Stove downdraught issue

Ardent

Appreciate some advice from those in the know...

We have a charnwood solid fuel stove in our living room which has worked wonderfully since we got it a couple of years ago.

Today for some reason I cannot get a fire going. Down draughts are causing smoke to billow out the back of the stove and I have to abandon my attempts to get a fire going. I even tried warming the flue with a hair dryer and burning balls of paper but no joy.

It's pretty wild with Storm Emma where we are, and desperately cold, but surely it should work?

Doctors room ghost

If there’s wheels on it open them and see will she pull.should work if no issues before.is chimney above roof level.make sure no baffles are moved restricting air flow and all vents are open on it

arminkavix

Winds are from an unusual direction at the moment.
Maybe you have been lucky up to now.
Apart from that issue, cold chimneys can be reluctant to get going especially masonry.
We have a Jotul 118. I find that if I fill the box with dry kindling, two year old twigs and smallsticks from thorn or macrocarpa, the fire gets going fast and there is no messing with cold drop down or blowback.
You just need to show the chimney who's boss:)

Ardent

The flue is a steel flexi-flue, not masonry.

Really beginning to think there's a dead bird or two in there.

TomOnBoard

Ardent wrote: »

The flue is a steel flexi-flue, not masonry.

Really beginning to think there's a dead bird or two in there.

Very possible. Check it for safety..

Ardent

Stove is working wonderfully again.

I think what happened is, because my flue angles into the wall, a load of snow accumulated on a shelf within the flue, blocking or greatly decreasing air escape.

demanufactured

Smoke should not be able to escape out from the back of the stove....

Ardent

There's either an air vent at the back of my stove or the flue blanking plate at the back is not 100% airtight. I'm not overly concerned as it hasn't posed a problem 99.99% of the time.

bottlebrush

had same problem last week. guy who installed the stove had a look at it. the fire bricks at the top of stove had shifted out of place and the heat was going up the chimney instead of circulating. he just tapped them back into place and all is fine since.

demanufactured

Ardent wrote: »

There's either an air vent at the back of my stove or the flue blanking plate at the back is not 100% airtight. I'm not overly concerned as it hasn't posed a problem 99.99% of the time.

And your not concerned about carbon monoxide?

Ardent

demanufactured wrote: »

And your not concerned about carbon monoxide?

I have two CO monitors in the room which have always reported zip, zero, nada.