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fireplace guys?

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
Ok boys, have a question on chimneys/fireplaces.

1. I have 4 fireplaces in the house
2. Two of them are upstairs, Two downstairs
3. They are setup with Wood burner up top, then gas downstairs and visa versa for the other side

So when I was burning wood in my main fireplace, the smoke was coming into the basement via the gas fireplace down there. I had the pilot light lit but it still was coming in unless I had the fireplace downstairs going full bore.

I had a chimney guy come out and they put a cap on the chimney that was supposed to stop this from occurring. Well its still occurring, and to top it off when I came home tonight it seemed the wood burner upstairs was back drafting into the house because the entire home smelled of old smoke.

Anyone have experience with this? I am waiting for the guy to come back out but want to sound semi educated on the manner as I am not.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
Are the chimneys lined? If so could they be leaking?

well I had the guy who owns this company check and all was fine.

I did have the damper open and I was gone for a day. Today was about 70+ and inside home was in 60s. Could the cold air inside the home cause back drafting and what I was smelling was just that?
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Yes it can. Any temperature difference in the home will try to equalize with the outdoor temp. Hot inside / cold outside or the other way around. You obviously have drafting issues if smoke was coming out of the lower fireplace. A chimney cap was a good place to start as most draft problems are caused by wind. One thing to try would be to make sure your wood burning stove reaches 350-400 degrease before locking it down. Shutting down the damper or flu before the stove gets hot enough, and more importantly the Cheney gets hot enough, will smolder the fire and not produce enough heat to keep the draft. Which is likely why it drafted ok when you had the gas burner on. The fire in the box needs to keep the chimney warm enough that it keeps the draft moving upwards. You've seen on a calm day with an outdoor fire the smoke doesn't really rise but rather drifts around. This is because the smoke has cooled and is heavier than air. There's some barometric pressure things that come in to play also but mostly it's because the smoke has cooled. The same can happen in your chimney. If it's having trouble drafting and the wind is bad outside it will blow the smoke back down. You have to keep the chimney and smoke warm. The only way to do that is by not locking it down too soon and keeping the fire burning good instead of smoldering.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
Yes it can. Any temperature difference in the home will try to equalize with the outdoor temp. Hot inside / cold outside or the other way around. You obviously have drafting issues if smoke was coming out of the lower fireplace. A chimney cap was a good place to start as most draft problems are caused by wind. One thing to try would be to make sure your wood burning stove reaches 350-400 degrease before locking it down. Shutting down the damper or flu before the stove gets hot enough, and more importantly the Cheney gets hot enough, will smolder the fire and not produce enough heat to keep the draft. Which is likely why it drafted ok when you had the gas burner on. The fire in the box needs to keep the chimney warm enough that it keeps the draft moving upwards. You've seen on a calm day with an outdoor fire the smoke doesn't really rise but rather drifts around. This is because the smoke has cooled and is heavier than air. There's some barometric pressure things that come in to play also but mostly it's because the smoke has cooled. The same can happen in your chimney. If it's having trouble drafting and the wind is bad outside it will blow the smoke back down. You have to keep the chimney and smoke warm. The only way to do that is by not locking it down too soon and keeping the fire burning good instead of smoldering.

Thank you Joe.

I have not shut the damper during a fire ever. I did shut it yesterday but I didn't have a fire going, I could just smell old smoke. Everything else you said makes a LOT of sense and I appreciate it.

So with the downstairs fireplace, am I able to keep that pilot running (gas fireplace), and shut the dampner on it? That way if I have back drafting issues it won't be able to come back into the home?

Also could a cap be installed backwards? It seemed after the cap was installed it made it worse.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Thank you Joe.

I have not shut the damper during a fire ever. I did shut it yesterday but I didn't have a fire going, I could just smell old smoke. Everything else you said makes a LOT of sense and I appreciate it.

So with the downstairs fireplace, am I able to keep that pilot running (gas fireplace), and shut the dampner on it? That way if I have back drafting issues it won't be able to come back into the home?

Also could a cap be installed backwards? It seemed after the cap was installed it made it worse.


NO.. Recipe for a CO2 disaster. Most gas fireplaces don't have a damper, or one that doesn't close all the way for this reason. The risk of someone turning on the fireplace with the damper still shut is way too high and copious amounts of CO2 would be put inside the home.

What kind of gas fireplace is installed? Is it an gas insert with doors? Did they convert an old wood burning fireplace to gas log?
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
NO.. Recipe for a CO2 disaster. Most gas fireplaces don't have a damper, or one that doesn't close all the way for this reason. The risk of someone turning on the fireplace with the damper still shut is way too high and copious amounts of CO2 would be put inside the home.

What kind of gas fireplace is installed? Is it an gas insert with doors? Did they convert an old wood burning fireplace to gas log?

Insert with doors and yes I believe it was converted.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
Insert with doors and yes I believe it was converted.

Ok. The manual should have a process for shutting off the pilot and closing her up. Sometimes there's also instructions inside the door. That's the best you can do there.. On your wood unit you should be able to close the damper to prevent warm weather back draft in the house. As for the cap being on wrong, it depends on what kind it is. If it's one of those that swivels with the wind direction make sure it isn't stuck. If it's just a cap make sure buildup hasn't clogged the screens or slats.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
Ok. The manual should have a process for shutting off the pilot and closing her up. Sometimes there's also instructions inside the door. That's the best you can do there.. On your wood unit you should be able to close the damper to prevent warm weather back draft in the house. As for the cap being on wrong, it depends on what kind it is. If it's one of those that swivels with the wind direction make sure it isn't stuck. If it's just a cap make sure buildup hasn't clogged the screens or slats.

thank you! Hell its only been on for a few days and I had one fire. I got the guy coming back to check it out on Monday.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
this is driving me nuts. This wood burner is back drafting into the house, and the house smells like smoke.

It doesn't do it all the time but everyone once in awhile I get a big wiff of smoke.

The fireplace isn't even on. The flu is shut, how could this be happening?
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
Check the cap. It may be on too tight and not enough clearance (breathability) and can't updraft properly causing a downdraft instead. That happened to me once; readjusted the cap and we had an updraft once again.
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
this is driving me nuts. This wood burner is back drafting into the house, and the house smells like smoke.

It doesn't do it all the time but everyone once in awhile I get a big wiff of smoke.

The fireplace isn't even on. The flu is shut, how could this be happening?

If the flu is shut a draft shouldn't be able to reach the stove. Got a picture of it?
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
Check the cap. It may be on too tight and not enough clearance (breathability) and can't updraft properly causing a downdraft instead. That happened to me once; readjusted the cap and we had an updraft once again.

Since cap was installed I had more issues so I'm wondering if that's the case.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,944
139
I'm no one when it comes to this stuff, just trying to think out of the box...

Do you know if the house ever had a fire?

None to my knowledge. Also never had smell in last 4 months! Just since cap.