We currently have an old Fisher wood stove in our basement. We are looking at new stoves (Lopi Leyden, Vermont Casting Encore, Hearthstone Heritage, QuadraFire Isle Royale, maybe others). Our hope is that a new stove will provide a longer burn and will be less likely to smoke.
We have always had issues with the Fisher smoking and we are concerned that part of the problem is our existing chimney design.
Currently, a 6" single wall pipe connects the stove to a masonry chimney. The chimney is very tall and extends from the basement all the way above our steep roof that is above the second floor. The chimney is on the exterior. The chimney has two flues, one for a Buck insert on our First Floor and the second for the Fisher in the Basement. Unfortunately, the chimney for the basement offsets to avoid the firebox on the First Floor. I believe that there is only one offset but I cannot guarantee this. Originally, we had a 6x6 terra-cotta chimney but a single wall liner (5" or 5.5") was installed after lightening struck our chimney and cracked the terra-cotta. The installer was NOT able to thread the liner all the way through the offset to the basement, he was only able to get it part way past the offset. I am concerned that this may be an insurmountable problem.
When starting the Fisher, it is imperative that I spend lots of time either burning paper at the rear of the Fisher or let a blow torch run for several minutes. If I do not do this, I risk smoking out the entire house! This happens whether or not I have a basement window open. Once I have draft, I load lots of paper, kindling and several smaller logs into the stove and light the fire. The combustion intake is usually opened 100%. If I let the door be cracked open, the smoke can "overwhelm" the chimney's capability to vent everything and I have had occassions when smoke was visibly escaping from the exposed single-wall pipe. During this time, I need to closely monitor the start-up and have had, at times, to close the combustion intakes a bit to avoid this same problem
When the fire is actively burning, I will get a puff of smoke into the house almost EVERY time I open the door. It seems the only time I do not get a puff is when the fire has burned down to coals. Since the Fisher burns thru wood fast, my typical cycle (once the stove is hot) is to load wood and wait 3-4 hours till it is reduced to coals. Then, I load more wood and repeat the process. Again, if I open the door prior to the wood being burned out I typically get a puff of smoke.
We are being told:
- that the Fisher stove was known to smoke a lot and that a new stove will be better
- that our chimney is far from ideal and that they will not be able to guarantee that the new stove would never smoke
- that it is typical that installation of a liner through a terra-cotta chimney offset is difficult and could be impossible
- that a top loader (like the Lopi) will be the least likely to smoke
If a new stove is likely to be an improvement, we will be happy with the upgrade. However, it would be very frustrating if we spend 2.5K on a new stove only to have a more attractive piece of useless furniture!
thanks!
We have always had issues with the Fisher smoking and we are concerned that part of the problem is our existing chimney design.
Currently, a 6" single wall pipe connects the stove to a masonry chimney. The chimney is very tall and extends from the basement all the way above our steep roof that is above the second floor. The chimney is on the exterior. The chimney has two flues, one for a Buck insert on our First Floor and the second for the Fisher in the Basement. Unfortunately, the chimney for the basement offsets to avoid the firebox on the First Floor. I believe that there is only one offset but I cannot guarantee this. Originally, we had a 6x6 terra-cotta chimney but a single wall liner (5" or 5.5") was installed after lightening struck our chimney and cracked the terra-cotta. The installer was NOT able to thread the liner all the way through the offset to the basement, he was only able to get it part way past the offset. I am concerned that this may be an insurmountable problem.
When starting the Fisher, it is imperative that I spend lots of time either burning paper at the rear of the Fisher or let a blow torch run for several minutes. If I do not do this, I risk smoking out the entire house! This happens whether or not I have a basement window open. Once I have draft, I load lots of paper, kindling and several smaller logs into the stove and light the fire. The combustion intake is usually opened 100%. If I let the door be cracked open, the smoke can "overwhelm" the chimney's capability to vent everything and I have had occassions when smoke was visibly escaping from the exposed single-wall pipe. During this time, I need to closely monitor the start-up and have had, at times, to close the combustion intakes a bit to avoid this same problem
When the fire is actively burning, I will get a puff of smoke into the house almost EVERY time I open the door. It seems the only time I do not get a puff is when the fire has burned down to coals. Since the Fisher burns thru wood fast, my typical cycle (once the stove is hot) is to load wood and wait 3-4 hours till it is reduced to coals. Then, I load more wood and repeat the process. Again, if I open the door prior to the wood being burned out I typically get a puff of smoke.
We are being told:
- that the Fisher stove was known to smoke a lot and that a new stove will be better
- that our chimney is far from ideal and that they will not be able to guarantee that the new stove would never smoke
- that it is typical that installation of a liner through a terra-cotta chimney offset is difficult and could be impossible
- that a top loader (like the Lopi) will be the least likely to smoke
If a new stove is likely to be an improvement, we will be happy with the upgrade. However, it would be very frustrating if we spend 2.5K on a new stove only to have a more attractive piece of useless furniture!
thanks!