Some questions sent to us as "Smoke Signals"?

Below is a sampling of some questions people have sent to us as Smoke Signals. As you will see, questions come to us from all around the world. Normally we receive from two or three questions a day to more than twenty as the heating season approaches.

I'm in a new house (new to me, built in 1963) and had a new chimney liner installed for the furnace flue due to gaps in the mortar of the old liner.

I have burned a couple of woodfires in the fireplace and noticed that when the furnace comes on, the ash dump plate opens a crack for a second and blows a bit of ash (from the burnt logs) toward the hearth.

I know almost nothing about chimney construction, so I don't know whether the part of the chimney below the fireplace and the part that the furnace connects to are connected or not, nor do I know if I should be concerned about this. I have a carbon monoxide detector nearby and it has never gone off, but I'm interested in a professional's thoughts.

I have wood burning stove with a 6" stove pipe going into a 8x12 5 yr old clay lined chimney. I have a problem with "wet" "water" type creosote dripping down the clay lined chimney. I get enough "wet" creosote that I actually "dip" the wet cresote out of the clay lined chimney clean out door at the bottom of the chimney. All the wood I burn is "aged" and well dried. Any suggestions or solutions to solve this problem? I will thank you now for your help and look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you Jack Dewey 7550 Homerich Ave. Byron center Michigan

Currently, I have 2 pellet stoves that are direct vented outside throught the outer wall. I have them both on the first floor. They work great and all but, just not enough to heat our 3000 sq foot 2 story home. I am trying not to use the propane due to the higher cost.

I would like to install a wood stove in my basement where I do woodwork. I have about 30 cords of oak from the clearing of the property just waiting to put to good use.

My home does not have a chimney so I am wondering if I can run ^" stove pipe or something outside up the side of the outer wall? If I need to go inside I would end up running pipe through someones bedroom. With triplets being upstairs it is a burn just waiting to happen. Please advise, Thanks Ralph Severns

My concern is that I live next to a home that uses a wood stove and fireplace for their main source of heat. We did not realize when buying the house that this smoke would enter our home. It is very strong and unhealthy to the point we feel sick when wind direction comes our way. Is there something we can do to prevent this from filtering into our home or is our only solution to sell our home. Are there laws that prevent homeowners to burn wood if it is effecting other homes? We've even had our smoke detector go off once when we opened the door a few times. The door is facing the neighbours house and the detector was in the entrance area. What can we do?

I have built my new home and moved in during the summer. We light a fire every night and had no problems untill lately. wind is blowing down when the fire is not lit leaving a lot of sut in the room every morning. It has a 9" liner goes above the ridge caps and is 18' high. I have tryed different types cowls but to no avail. When we have wind it takes a good fire to draw properly. Please help with your advice thank you

The problem I am having is downdraft. I have a zeroclearnce insert in the basement with stainless steel pipe running up the outside wall of my house about 25 feet. If the chimney is warm, I can start a fire but with a cold chimney, I can feel the cold draft when I open the insert door. I have tried warming the insert/chimney with a hairdryer and a torch but still can't lite a fire. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do.

I have a fireplace in the centre of a room with a cone and metal tube extending through the roof. The problem is that the smoke is not drawn through the tube, but fills the room. If anyone could advise me as to how best I could fix this, it would be appreciated. Thanks Ali

I had chimney sweep clean my chimney last year. But even then I had the same problem I have this year. When I burn, I have strong smoke back up into the house. When the fire gets going it gets better, the draft up the flu is good, but the smoke smell continues to get stronger as time goes on. I can't see the smoke but the smell is strong. What can I do to have a nice, warm fire without chasing everyone out of the house?

Thank you in advance for your help . I'm from egypt and I would like to built a chimney . I'm not sure it it should be just straight from the bottom base to the roof or it should be bent at 45 degree. Should I buid it straight without any curving in it .. please if you can draw for me if it is straight or I must curve it some where ..I know the rest
Thank you so much