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Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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Posted by Katita (My Page) on Wed, Jan 4, 06 at 21:22
| We have a fireplace that smokes. It is safe (except for breathing smoke), as we had the exterior chimney rebuilt two years ago where it was cracked. All the work was done with a permit and therefore the chimney has been recently inspected, and has a spark arrester, is lined, has a flue, etc. However, most of the time when we light a fire, we get some smoke in the living room. Sometimes (no idea why), it is not too smokey. However, 80% of the time there is some escaping smoke. We have tried using different types of wood, but there does not seem to be any consistent factor to the smoke except that it is usually there. This is a big, brick fireplace with a wide opening in a smallish living room. We don't light fires too often for environmental reasons, but I am wondering if there is something wrong with the design of this 1943 fireplace in a 40s tract home. Any advice or ideas are appreciated. I hate to spend any more money to repair it further, so need some advice -- are there any solutions out there?...Thanks!!! Katie |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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| I have a few suggestions, if you haven't already tried them. Smoke in the room is sometimes caused by insufficient draft up the chimney at the start of the fire. Before you light the kindling, hold a butane lighter up to the flue to let the warm air draft start up the chimney. I don't use matches or newspaper since both usually go out before good draft is established. Once the flame is stretching up towards the chimney, light the kindling. Keep the wood pieces small until the fire's really going. Then increase the size gradually. My other suggestion is to not use newspaper. (if you are) It produces a lot of smoke IMO. Try fat sticks or kindling sticks. You can find them at fireplace stores, HD or lowes. One or two fat sticks is usually enough to get the kindling going. One other thing you could try is to start your initial fire backwards. By that I mean, put the biggest pieces on bottom with space between them for air. Then put the mid-size pieces criss-crossed on top of those and finally the kindling. Light the fat stick and place it just under the kindling. As the kindling burns, the hot coals fall down and proceed to light the stuff underneath. It produces a hotter fire sooner. If by chance part of your problem is green wood, this method will help dry out the pieces quicker creating less smoke. good luck. |
RE: Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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| Another reason might be that it was never constructed properly. |
RE: Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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Have you installed newer doors and/or windows in the last 10 or so years? One problem may be that you have a negative pressure problem in your home. During a fire have you tried opening a window or door slightly to see if that helps? If it does then you probably have negative pressure and I would suggest looking into a make-up air system or combustion air system.
Another thing that may help is to install a smoke guard; the guard would be installed at the top of the firebox opening and will essentially "extend" the depth of the firebox (at the top) and will cause the smoke to "roll" back into the firebox and up the chimney. This often works well for people who have only minimal amounts of smoke coming back in. |
RE: Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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| When your furnace or hot water heater runs, if it doesn't have an outside air intake, it could draw air from the chimney, bringing the smoke with it. Bathroom vents or kitchen hoods that exhaust to the outside could do the same thing. This is what creates the negative pressure. |
RE: Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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| When I light the initial fire, I sometimes need to crack open a window near the fireplace. This helps the fireplace draft properly and immediately solves the smoking problem. I close the window within a few minutes of establishing a proper draft. My masonry fireplace would also set off the smoke detectors in the house sometimes after the fire had been burning for several hours. A set of glass doors that came with my one-of-a-kind insert solved that problem. |
RE: Smokey Fireplace Advice? - 1940s House
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| Next time you light the fire, use aluminum foil and some small pieces of duct tape to make a temporary smoke guard across the top of the opening. Fold the foil in half lengthwise to stiffen it, and cover the top 6 inches or so of the opening with it. If this cures the smoking problem, you can have a permanent one made by a sheetmetal shop, out of copper or galvanized steel painted flat black. I once bought one online, but it was crummy, and I sent it back. Or you could install doors. Otherwise, if you know the diameter of the flue, calculate the area in square inches of the flue and the fireplace opening. The flue should optimally be 10% of the area of the FP opening. It will still work if it's off a bit, but this is the standard, I believe. |
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