[net.consumers] Help with poorly drawing chimney

johnnyr@ihu1n.UUCP (John R. Rosenberg) (12/02/85)

About a year ago we bought our first house. The fireplace
was equiped with a removable gas burner and "brick" logs.
We used this set-up all of last winter, and while it was very
nice and kept us warm, we decided to take it out this
year and try burning wood. 

The problem is that the chimney draws poorly both during
the lighting period and after the fire is established, causing
more than a little wood smoke to billow into the room.
I should mention that the fireplace is built into a brick wall
forming the hypotenuse to a corner of our family room, and has both
a metal screen and glass doors. When the doors are closed, the fire
burns better (hotter), and the flue draws well. When I open the glass
doors to add wood, or let more heat into the room, then
in comes the smoke.

The flue appears clean, both from looking up the chimney, and looking
down it from the roof.

Anyone out in net.land know how to improve the draw in a chimney, or
possible causes of poor draw in general. Any advice or suggestions
would be appreciated.

Thanks...
John Rosenberg   AT&T Network Systems
ihnp4!ihu1n!johnnyr

elliot@well.UUCP (Elliot Fabric) (12/04/85)

To improve draw, either add a chimney extension, prefabricated units are sold,
or decrease the size of the opening into the fireplace (opening between
living space and fire box).  A steel bar horizontally over the top
of the opening works, so does glass doors.
A chimney service can do all of these things.

suze@terak.UUCP (Suzanne Barnett) (12/04/85)

> ...
> The problem is that the chimney draws poorly both during
> the lighting period and after the fire is established, causing
> more than a little wood smoke to billow into the room.

"Warming" the chimney should help. Do this by crumpling some
newspaper slightly, lighting it and holding it up close to the
damper, or as far up as you can reach. Do this while in the
early stages of lighting the fire, before its gotten well started.

> a metal screen and glass doors. When the doors are closed, the fire
> burns better (hotter), and the flue draws well. When I open the glass
> doors to add wood, or let more heat into the room, then
> in comes the smoke.

I don't know what to do about this other than possibly placing
the wood farther back into the fireplace or setting it on a
higher cradle.
-- 
**************************************************************
Suzanne Barnett-Scott

uucp:	 ...{decvax,ihnp4,noao,savax,seismo}!terak!suze
phone:	 (602) 998-4800
us mail: CalComp/Sanders Display Products Division
	 (Formerly Terak Corporation)
	 14151 N 76th street, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

earlw@pesnta.UUCP (Earl Wallace) (12/04/85)

The fireplace in the house I was in last week would fill the room
with smoke when we first started the fire.  It was a great way to
get a headace.  The cure seemed to be leaving a door cracked open
to  the  outside until the fire got hot enough.  Maybe you have a
similar problem.  It is possible the house is too air-tight?

-earlw

ray@othervax.UUCP (Raymond D. Dunn) (12/05/85)

In article <301@ihu1n.UUCP> johnnyr@ihu1n.UUCP (John R. Rosenberg) writes:
>........
>Anyone out in net.land know how to improve the draw in a chimney, or
>possible causes of poor draw in general. Any advice or suggestions
>would be appreciated.

Several devices can be bought which work equally well.  All operate on the
principle of using the wind to reduce the pressure in the chimney.  The two
main styles are:

a) An "inverted L" shaped extension to the chimney which has a vane on it
   and can rotate, so that the open end is always kept pointing down-wind.

b) A spinner type device on top of the chimney (known as a "granny" in my
   native Scotland), which rotates in the wind, and sucks air up the chimney.
   This device can sometimes become annoyingly noisy.  These are often also
   seen as attic forced ventilators.


Before installing such a device you should consider other factors.  Is your
chimney too wide?  This can also affect its draft.  Perhaps the installation
of a chimney "damper" would do the trick.  Test this by partially blocking
the chimney (something non-combustible of course!)

If your chimney is in the wind shadow of an adjacent taller building, even
adding a straight extension pipe to the top could be effective.

Ray Dunn.  ..philabs!micomvax!othervax!ray

hankb@teklds.UUCP (Hank Buurman) (12/06/85)

In article <2921@pesnta.UUCP> earlw@pesnta.UUCP (Earl Wallace) writes:
>The fireplace in the house I was in last week would fill the room
>with smoke when we first started the fire.  It was a great way to
>get a headace.  The cure seemed to be leaving a door cracked open
>to  the  outside until the fire got hot enough.  Maybe you have a
>similar problem.  It is possible the house is too air-tight?
>
>-earlw

The problem is the temperature of the flue. When you start your fire,
burn a couple of sheets of newspaper on top of your wood. The sudden
heat up the flue will get it to start drawing.
-- 

	Hank Buurman  Tektronix Inc.  ihnp4!tektronix!dadlac!hankb
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	     "Firey, the angels fell. Deep thunder rolled 'round 
	the shores, burning with the fires of Orc."
                 -- Roy Baty, Nexus 6, Combat Model, N6MAA10816
	~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

dugdale@camlot.DEC (Susan Dugdale CSSE MKO1-2/K13 264-4824) (12/10/85)

 
>The fireplace in the house I was in last week would fill the 
>room with smoke when we first started the fire.  It was a great 
>way to get a headace.  The cure seemed to be leaving a door 
>cracked open to  the  outside until the fire got hot enough.  
>Maybe you have a similar problem.  It is possible the house is 
>too air-tight?
> 
>-earlw

Hmm, I concur with everyone who has suggested that heating up the 
chimmney with burning paper will help establish a draft.  
However, it has occurred to me that I can always get my coal 
stove lit (you need a good hot wood fire to ignite coal) on the 
third try -- after I have filled the house up with smoke and 
opened the slider to help air it out.  Next time it goes out 
(hopefully not until next spring) I plan on testing the theory by 
opening the door first.

By the way, I am new at heating with coal and am so far very 
impressed.  I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who 
has helpful hints to offer.

Susan

....!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-camlot!dugdale
 or (I think) dugdale%camlot.DEC@decwrl.ARPA

jss@ihu1e.UUCP (Smith) (12/12/85)

/** burn this **/

> > a metal screen and glass doors. When the doors are closed, the fire
> > burns better (hotter), and the flue draws well. When I open the glass
> > doors to add wood, or let more heat into the room, then
> > in comes the smoke.

Try to make sure the the doors are all the way open.  If you open them part
way they act like a chimney drawing coold room air from the bottom and
expelling smoke from the top.  (We had some that were a bad design so that
when they were open the glass part always extended.  We got Sears to
exchange them.)
-- 
J. S. Smith AT&T IW
	There are lots of opinions around this place, but these 
	are mine and no one else's (pitty the poor soul if they 
	do share mine.)