HELP wood burner stove issues

sarahdylan

So I moved into a house with a built in wood burner stove the house gets quite cold so it is a necessity or else the heating is on up to 4 times a day! The problem is that whenever I light the stove thick black smoke starts coming out from under neath the stove which sets off all of the fire alarms but then once it gets going there is no problem?

demanufactured

are you renting?
Get onto your landlord to sort it if so, and don't light the stove until its sorted , you'll kill yourself or someone else.

If its your own house , get a heating specialist to look at it.
Its probably leaking where it connects to the chimney.

sarahdylan

demanufactured wrote: »

are you renting?
Get onto your landlord to sort it if so, and don't light the stove until its sorted , you'll kill yourself or someone else.

If its your own house , get a heating specialist to look at it.
Its probably leaking where it connects to the chimney.

Thank you for your reply, Yes I’m renting and have said it several times it’s very frustrating and since the rent market is so competitive at the moment I’m half afraid that he won’t renew my lease if he sees me as a nuisance.

looksee

This is not 'nuisance' territory, this is 'you could end up dead'. Get a heating person in to look at it if the landlord will not budge, and get the heating engineer to give you a detailed invoice.

my3cents

While not ideal I don't think this is such a big deal OP, it can happen with any chimney that is stone cold because the air in the chimney gets cold and just sits there forming a plug. Once the fire is going all the air in a chimney warms up and starts moving as it should.

The easiest way to solve it is to burn a very small piece of fire lighter in the highest point you can place it in the stove. If you can put it on top of the top stove baffle (obviously inside the stove not on top of the stove) where it can heat the chimney directly. As soon as the flame is actually being drawn up the chimney you can light the fire.

The issue may however be that the chimney is cold because its not lined, that again is not ideal but doesn't mean you can't use the fire however personally I'd clean it more often.

sarahdylan

my3cents wrote: »

While not ideal I don't think this is such a big deal OP, it can happen with any chimney that is stone cold because the air in the chimney gets cold and just sits there forming a plug. Once the fire is going all the air in a chimney warms up and starts moving as it should.

The easiest way to solve it is to burn a very small piece of fire lighter in the highest point you can place it in the stove. If you can put it on top of the top stove baffle (obviously inside the stove not on top of the stove) where it can heat the chimney directly. As soon as the flame is actually being drawn up the chimney you can light the fire.

The issue may however be that the chimney is cold because its not lined, that again is not ideal but doesn't mean you can't use the fire however personally I'd clean it more often.

Thank you very much for your reply I will try this later today. I’ve seen a lot of people have the same hassle online so I think these might be problems that just come with the newer stoves.

vicwatson

Don’t risk it, get the landlord involved ASAP.

Wearb

sarahdylan wrote: »

Thank you very much for your reply I will try this later today. I’ve seen a lot of people have the same hassle online so I think these might be problems that just come with the newer stoves.

Just make sure that there is an in-date CO alarm in the room. This isn't the same as a smoke alarm.

demanufactured

sarahdylan wrote: »

Thank you very much for your reply I will try this later today. I’ve seen a lot of people have the same hassle online so I think these might be problems that just come with the newer stoves.

No, you should not have this problem full stop.

my3cents

demanufactured wrote: »

No, you should not have this problem full stop.

In unlined chimneys its very common. I've lived in a dozen different houses all heated by solid fuel and at one time or another all the fires have had the issue.

Its more likely in an unlined chimney with an open fire but the laws of physics are the same for lined chimneys with stoves as they are with unlined chimneys and open fires the only difference is that a cold plug will shift quicker in a lined chimney because there is less thermal mass in a lined chimney.

This is Ireland we have cold wet weather and a chimney is open to the elements so it can get cold and damp if there is no fire lit. The solution is to warm it up with a small fire (from say a bit of firelighter) before you light the main fire.

OP how did you get on?

demanufactured

OP must have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Wearb

demanufactured wrote: »

OP must have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

MOD NOTE: Cut that out. Its not a joking matter on this board.

sarahdylan

demanufactured wrote: »

OP must have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Got it sorted actually and I don’t think that’s one bit funny at all. I don’t see why you’d spend time out of your day to comment something as pointless tbh, find a hobbie

sarahdylan

my3cents wrote: »

In unlined chimneys its very common. I've lived in a dozen different houses all heated by solid fuel and at one time or another all the fires have had the issue.

Its more likely in an unlined chimney with an open fire but the laws of physics are the same for lined chimneys with stoves as they are with unlined chimneys and open fires the only difference is that a cold plug will shift quicker in a lined chimney because there is less thermal mass in a lined chimney.

This is Ireland we have cold wet weather and a chimney is open to the elements so it can get cold and damp if there is no fire lit. The solution is to warm it up with a small fire (from say a bit of firelighter) before you light the main fire.

OP how did you get on?

Thank you for your reply, I got the company who fitted in the stove to double check it and they said the exact same as you. It’s my first time using a stove and just wanted to be sure, but now that I know exactly how to light it it’s brilliant and would highly recommend

Wearb

sarahdylan wrote: »

Got it sorted actually and I don’t think that’s one bit funny at all. I don’t see why you’d spend time out of your day to comment something as pointless tbh, find a hobbie

Good to see you got sorted. I will close this thread then.