have 40 feet of flue, the top is about that high off the ground. The pipe comes out the wall on the 2nd floor, so it comes out about 10-12 feet from the ground, and the ground is sloped on that side.
So if I put a manlift out there I put it even further down the hill where it kind of levels out a little, further increasing the reach up to it.
Bottom line, the actual flu is probably 25 feet total.

I got that it wasn't 40' long but was wondering how long your flue was. At that length and considering your difficulty in doing a top down cleaning you may want to look into getting a SootEater which you can use to clean from the bottom up any time you feel it's needed.

Still may be a good idea to lose the mesh screen and all comments re: the wood and moisture are on target. The moisture meter at HF is under $10 last I looked. It can take a couple years to get a couple years ahead so you're always burning dry wood. Until then burn hot as possible and realize you may have to clean a bit more often than you eventually will.

 

[rtv900]

Update.
Had the pipe cleaned and it's working perfectly again. I looked up the pipe at that mesh on Sunday, which was sunny, and could see that it was 75% sealed off.
Early in the season I was burning colder because I was anxious to have fires, but I also think the overnights hurt me when I stack it up a ton and turn the damper all the way down.

 

[begreen]

In milder weather instead of low fires burn short hot fires instead and let them go out.