I use the ceramic heater trick and like mentioned above, about 5 to 10 minutes does it for me too.
wood stove insert down draft smoking question
- Thread starter wood_insert_regency
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
I did the ceramic heater trick today too, worked well. The only problem is that it's -2 outside and I can't keep up without overheating my ductwork. I don't have the clearances I need. I will redo my ductwork in the spring, but for now if it's below 10 I have to burn too hot to keep up.
I have the small ver of your insert and I have the same issues. I just crack the slider and use a super cedar and everything is fine. Great inserts they really pump out the heat. 2200 sf house and I cut my oil useage by 2 tanks a season and thats with the small Regency insert!
pistonslap said:
Yeah.. you figure there are at least some products of combustion perhaps being pumped out a little, but at least it's not thick clouds of lung-clogging, vision-obscuring smoke like you could get from newspaper... ehe... and you only need a relatively small piece (of fire starter "brick") to get a draw started normally I think.
Those StarterLogg firestarter brick chunks have been my savior...
jmd425 said:
By "crack the slider" I'm guessing you mean to just barely open the draft control rod which is on the left-hand side of the stove, right?
A friend of mine pointed out that if there's a strong downdraft then probably it might be good to keep that draft control as closed down as possible since oxygen is being forced down the chimney anyway and that should help the fire starter brick to burn... But then I can see you'd want it at least cracked open a little for when it *does* start to draw...
I had actually been leaving it (the draft control rod) full open when starting up... and perhaps also cracking the door a bit if needed.
=====================
On a different note... After just a few fires I have noted the buildup of some carbon stuff starting to cloud the left and right edges of the glass door... perhaps this is inevitable... time to buy some glass cleaning stuff I guess...
pistonslap said:
Yeah.. now I'm thinking that the ceramic heater trick may be the best of all... 'cause the heater really does generate ZERO smoke while its establishing an updraft for you.
Tonight I tried the burning starterlogg chunk trick and it's just *too* cold outside to fight the downdraft.. so while the chunk burned well it was ok, but as those things burn down, they *do* start to smoke a bit in the later stages of burning and yeah I got some paraffin smoke smell pumping out my intake vents, darnit...
I have an electric forced-air space heater that I'm thinking of trying in lieu of a ceramic heater -- the electric space heater has a strong fan and puts out pretty good heat on "high"... so I may try that next time... for now I have to recover from the paraffin smoke smell... *cough*...
I have a moderate draft reversal if I haven't had a fire the previous day and it's been cloudy. Either the sun shining on my south-facing, external masonry chimney, or a fire within the last 24 hours, keeps the masonry chimney, and the uninsulated, SS liner within it, just warm enough to avoid the reversal.
When I first got my insert, I had the same issue as you with the newspaper and quickly abandoned it. I also hated all the black ash it left and was worried about it clogging my cat, and who knows what. Newspaper leaves more ash than any other substance known to man IMO.
My insert is in a walk-out basement that is finished, but has lots and lots of windows, so it tends to be about 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. The upper floor has a cathederal ceiling which seems to contribute to a significant "stack effect", although I've never been able to figure out where the air is exiting the house. This stack effect tends to suck air down the flue in the basement to feed itself. I tried lots of stuff to reverse the draft in the beginning, and finally settled on the following.
Check draft. By now, I can tell just by putting my hand under the stove's flue exit.
If not reversed, start fire normally.
If air is coming down the flue instead of up, crack window or sliding door on either side of insert, about six inches.
Check draft again.
In my case, this always gets the draft going upward after about 15 - 30 seconds, max.
So I start fire as usual.
I'd recommend you continue to experiment with cracking your window or door in conjunction with all the other methods you've tried. There may be a magical mix that works best for your situation.
I use a small size tuna fish can with a tiki torch top on it (with the older style cotton wick) to start my fires (and insure smoke goes up the flue instead of into the house) by placing it under my grate. About a half gallon of citronella oil in a winter burning season (you could also use kerosene, or lamp oil, or diesel, etc. -- but do NOT use gasonline! BAM! OUCH!). I've also used the starter bricks, the Super Cedars (worked great), and even cut up a wax fire log into wafers, which was the cheapest method I found. But my little smudge pot is the simplest and makes starting fires a breeze, even with no kindling. I call this method "MOdified top-down starting", because it starts the fire between two splits positioned about an inch apart. The fire spreads fairly quickly between the length of the two splits and produces almost no smoke.
I like the electric heater idea too, if it works. Clean and simple.
Winter burning season number two will seem a lot easier than number one. Heating with wood is as much an art as a science.
When I first got my insert, I had the same issue as you with the newspaper and quickly abandoned it. I also hated all the black ash it left and was worried about it clogging my cat, and who knows what. Newspaper leaves more ash than any other substance known to man IMO.
My insert is in a walk-out basement that is finished, but has lots and lots of windows, so it tends to be about 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the house. The upper floor has a cathederal ceiling which seems to contribute to a significant "stack effect", although I've never been able to figure out where the air is exiting the house. This stack effect tends to suck air down the flue in the basement to feed itself. I tried lots of stuff to reverse the draft in the beginning, and finally settled on the following.
Check draft. By now, I can tell just by putting my hand under the stove's flue exit.
If not reversed, start fire normally.
If air is coming down the flue instead of up, crack window or sliding door on either side of insert, about six inches.
Check draft again.
In my case, this always gets the draft going upward after about 15 - 30 seconds, max.
So I start fire as usual.
I'd recommend you continue to experiment with cracking your window or door in conjunction with all the other methods you've tried. There may be a magical mix that works best for your situation.
I use a small size tuna fish can with a tiki torch top on it (with the older style cotton wick) to start my fires (and insure smoke goes up the flue instead of into the house) by placing it under my grate. About a half gallon of citronella oil in a winter burning season (you could also use kerosene, or lamp oil, or diesel, etc. -- but do NOT use gasonline! BAM! OUCH!). I've also used the starter bricks, the Super Cedars (worked great), and even cut up a wax fire log into wafers, which was the cheapest method I found. But my little smudge pot is the simplest and makes starting fires a breeze, even with no kindling. I call this method "MOdified top-down starting", because it starts the fire between two splits positioned about an inch apart. The fire spreads fairly quickly between the length of the two splits and produces almost no smoke.
I like the electric heater idea too, if it works. Clean and simple.
Winter burning season number two will seem a lot easier than number one. Heating with wood is as much an art as a science.
I came home last night and smelled smoke upon entering the house. My wife was scowling, not a happy camper. No matter what she tried she couldn't get a good fire going. It was smoldering at about 200 degrees when I looked at it. Then I checked the outside temp - 47F. I got it going with some flooring scraps, but had to be really careful about smoke billowing out the door. FWIW, the box of SuperCedars was sitting, untouched, by the woodbin.
I'll add my 2 cents simply because I have a similar Regency fireplace.
I alway leave the fireplace door open an inch when starting a fire. I put a fluid ounce of cheap vegetable in a small paper cup with some paper towel, and use that as a firestarter. I set it up between logs near the back of the fireplace.
I know that every installation is different, but I've done this for years, and I never have trouble with smoking unless I have the kitchen exhaust fan on.
I alway leave the fireplace door open an inch when starting a fire. I put a fluid ounce of cheap vegetable in a small paper cup with some paper towel, and use that as a firestarter. I set it up between logs near the back of the fireplace.
I know that every installation is different, but I've done this for years, and I never have trouble with smoking unless I have the kitchen exhaust fan on.
wood_insert_regency said:pistonslap said:
Yeah.. now I'm thinking that the ceramic heater trick may be the best of all... 'cause the heater really does generate ZERO smoke while its establishing an updraft for you.
Tonight I tried the burning starterlogg chunk trick and it's just *too* cold outside to fight the downdraft.. so while the chunk burned well it was ok, but as those things burn down, they *do* start to smoke a bit in the later stages of burning and yeah I got some paraffin smoke smell pumping out my intake vents, darnit...
I have an electric forced-air space heater that I'm thinking of trying in lieu of a ceramic heater -- the electric space heater has a strong fan and puts out pretty good heat on "high"... so I may try that next time... for now I have to recover from the paraffin smoke smell... *cough*...
Actually last night I had no problem at all with smoke and I didn't even pre-heat or anything...
The key to making it work I think was having enough starterlogg brick stuff in place and lighting it all at once and then the fatwood and kindling can catch very quickly and begin producing enough heat quickly enough such that drafting is not an issue.
but yeah, cracking the stove door a little at first, and maybe, if needed, the adjacent sliding glass door may be another thing I try the next time I get a downdraft...
I too have noticed that it's certainly easier to start the fire if I don't wait till too long after sundown.. I think the external brick chimney being heated by some sun (even tho' it's northwest facing) really helps. Also I think that wind on a cold day is very *not* helpful, as others have noted.
Yup I'm finally really starting to learn some things... thanks again for the responses from all! It is really gratifying when you get that puppy blazing away with a few splits all at once...
... different colored flames look cool in a dark room ... esp. the purple ones...
I've noticed that sometimes when I start getting backdrafting it's also an indication I need to grab my chimney brush and clean off my rain cap. This especially happens on rain caps with a bird screen.
I have a Englander 13NCL at home and some days I have to take a hair dryer to the pipe until it warms just enough to draft, then everything works fine.
My best advice is to always insulate any liner you install and always make sure to use good quality insulated flue. Avoid non-insulated triple wall piping.
I have a Englander 13NCL at home and some days I have to take a hair dryer to the pipe until it warms just enough to draft, then everything works fine.
My best advice is to always insulate any liner you install and always make sure to use good quality insulated flue. Avoid non-insulated triple wall piping.
- Status
Similar threads
