Which way does smoke swirl while ascending a liner?

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jjbaer

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Oct 24, 2006
781
OH
I just completed my install a few weeks ago and watched the smoke exiting the liner and got to thinking since smoke spirals as it ascends, does anyone know if liner manufactures design the corrugations in an inclined screw-like pattern to enhance draft? Also, concerning the upward smoke-path design, would it be best if they reflected a clock wise or counter clock wise corrugation pattern?
 
Uh oh. I see the Northern and Southern hemisphere and Coriolis Effect discussion lighting up.
 
BrotherBart said:
Uh oh. I see the Northern and Southern hemisphere and Coriolis Effect discussion lighting up.

Not familiar with any previous post...only been here 5 months.......you mean there were other similar discussions? What date/post?
 
Yeah. It pops up a couple of times a year. I don't get into it but it is a lot of fun to watch. Personally I think the stuff goes straight up the chimney and out. To many years of watching it come out of chimneys without the slightest hint of rotation.
 
BrotherBart said:
Yeah. It pops up a couple of times a year. I don't get into it but it is a lot of fun to watch. Personally I think the stuff goes straight up the chimney and out. To many years of watching it come out of chimneys without the slightest hint of rotation.

Ah....BB.........it comes straight out only to the untrained eye.....LOL
 
DONT GET THE WEATHERMEN STARTED ON THIS !!!!
 
Clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the southern. Just like your toilet. :lol:
 
DONT PLEASE I'm BEGGING!! :P
 
Paging Mr. Ivey. Call in the lobby for Frank Ivey.
 
wxman said:
DONT GET THE WEATHERMEN STARTED ON THIS !!!!
Let's see we first calculate the adiabadic lapse rate..... check the psycrometer...... note position of the jet stream over the flue..... Show the latest computer models???????????????
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<And the weather guy's would still be wrong :cheese: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
C'mon I'm messin with ya.... ;-)
 
You forgot the effect of cold air damming on the east side of the appalachians the models dont handle that well.
 
I can see it now: cast vs. Dylan with elk doing the color.

No wait, they all do color.

You probably don't want to know, cast. One such go 'round got a couple of prominent members banned once--at least temporarily.

Sounds like wxman's seen this kind of thing go wrong elsewhere.

It's kind of like the old debate over: feed a cold and starve a fever---or is it---starve a cold and feed a fever.
 
wxman said:
You forgot the effect of cold air damming on the east side of the appalachians the models dont handle that well.

So, then the smoke would spirl one way East of the Appalachians and the opposite way West of the Appalachians and not at all on top of the Appalachians?
 
No on top of the Appalacians you would need a smooth insulated liner, thus negating the effects.... 8-/ <<<<<<<<<-------(me lying)
 
BB you so smart! Lets submit this one to Mythbusters and the them settle it once and for all!!
 
Oh and the Coriolis effect is a Goverment conspriacy. SHHHHH!!!
 
wxman said:
Oh and the Coriolis effect is a Goverment conspriacy. SHHHHH!!!

Just don't let that dealertell you that the earth's rotation cracked that weld!
 
Thanks, need a reminder of that. Dont tell him I use the stove as a top to get the smoke to spiral out of the chimney, I have a gimbal for a flue collar and a disco ball for that full room shimmering effect. :)
 
Warren said:
o.k. that does it... I'm posting this to Mythbusters message board.

edit:

o.k. IT's been posted!!!

Mythbusters forum post linky


Man are we in for it. They're going to find out we know what we're talking about, sometimes and expect us to make intelligent contributions. My head hurts already.

Besides, I hear that PE's don't swirl. They are much better than all other stoves, right?
 
I've got to back BB up on this one. I don't think smoke swirls going up the chimney. Why would it? Can't say that I've ever seen evidence of it.

Of course, one of the things people knock about standard masonry flue liners is that they are square, and thus slow the smoke down on its way out, since it allegedly wants to swirl, but keeps hitting the corners. If swirling were a reality, you'd think some hotshot like Craig or Corie would come up with a rifled chimney liner, designed to shoot the smoke out extra fast.

But I will say this about smoke coming out of a chimney: there's a lot of physics at work there, and more than meets the eye. I wouldn't be surprised if it swirled--I just don't think it does.
 
Eric Johnson said:
If swirling were a reality, you'd think some hotshot like Craig or Corie would come up with a rifled chimney liner, designed to shoot the smoke out extra fast.
And the rifling would make the flue more accurate :coolsmile:
Hey I think were on to something here>>> https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/7207/
 
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