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Chimney sucking warmth out of house when fire on!

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  • 26-01-2013 11:17pm
    #1
    ravendude
    Registered Users Posts: 584 ✭✭✭


    Hi there,
    I'm sitting by the fire in the sitting room as I type this. It's fairly windy outside, but this is almost always a problem.
    I have the door of the sitting room closed, and can feel a cold draft being sucked in through the gaps around the sitting room door. The air outside the sitting room is colder as the Heating is off a few hours mow. It's quite unreal and almost feels like there is a wind blowing through the house. I'm pretty sure it's the draw of the fire literally sucking all heat out of the house.

    Is there any device that can Be set up to reduce the draw on the chimney?
    There is what looks like a cowl on the chimney outside.
    I'm not sure if this increases or decreases the draw.

    Any ideas, I'm not too familiar with the thermodynamics of how a chimney works to be honest.

    Thanks...


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    #2
    ravendude
    Registered Users Posts: 584 ✭✭✭ravendude


    Just to add, we can close the fireplace as it has a damper type of device. But obviously this only applies when the fire is lighting. This is a particular problem when the fire is lighting, or during the night after.


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    #3
    Alucan
    Registered Users Posts: 105 ✭✭Alucan


    We had the same problem until we installed a stove best move we ever made
    It uses about quarter the fuel the open fire did and even when it's not lighting
    It stops the draft from the chimney


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    #4
    ravendude
    Registered Users Posts: 584 ✭✭✭ravendude


    We actually have 2 fireplaces here, one of which we plan to convert to a stove.
    This one though we would hope to keep as an open fire.

    My father actually reckons the problem could be the grate. There is a 1.5 inch gap along the bottom of the grate. He thinks this could be a cause of the excess draw.
    Does this stand to reason to anyone?


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    #5
    shane0007
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,677 ✭✭✭shane0007


    H Cowl is the best option. It will eliminate excessive draw & excessive down draft as required.


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    #6
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    We had an awful problem with this in our stove when we built our new house as we are on an exposed site. The heat from the stove was sucked up the chimney and the fuel burned out too fast. We were advised by a chimney expert to put on a H cowel. We spent over Eur150 on it and it did not work properly. On calm nights the stove smoked and performed poorly.

    I did a lot of research and finally ended up with an aerocowel which solved the problem completely.

    aerocowl01_200j.jpg

    http://www.kbf.ie/accessories/chimney-cowls/chimney-cowls


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    #7
    MOTM
    Registered Users Posts: 412 ✭✭MOTM


    I'd the exact same problem in our sitting room. Installed a stove. Problem solved. Forget the open fire. Waste of fuel and causes draughts.


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    #8
    niallers76
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭niallers76


    Hi Rellig,
    I saw your post regarding the AeroCowl. Just to be clear, I have an issue where the air is being drawn out of my house when the wind is blowing strongly, it works fine on a calm day but I'm in an exposed area so I get approx 2 calm days a year. I put in a stove but that still didnt fix the problem. My chimney is a pain to access so If I go for the aero it will cost me a lot to get a cherry picker to install so just want to be sure that I have the same problem as you. Not only is the heat being pulled from the stove, I can feel a draught running through my house. Was yours this bad?

    Thanks.

    Regards


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