What in the heck is happening with this?

[Thelopidude]

I have the most bizarre problem. I had this wood stove for 2 years, and recently had this issue pop up twice last month, and its very scary.

I had a fire going all day, 0 issues, it was very nice, the only critique would be perhaps its not hot enough according to my flue thermometer.
Then at night (this only happened so far at night) the fire flickers and very quickly goes out. smoke pours out of the air intake, lots of it. i open the door, poof more smoke, then the fire roars back up after i open the door. This filled me with such fear, i could never overnight burn with that lingering in my mind.

I lurk this website alot, have not found an answer, is it the wood? something blocking the chimey pipe? pressure? im at a loss guys and terrified to make another fire.

I have a lopi answer, its an older stove, def not a new one..

 

[Eman85]

Chimney clean? What wood and how long has it been dried? Moisture content? Height and size of chimney?

 

[all night moe]

I'll lean towards a draft issue. Then again, if the wood is even a bit on the wet side, choking the stove down could lead towards your problem. If so, your chimney has been dirtied by this.

 

[GrumpyDad]

You should consider getting the stove and pipe checked out. It's impossible to tell you what your issue is without much more info.
At a minimum you'd want to inspect the stove pipe and cap, from beginning to end. Clean out the stove and look for obvious issues. Make sure you are using fairly seasoned wood. Are you turning down the stove more at night? Do you have a tightly sealed house? Does your flue run outside?
The only time this has happened to me on an old stove was using very wet wood, stove turned down really low, and reloading it and turning it down without letting it catch, which because it was so wet took forever. A cold outside flue didnt help.

 

[all night moe]

The only time this has happened to me on an old stove was using very wet wood, stove turned down really low, and reloading it and turning it down without letting it catch, which because it was so wet took forever. A cold outside flue didnt help.

That's exactly what I was concluding to.

 

[Thelopidude]

I will try to answer everyones questions, and I greatly appreciate the input. Below is the answers or relevant information:
-Wood was seasoned hardwood left in my greenhouse for over a year after purchasing.
-I currently have no decent cap (had birds get in, but i cleaned everything out with a 25 ft plastic tube cleaner
-Its a free standing stove, with about a 4 ft pipe coming from the stove, then a right angel with another 4 ft going thru the wall outside
-Chimney outside extends about 5 ft over my roof line in a 2 story house
-I opened windows in my house and the issue continued, negating pressure issues
-It was very cold and decently windy when it happened
-The fire burned all day perfectly, couldnt even see smoke coming from chimney

I will inspect every inch of pipe, inside and out, what confuses me is that how did the fire do fine when the door was open? shouldnt that indicate its not a blockage issue?

Guys, i appreciate your help. im just so scared..

 

[GrumpyDad]

This is what you need to chase down:

• Cold Flue: If the chimney flue is located outside, it may be cooling down too much at night, reducing the draft. A cool chimney can cause smoke to back up into the stove because the air pressure isn't strong enough to carry it upward.
• Solution: Insulate the chimney flue or consider installing a chimney liner to maintain a consistent draft.
  
  
• Dampers or Air Controls: If the air supply is too restricted when the stove is damped down for the night, the fire may smolder, causing incomplete combustion and smoke buildup.
• Solution: Ensure the air intake or damper is slightly open to allow for a small but steady burn.
  
  
• Moisture Content: Even though the wood is labeled as 1-year seasoned, that might be ok for pine and some softer woods but not harder woods. If it was stored in a greenhouse without good airflow you probably have wet wood that will smolder and create a ton of smoke. A solar kiln and greenhouse are different. Greenhouses generally trap moisture in while solar kilns attempt to remove the moisture using heat from the sun.
• Solution: Get better wood.

I know it's scary to have a stove full of smoke gas suddenly ignite. I sure as heck wouldnt want to have my face near the ball of flames that will shoot out of the stove, nor would I want anything flammable nearby which there shouldn't be anyway. (chairs, carpets, decorations, clothing hanging near the stove etc)

How long has this stove operated without issue until now, or are you new to using this stove?
Can you pickup a load of dry wood at a box store that labels the moisture content. While expensive, it's a quick easy way to test.
You absolutely should pickup a cheap moisture meter ($30) and figure out the moisture content (MC) of the wood, and learn how that test is done. (bring wood inside for 24 hours, then take it outside and split a medium piece and then measure along the grain pushing in fairly hard to get a decent reading).
For reference I have some oak that is 1 year old and seasoned quite well, while I also have some 3 year old oak that still needs another 6 months it would seem.

Firewood dealers RARELY sell seasoned firewood. The split in the spring/summer, and keep it outside in the rain in giant piles, then use a mini loader to drop into trucks and then deliver to customers. Wet wood is the problem of 90% of the complains on here. Some stoves are affected much more than others though.

Edit: I would do my best to get a inspection of the stove pipe from beginning to cap, and get a good cap on there asap. There could be an obstruction, and lets hope it's not a giant ball of creosote because that would be quite dangerous. If the pipe is clear, and has been inspected to be safe, then you have a draft issue that you can solve with a liner or building a chase around the stovepipe. But keep this in mind, MANY people have stove pipe running outside of their building. Dry wood and turning up the air a bit resolves.

 

[Thelopidude]

This is what you need to chase down:

• Cold Flue: If the chimney flue is located outside, it may be cooling down too much at night, reducing the draft. A cool chimney can cause smoke to back up into the stove because the air pressure isn't strong enough to carry it upward.
• Solution: Insulate the chimney flue or consider installing a chimney liner to maintain a consistent draft.
  
  
• Dampers or Air Controls: If the air supply is too restricted when the stove is damped down for the night, the fire may smolder, causing incomplete combustion and smoke buildup.
• Solution: Ensure the air intake or damper is slightly open to allow for a small but steady burn.
  
  
• Moisture Content: Even though the wood is labeled as 1-year seasoned, that might be ok for pine and some softer woods but not harder woods. If it was stored in a greenhouse without good airflow you probably have wet wood that will smolder and create a ton of smoke. A solar kiln and greenhouse are different. Greenhouses generally trap moisture in while solar kilns attempt to remove the moisture using heat from the sun.
• Solution: Get better wood.

I know it's scary to have a stove full of smoke gas suddenly ignite. I sure as heck wouldnt want to have my face near the ball of flames that will shoot out of the stove, nor would I want anything flammable nearby which there shouldn't be anyway. (chairs, carpets, decorations, clothing hanging near the stove etc)

How long has this stove operated without issue until now, or are you new to using this stove?
Can you pickup a load of dry wood at a box store that labels the moisture content. While expensive, it's a quick easy way to test.
You absolutely should pickup a cheap moisture meter ($30) and figure out the moisture content (MC) of the wood, and learn how that test is done. (bring wood inside for 24 hours, then take it outside and split a medium piece and then measure along the grain pushing in fairly hard to get a decent reading).
For reference I have some oak that is 1 year old and seasoned quite well, while I also have some 3 year old oak that still needs another 6 months it would seem.

Firewood dealers RARELY sell seasoned firewood. The split in the spring/summer, and keep it outside in the rain in giant piles, then use a mini loader to drop into trucks and then deliver to customers. Wet wood is the problem of 90% of the complains on here. Some stoves are affected much more than others though.

Edit: I would do my best to get a inspection of the stove pipe from beginning to cap, and get a good cap on there asap. There could be an obstruction, and lets hope it's not a giant ball of creosote because that would be quite dangerous. If the pipe is clear, and has been inspected to be safe, then you have a draft issue that you can solve with a liner or building a chase around the stovepipe. But keep this in mind, MANY people have stove pipe running outside of their building. Dry wood and turning up the air a bit resolves.

I greatly appreciate your input on this matter. I had the stove for 2 years and its only this year i had this issue. I have my moisture meter, I am going to test the logs from that bin and check for moisture level.

I will also scrub the inside of the chimney pipes and check to see if any obstructions exist, the nights this happened it was in the 20s, so it was quite cold.

I am going to address the rest of your points, its just harder to type on the phone so when i get home i will address all the information you put forth. I didnt want you think i glossed anything over!

 

[vatmark]

Did it get windy in the evening? My stove does this when we get wind gusts. Just had this happen yesterday. Stove was fine all day. Then in the evening the winds picked up, came down the chimney and dampened the fire and smoke came into the house. Fire did start up again. Luckily there was very little wood left in the stove to burn down. This has been an issue since the beginning. I will not use the stove when we have high wind. I also will not do overnight burns for fear winds will pick up and cause fire to dampen and get smoke in the house. Have been waffling back and forth for 7 years about getting a wind cap.

 

[bigealta]

Did it get windy in the evening? My stove does this when we get wind gusts. Just had this happen yesterday. Stove was fine all day. Then in the evening the winds picked up, came down the chimney and dampened the fire and smoke came into the house. Fire did start up again. Luckily there was very little wood left in the stove to burn down. This has been an issue since the beginning. I will not use the stove when we have high wind. I also will not do overnight burns for fear winds will pick up and cause fire to dampen and get smoke in the house. Have been waffling back and forth for 7 years about getting a wind cap.

I have a similar situation with winds from the NW.
It can smoke out the house if the those winds are strong.
NW wind days are no fire days.

Most days are fine with no wind or winds from any other direction, But sometimes the winds shift without warning and then it's a problem if they move to flow out of the NW.

 

[bholler]

Did it get windy in the evening? My stove does this when we get wind gusts. Just had this happen yesterday. Stove was fine all day. Then in the evening the winds picked up, came down the chimney and dampened the fire and smoke came into the house. Fire did start up again. Luckily there was very little wood left in the stove to burn down. This has been an issue since the beginning. I will not use the stove when we have high wind. I also will not do overnight burns for fear winds will pick up and cause fire to dampen and get smoke in the house. Have been waffling back and forth for 7 years about getting a wind cap.

Can you post a picture of your chimney setup?

 

[Eman85]

Pics or diagram of the chimney height. It sounds like your chimney is at the low edge of the roof at the eave, is it lower than the ridge?

 

[vatmark]

Can you post a picture of your chimney setup?

I am going to start a new post because I think there is more issues than just the wind. I need to get this straightened out and would like to have some knowledge before finding someone to come out and give suggestions to fix.

 

[all night moe]

I am going to start a new post because I think there is more issues than just the wind. I need to get this straightened out and would like to have some knowledge before finding someone to come out and give suggestions to fix.

You could keep it here. bholler is our resident chimney expert.
He makes a living of it.

 

[vatmark]

You could keep it here. bholler is our resident chimney expert.
He makes a living of it.

I didn't want to hijack the post. I made a new post.

 

[bholler]

I will try to answer everyones questions, and I greatly appreciate the input. Below is the answers or relevant information:
-Wood was seasoned hardwood left in my greenhouse for over a year after purchasing.
-I currently have no decent cap (had birds get in, but i cleaned everything out with a 25 ft plastic tube cleaner
-Its a free standing stove, with about a 4 ft pipe coming from the stove, then a right angel with another 4 ft going thru the wall outside
-Chimney outside extends about 5 ft over my roof line in a 2 story house
-I opened windows in my house and the issue continued, negating pressure issues
-It was very cold and decently windy when it happened
-The fire burned all day perfectly, couldnt even see smoke coming from chimney

I will inspect every inch of pipe, inside and out, what confuses me is that how did the fire do fine when the door was open? shouldnt that indicate its not a blockage issue?

Guys, i appreciate your help. im just so scared..

Can you post a picture of your chimney setup ?

 

[all night moe]

I didn't want to hijack the post. I made a new post.

Been reading so many threads that I was thinking you were the OP of this one.
Good call.

 

[bholler]

Been reading so many threads that I was thinking you were the OP of this one.
Good call.

I thought it was responding to the op Oops lol

 

[vatmark]

I thought it was responding to the op Oops lol

No problem. I made a new post so as not to hijack this one.