Dampers

There are several types of odors that could detract from your enjoyment of the wood stove. Creosote has a very strong, acrid odor, generally much worse in wet weather or in the summertime when the chimney is less effective in drawing the odor up the chimney.

One of the great misunderstandings in the world of woodstoves is how creosote fits into the picture. Contrary to popular belief, creosote is not an inevitable product of wood burning. Creosote forms when wood is burned incompletely, and is an indication of improper use, poor installation, or a poor wood stove design.

Sometimes it seems that the stove just isn’t working as well as it used to. If there is no obvious problem, such as smoking, catalyst malfunction, etc., but it just doesn’t seem to be doing the job it used to, consider the possibilities in this article.

Woodstove damper problems are sometimes fixed with little effort. Other times, a fix is not so easy.

Some stoves seem to work just fine except when it is wet out. If this seems to be the case, pay close attention to the weather when you have smoking problems. It is easy to confuse wind-related problems with rain-related problems.

Some stoves seem to work okay except on windy days, or if the wind is coming from a specific direction. Chimney height should be considered as a possible cause. We will look at this and other possible causes.

If your stove seems to smoke all the time, or erratically, consider these possibilities: undersized flue, blockages, multiple appliances connected to the same flue.

If your stove seems to work okay once you get it going, but smokes when you are done using it, as the fire is going out, here are some possibilities.

Although there are many different models of wood stoves, there are several basic components in all stoves. We will take a look at parts found in all woodstoves as well as those found only in some woodstoves.

Wet chimney flues are much harder to heat than dry chimney flues. This is because it takes an enormous amount of heat to convert water to steam. The water absorbs so much heat that the flue doesn’t warm up effectively. The tall column of cold air in the flue wants to sink, drawing smoke into the house.