Stove Expert in Mid-West

lanod2407

I bought a Stovax vogue a few months ago, and life has not gone smoothly since. I’m looking for any advice / opinions.

From the start we’ve had a really strong backdraft when the door is opened, and because the wood I used first wasn’t as dry as it should have been, that caused a lot of smoke to get pulled out into the room.
Had the supplier out a number of times and he confirmed the chimney has a good draw, so we shouldn’t get that backdraft into the room when the door is opened.
Starting the fire is a bit of a palava - told that the wood needs to be built up to the air holes and lit from the top. Fire starts well, but I’m not seeing the glass clearing, even when I’ve a good strong clean fire going.

Has anyone else experience of this stove? Or backdraft problem?
I’m getting very unhappy with this one - great brand, but I want a stove I can just fill & light, not a Jenga game to get it lit and massive backdraft of ash particles into the room every time it gets refilled.

Wearb

Try it with a window in the same room fully opened and see if things improve.

lanod2407

Wearb wrote: »

Try it with a window in the same room fully opened and see if things improve.

Thanks Wearb - what will that tell me if it improves the backdraft?

lanod2407

I've a big problem with a new stove and smoke issues when I open the door - not getting the support I need from the dealer.
Can anyone recommend a stove expert in the mid-west region, preferably near Limerick who would look at it and tell me how to fix it, or if the stove is not performing correctly?

Please PM me with any recommendations.

Thanks,

MOD NOTE: I've merged these two threads because they're from the same OP with similar problem.

lanod2407

I've had a couple of guys out to the house to look at this, and they've noted that there are several trees around the house, and that while the chimney is above the required height versus the main roof (it's coming up out of a lower roof level adjacent to the main building roof), the trees and roof configuration may well contribute to conditions where a backdraft occurs a lot of the time, of not all of the time.
Their recommendation is that I fit a H cowl - I'm looking for input / advice on this.
1. Is a H cowl seen to be a solution to this type of problem?
2. Is there a model / version that is highly recommended?

Thanks.

sky6

At a Guess I'd say you live in a Bungalow. Can be notorious for these type of problems.
Yes a H Cowl will help greatly and will probably cure the problem. But what you really need is to raise the Chimney higher.
I had a similar problem and I added one piece of Chimney pipe to the top of the Chimney the difference it made was huge.
But you also need a good flow of constant air from within the Room.

People take Chimney's and Flues for granted, but they are a very Technical piece of Equipment where the science of Physics plays a huge part.

lanod2407

Thanks sky6 - it's a 2 storey house, but the chimney is on the roof of a dormer-type annex at the end of the house. Does that make sense?
Positioned relatively low in terms of the surrounding lands, and several large oaks in the hedges around the house.

I've also been told that a higher chimney stack will do wonders - but I'm concerned that another 1.5 metres or so of metal stack will make it look like something out of a southern states trailer park ........... there are large terracotta chimney pots on the chimney right now, and I'm not seeing another 5 foot of pipe as an aesthetically pleasing addition, technically magnificent as it might be.