Nice explanation, I had already worked this out and your tip of using something to give the flue a burst of heat is spot on. I have this problem if it is cold and the stove hasn't been used for many days but the draft is actually a little too high when warmed up.
Thank you. We bought bellows and after lighting, a few puffs up the chimney and the draw works. Usually on damp days. Also effective firelighters. Haven't had a problem.
One way to slightly raise your chimney height is actually put a taller chimney pot on. Also, you can add a “spinner” on top to improve the “draw”. Also, make sure you have your chimney swept AT LEAST once a year.
If you slightly crack the door while you burn your wood, and ince you notice the door trying to close on its own, then you have a good up draft for smoke, also make sure if your chimney pipes always at an upward angle even if you have a bend/ angle in pipe, as the smoke will sink to the low point
Is there a difference between the gasket used for woodburning stoves and oil burning stoves? Can i use gaskets made for wood burning stoves, for an oil burning fireplace?
Two tips. 1 Get a good bit of kindling ready to go so that you can shut the door after lighting. On one of my stoves I have to add a firelighter. 2 The size of the room that the stove is in should ideally balanced to the size of the stove. By having an internal door open when lighting you are effectively making the room much larger which can cause smoke to spool into the room in some installations.
Yes! Make sure you “lay” or “set” your fire properly before lighting. Then all you have to do is light it and sit back. We tend to use what we call the “Jenga method”, as it looks like a game of Jenga. With two smallish logs at the bottom, then large sticks, in a criss cross pattern, smaller and smaller to the top, actually as far up the “box” as you can manage. Flamer type firefighter at the top with some kindling. Light it, open the door a small amount then leave it alone. Once the “tower” is collapsing you add a couple of small logs, let it burn a bit still with the door open a small amount the close the door and once it’s going well you close all but the necessary air controls. Depending on the type or stove and where you controls are. Half the battle is getting to know your own individual stove, and always ask the Fire Spirits for help beforehand and thank them afterwards (yes it sounds daft and hippy but you’d be amazed….)
Hi guys. Another great video. Do you think you could produce a video for the first few lights on a new stove. I found the instruction booklet ok but my wife was a little confused till I explained the paint curing process etc. Didn’t know if other people may find one helpful?
Use kindling (which is dry, so produces very little smoke) and a fire lighter (no newspaper, that's a bad idea as it can cause a chimney fire if there is creosote build up in the flue). Open all air vents and open the door slightly to fan the fire. This will get the gases hot really quickly. The hot gases rise in the flue and that will chase away the cold air that might be in there. Then add a small log and again manipulate the door opening to produce the best fanning. Once the small log is almost burnt add a larger log.
Have you seen more problems with the ecodesign woodburners specifically installed in bungalows with shorter flue runs? Btw think the sound of shotguns going off added to the video👍
Hello. Our sister company Ecosy Stoves try to balance performance and functionality when designing new Eco Design stoves. For example our Hampton 5 is very efficient and still only has a single baffle, making it flow better. This would be a good unit to choose if you know you have draw issues as it is very forgiving.. Some twin baffle designs are very tight. They may work well in the lab but not so well on a short, cold chimneys. We have not had a great deal more reports of issues like this with any of our units but do know that some manufacturers have had issues and have had to go back to the drawing board and make new baffles. The reason they have twin baffles is to help keep the heat in the chamber and reduce loss up the chimney. Many designs would fail the regulations without them. I’m glad the shot guns added to the drama of the video. 😃
I have the Ecosy Hampton 5 and it is only meant to be 5 KW but has upstairs at 23c when it is up and running downstairs. Once lit, we open up the living room door and the kitchen door and the whole house is warm. Amazing from such a tiny stove. An infinite supply of free wood adds to the appeal of it too. Bought it from Stove world, very good price and cost £1K to install. Will save us an absolute fortune on heating. @@Karlcoupe
Mine has been doing this past few days but only when im getting the fire started not once it set in with embers. Kids dads says blocked flue and its entirely possible but now youre making me wonder if its cold flue instead coz a blocked flue would just keep on smoking up
I live in an old brick house with a small fireplace. Do you think the hole can be opened up wide, like the one in this video. Is that easy to do for the fitter? Also, we have a vent in the floor about 3 feet from the fireplace. Would that be sufficient to draw air the room? I don't like the idea of needing a fan on. Thanks for any advice.
9 months on, and I guess you'll have the answers by now. A fireplace can quite easily be opened up to the original "builders opening" albeit a messy job with lots of rubble and dust. Then there's a fair amount of making good to be done around the brickwork and plaster. The floor vent sounds like a good situation although it's not necessary with stoves of 5kw or below ☺
@@harrybrown3657 Hiya Harry, I did get my answers. Got our stove in a month ago. Wasn't that messy and we got one just under 5kw so no vents needed except living room door wide open as it's so hot in there now, lol. Thanks for replying.
Just had a stove installed. New liner fitted and new slate hearth. Installed just before Christmas '22 the fitters were back today fitting the 3rd slate hearth because they crack as soon as we light the stove. Once lit every time we open the door to put wood on we get a burst of smoke, flame rushes out and ash/ soot floats around the room. The room is now always stinking of fire and everything has a fine coating of ash. Worst decision I've ever made.
We just got a new stove a month ago. My husband swings the door open and lets smoke & flames out too, you guys are making a wind & changing the direction of the fire. I just open the latch to let the air suck in then swing the door very slowly open & nothing comes out. We kept our old hearth which is 3 heavyweight garden slabs 18" x 18" cemented to floor and tiled with black fireplace tiles. The fitters put a square of black slate in the chamber raised to match the height. It looks good and gives the illusion of tiles all the way in. Had to get our firebricks replaced already though and new one cracked within three days but I'm keeping it till it opens up or falls over.
I’ve got a short chimney on mine and when it’s windy like today ( storm Barra) here in the UK , I light the fuel log it blows the flames out and I’m left with huge plumes of smoke coming out of the back of my burner. I have to open the windows and shut the air intake off but it’s still really bad 😩
It would be best to speak with a HETAS installer first but our suggestion would be a "Flue Cube" as they are known to be very good for down draught issues.
Leaving you stove door open at night is a good idea,. Another good idea is use a heat gun /paint stripping gun, Just open your stove door and blast it right up the floot for 2 /3 mins this will shift any cold air 100%
There's no direct opening to the pipe and mine is leaking smoke into the room even with the door closed. So frustrating trying to get the first fire started. Fire alarms going off. I just got the pipe cleaned. It's an old Century stove.
It's a common problem nowadays but less so With an old stove. The modern lighting technique is to put kindling in your stove, leaving plenty of air gaps between. Put a firelighter or 2 on top of the kindling. While this burns it will warm the flue before the fire lights fully. Open all air controls fully and leave the door slightly ajar to provide more oxygen while it is warming up. When ready put another load of kindling on with a log on top, perhaps closing the door but with controls still open. After about 15 minutes reduce the air controls to the normal rate. Remember each chimney is different and weather can drastically affect how much a chimney pulls on any given day
Staying at the in-laws (between houses atm) and have 18 month old. In laws love the woodburner but it smells out the whole house (not smoke just smell of smoke). Should I be worried about baby’s health? Usually has a residual smell when the baby is up in the daytime but she is not around the fire when it’s lit.
About 2 minutes of heating from the outside of your pipe just above stove with a propane torch, then lite fire and continue heating pipe with torch for another minute or two works great for me 👍🏽
Actually they CAN be worse - the cold air moves down the chimney and creates a "syphon" pushing air out of the outside air feed thus drawing in the cold air from the top, (I know air is generally colder the lower you go).
I have an Easy easy fix guaranteed. I keep a small hand torch handy. I slide the top brick over and expose the chimney inside the stove. I Light the torch and direct the flame right into the chimney opening for 10 sec. Slide the top brick back in place, then light the fire. This way the heat generated from the torch has made a positive direction back up the chimney. Easy easy easy and NEVER have smoke again 👍👍👍
Top down lighting technique works well to unblock a cold chimney and get it drawing. A platform of logs with a Jenga tower of kindling and firefighter above. Light the firelighter, leave the door ajar, the kindling combusts very quickly and produces lots of heat which gets the flue drawing. Fire needs three things to burn; heat, fuel and air. Top down lighting provides the heat and the air, so providing there’s wood in there, you’re golden.
Burning wood for past 23 years. Best fire starter is a spray bottle and diesel. Dont need much , diesel doesn't explode to life and burns hot and slow. Creates heat instantly and gets the wood burning quickly. Piece of paper and a match is all that is needed to ignite the fuel. BBQ fuel works but probably pay more for it. Keeping smoke from blowing back is going to happen if the door is yanked open. Open the door about an inch, give it a second or two to equalize the pressure then open it all the way. Make sure chimney is clean. As creosote builds at the top it chokes the chimney and smoke will push back .
The reason any flue works is the air inside the flue is warmer than the air outside. This becomes more of an issue at the start of the burning season through fluctuating weather temperatures and irregular use. A wood fire is all smoke and no heat until it is going. My advise to customers is to light a Fire-lighter and let it burn as this will put some warm air up there. Then set and light your wood fire. Chimney Sweep
I will give u a very good trade secret tip works every time no smoke back in your room what you need is some bio fuel this burns without smoke put some in a small saucepan lite it carefully this will warm the flu you don't need to use to much
You set up the fire and light it. You dont open the door for 2 hours. Heat up the chimney isnt a problem. All i can find are videos like these about smoking stoves.
This is correct however. The flue and chimney have to be a certain temperature. Put a thermostat on the flue and only reload when it reaches a good temperature.
I'm sorry to hear about all of the poor owners of stoves moaning about smoke entering their homes as opposed to everyone living in the vicinity who has to deal with the muck and rubbish coming out of one of these on a daily basis preventing windows, doors and their gardens being used unless wanting to come back to the house smelling of a bonfire. Sooner these things are banned the better - blighting so many people's lives
When all residential burning is banned. If councils allow uncontrolled bonfires, the only reason to ban log and fire burning is to force people to pay out on rising gas, oil or electric costs.
You do not understand the physics of how a chimney works reference pressure and temperature. I learned the correct explanation in my school physics lessons 55 years ago! Your explanation shows you do not FULLY understand the principles involved.
This video is to help people resolve an issue they may have and every point or tip in the video is based around 15 years in the industry and lived experiences. Please do correct us on any points that you feel are incorrect or not properly worded, as the video is to help people out. Kind regards.
