Log burner losing smoke

ChrisJC

ChrisJC

Well-known member
I have a Stirling engine fan for my wood burner. The stove is rarely hot enough to make it function properly because the back boiler reduces the temperature of the stove top. For me, a peltier type would be better I suspect.

Chris.
 
Loki

Loki

Active member
The whole installation was brand new this year. Stove, register plate, stainless lining and yes a cowling on the top. Didn’t get the insulation stuff in the chimney at his recommendation (?) and yes I bought a sh1t load of kiln dried hardwood.
 
B

Brown

New member
Loki said:
The whole installation was brand new this year. Stove, register plate, stainless lining and yes a cowling on the top. Didn’t get the insulation stuff in the chimney at his recommendation (?) and yes I bought a sh1t load of kiln dried hardwood.
Click to expand...
Crack the door for twenty seconds before opening fully and wait until you have embers before opening the door.

I've just had a large current generation stove and it's prone to smoking when opening the door if you don't follow those two rules.
 
Loki

Loki

Active member
Ah ok the instructions say ‘open slowly’. I like more precision in that kind of statement when someone will be pi’d off with your product if they don’t! I’ll try that velocity next time (tomorrow) and report back.
Wheel nuts have a torque value to tighten to- the instruction book doesn’t say do up the nut yay-tight to prevent wheel falling off!
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
If doing what Brown suggests above still causes smoke to enter the room then you probably have a flue problem.
I think they say "open slowly" on the assumption that most folk would quickly learn by trial and error.
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
One further thought, after initial opening of the stove door, do you continue to get any smoke coming out into the room? If so, this really does point to a restriction somewhere between the stove itself and the chimney pot.
 
Blueberry

Blueberry

Member
Pitlamp said:
I'm a big fan of my stove top fan; it makes a real difference to the overall efficiency of the stove. Mine faces one side of the flue pipe to blow heat from it which would otherwise go up the stack.

Can't remember what model my fan is but there's loads to choose from and they're not expensive.
As an aside, this is yet another reason for having a flat topped stove rather than one of those with a sloping cowling (and certainly avoiding inset stoves, which in my experience don't transfer anywhere near as much heat into the room as an equivalent free standing stove).

When we had no power for an extended period after last year's Storm Arwen I found it was possible to prepare a basic meal on mine. (This was only an experiment because the gas cooker still worked but I wanted to try it for future reference, in case all else fails.)

Flat topped stoves are by far the best, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Have ordered a stove top fan, for the wood burner. We have a clear view had it for 15 years. Still going strong. Never heard of a stove top fan before. The HETAS sweep never mentioned it either. But a Polish friend mentioned it to my Mrs, she got hers from Aldi last year.
1671358516253.jpeg


Also this book is a super read. If your into chopping, stacking wood. Keep warm.
 
Ian Adams

Ian Adams

Active member
I had this problem.

Turned out the flue/chimney needed an extra couple of feet above the roof to get a proper draw (apex roof). Does yours have a clear metre above the roof top?

Ian
 
kay

kay

Well-known member
Pitlamp said:
I'm a big fan of my stove top fan; it makes a real difference to the overall efficiency of the stove. Mine faces one side of the flue pipe to blow heat from it which would otherwise go up the stack.

Can't remember what model my fan is but there's loads to choose from and they're not expensive.
As an aside, this is yet another reason for having a flat topped stove rather than one of those with a sloping cowling (and certainly avoiding inset stoves, which in my experience don't transfer anywhere near as much heat into the room as an equivalent free standing stove).

When we had no power for an extended period after last year's Storm Arwen I found it was possible to prepare a basic meal on mine. (This was only an experiment because the gas cooker still worked but I wanted to try it for future reference, in case all else fails.)

Flat topped stoves are by far the best, IMHO.
Click to expand...

A "basic" meal? Any slow cooked casserole type meal works well. You need it all in one pot because you need room for the kettle too. But once you've taken the casserole off, you can do drop scones or griddle scones. But use a griddle, don't do them direct on the stove top.

My stove top fan has the added advantage that when the fan begins to turn I know the fire is established enough to be able to close the front wheel and just rely on the top vents,
 
Loki

Loki

Active member
Ian Adams said:
I had this problem.

Turned out the flue/chimney needed an extra couple of feet above the roof to get a proper draw (apex roof). Does yours have a clear metre above the roof top?

Ian
Click to expand...
Must be around that maybe a bit less but I’m not going up there! Don’t have a ladder that stands up by itself anyway 😉. The chimney comes up straight through the ridge. .
 
M

mountainpenguin

Member
So our burner has just started doing this after replacing the sealing rope.
Opening the door a smidge (breaking the seal) then waiting before fully opening is defiantly helping a lot as the smoke comes out next to the side of the door that opens the most.
Closing the Wash before opening also seems to help
 
B

Brown

New member
Loki said:
Ah ok the instructions say ‘open slowly’. I like more precision in that kind of statement when someone will be pi’d off with your product if they don’t! I’ll try that velocity next time (tomorrow) and report back.
Wheel nuts have a torque value to tighten to- the instruction book doesn’t say do up the nut yay-tight to prevent wheel falling off!
Click to expand...
How have you got on with the twenty second wait before fully opening?

Is it now behaving?
 
Pitlamp

Pitlamp

Well-known member
The thing I read suggests this only applies in "smoke control areas" (mainly towns). Is that right?
 
G

grahams

Well-known member
As our log burner is ancient, in no way does it conform to modern standards. The stove pipe is a simple unlined tube with a cowl on top. Recently I found that there was a gap between the pipe and the register plate. The hot pipe was causing a powerful draw up the chimney which was reducing the draw through the log burner. As a temporary fix, I've stuffed the gap with insulation and will seal it properly with fire cement in summer. The burner is now far more efficient and our occasional problems with smoke in the living room have gone away completely.

Regarding Pitlamp's question, I've read that too but doubtless we'll all be in smoke control areas before long, as happened with clean air zones in the 60s.
 
pwhole

pwhole

Well-known member
aricooperdavis

aricooperdavis

Moderator
ChrisJC said:
There is an irony in them being so polluting, but being loved by the more eco-conscious members of society.
Click to expand...
It's a shame that they're so polluting, because they are far more romantic than the oil boiler. I feel the same about campfires and bonfires, I have many happy memories of baking potatoes in the embers, but would feel uncomfortable burning my garden waste now. But that's the inevitable march of progress I suppose, at least it gives more than it takes away!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top