Fire Down Below (Not the Good Kind...)

Muss44 · Post by **Muss44** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 7:26 am

Last night it got a little windy and I had this problem before and I added another peice of chimney and I thought I solved my problem, but I was wrong (like always) When wind gusts would pick up I had heat coming out my grate frokm a down draft. I even had flames down into my ashpan. I know my vogelzang stove is killing me and its going to be replaced this summer with a hitzer or a mark II or III, but will that solve this problem? I have over 10 feet of insulated stainless and four feet inside. the chimney is well above the side roof and which is only a single floor and at least 15 feet away from my main part of my house with the roof. (i will post a pic tonight when I get home from work) Would a tighter stove prevent these downdrafts???? The only thing I could think of is that I had the stove shut down pretty right because it was a warm day. Could the chimney get cold and completly lose a draft?

DOUG · Post by **DOUG** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 7:36 am

It is a chimney draft issue. The chimney will do it with any stove which it is connected. The first thing that comes to mind and maybe the solution, is a barometric draft regulator. Having a barometric draft regulator installed in your stovepipe, properly weighted will prevent the fanning of the flames by balancing the pressure. It sounds to me that you must not have one or it isn't weighted correctly.

Muss44 · Post by **Muss44** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 8:29 am

I do not have one, is that the pipe that has a t fitting to a door that balances open and close???? (sorry new to the stove lingo)

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 8:32 am

Do you have a chimney cap on her--can't guess what weather conditions are where you are--you never put location in your avatar--winds here were 30-40 mph--I'm sure without a cap I would of had problems -- as it is--my cap & MPD (manual damper) handled things as they always do--outstandingly

Muss44 · Post by **Muss44** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 8:54 am

yea I have a nice cap on it, I sprung for the more expensive one instead of the normal traingle style. I live in lancaster Pa, and we had gusts close to 50 overnight.....

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 9:01 am

You must have a significant downward airflow over the roof of the main part of the house.. The only real answer is to raise the chimney above the highest portion of the roof.. Even though it's more than 10' away, in your circumstance it's not far enough with the right wind..

The other possible problem is if there is another chimney on the tall portion of the house that is drafting strong enough to reverse the draft in the coal stove's chimney.. If this is possible, then you need to see if that other, taller chimney is in use or could be blocked off.

Greg L

the snowman · Post by **the snowman** » Tue. Feb. 15, 2011 11:55 am

I agree everyone should have a baro installed, however, they do not prevent down drafts. They prevent excessive up drafting. I agree with ls farm that this problem could be solved by adding more length to your chimney. Down drafts are not only related to chimney to roof ratio, the relative location of the surrounding tree lines, hillsides, or other structures can also cause down drafts. Adding chimney is the cheapest method and could probably solve your problem. A company makes caps called vacu-stack which are designed to prevent down drafts. The caps are pretty expensive, however, they do work. Here is a link to purchase these caps: http://www.fireplacemall.com/Chimney_Caps/Vacu-St ... nry_f.html. If your roof to chimney ratio is good and every other possibility has been eliminated except the lay out of the surround land (hillsides) and tree lines you can purchase one of these caps and solve your problem. I have talked to a couple of people who have these caps and they state the cap is worth every penny. Do post some pictures, a picture is worth a thousand comments.

P.S. If your a good enough tin knocker or know someone who is good enough, these caps can be easily made from the picture. The design is simple, the results outstanding.

The snowman.

rockwood · Post by **rockwood** » Sat. Feb. 19, 2011 3:55 pm

Muss44 wrote:(i will post a pic tonight when I get home from work)

the snowman wrote: Do post some pictures, a picture is worth a thousand comments.

Yes, photos would be great...and when you take the photo(s) do it so we can see the entire house including any nearby large/tall trees etc.