Good to hear you are making progress. The situation seems to speak of a tight home that is making for a balky draft. Can you do a test by opening a window or door on the same floor an inch as a test to see if there is a notable improvement?
Reverse Draft Issue — Smoke in House
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How long does the window or door need to be open before I light the stove? I read somewhere that it isn’t instant. Is that true?
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AlbergSteve
Minister of Fire
I've never seen a cap with mesh that small. If it's not required by code, I'd replace it.
Yes, pipe screens can clog up and worsen draft. If the stove has performed well in the past and this is a recent phenomenon then having the cap removed and checked for clogging is a good suggestion.
Normally the T6 drafts quite easily. Has it worked well in the past?
Normally the T6 drafts quite easily. Has it worked well in the past?
Replace the cap with a vacustack? I have had small smoke issues in the past.
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As others I feel your issue is lack of makeup air , so stove cannot draft property especially with such a high chimney and low temp day . As suggested crack a window 1/4-1/2” next time you are using stove ( along with the preheated flue procedure ) if no smoke issues arise you will need to allow outside air into the house somewhere , hopefully an unused room or perhaps basement
AlbergSteve
Minister of Fire
Occasionally I have a reverse draft issue here. It's usually when it's cool but not cold and if the air is still and rainy. But sometimes it happens when it's cold and it shouldn't. When I open the door to start the stove I can actually feel the cool air coming in. It get the fire ready to light like normal and then i light it and close the door. I have a window right next to the stove and I immediately crack it open. Usually within a minute or two the fire takes off and draft is established. Then I close the window and crack the stove door to get it going good before closing it up.
Only as a last resort. Just have it inspected to eliminate it as a potential blockage. Was the stove performing well for the past couple years and is this a recent change?
I had a lopi cape cod and had nothing but issues for two years. I got the T6 in April. I had a few smoke issues with the cape code but figured it was the stove. The T6 is a much better stove. I still get a little smoke when it is really cold out or a lot of moisture with the T6. Nothing like filling the house up with smoke like what just happened.
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Das Jugghead
Burning Hunk
brazilbl
Burning Hunk
Seeing that cap brought back "flashbacks" to by clogged screen issue last year. Running along just fine, until one day.... Down a week until the chimney sweep inspected things. He remarked "I could see your problem, driving up to your house!". The screen covering my cap was exactly like that in terms of construction and he offered to clean the cap and take off the mesh. The cap is still on the flex pipe, but without the screen getting clogged up while keeping the birds/etc. from venturing down our chimney flue...
Ben Stark
Member
Open the door of the stove when it’s cold and see if you can feel cool air trying to come down the flue. If you can, then you have to get the flow of air reversed before starting a fire or your going to fill the house with smoke.
When you are starting a cold stove, your stove pipe and chimney are filled with a colum of cool dense air. That prevents the smoke from rising. Use a propane torch to warm the flue as much as possible. That’s a tall colum of cool air and it will take a few minutes to reverse it even with a torch.
Try building a top down fire. Warm the pipe prior to lighting the fire. Some gel fire starter might help. It burns with less smoke than paper. You should be able to hear the fire start to roar once the chimney starts to draw. Leave the stove door open about an inch for the first 15 minutes until the fire is established. After that you should not have any more trouble until the fire has gone out and the stove is cold.
When you are starting a cold stove, your stove pipe and chimney are filled with a colum of cool dense air. That prevents the smoke from rising. Use a propane torch to warm the flue as much as possible. That’s a tall colum of cool air and it will take a few minutes to reverse it even with a torch.
Try building a top down fire. Warm the pipe prior to lighting the fire. Some gel fire starter might help. It burns with less smoke than paper. You should be able to hear the fire start to roar once the chimney starts to draw. Leave the stove door open about an inch for the first 15 minutes until the fire is established. After that you should not have any more trouble until the fire has gone out and the stove is cold.
PistolPeets
Member
+1 on the top down fire. I couldn't light a fire in my stove without filling the house with smoke. I did a lot of reading and found that I needed to establish that proper draft - so I was originally using a hair dryer, then top down fire but have since learned that the hair dryer is not needed.
Yah, you gotta get the flow reversed before you even try to light it. I test it with a little Bic lighter, if it's reversed then I don't even try. Read up on solutions such as open a window, use hair dryers pointed up flue, propane torches, and otherwise that people use to get it flowing and then start.
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