Fireplace Tips
This article provides some common sense fire safety rules and an understanding of
why and how a fireplace can work better.
There is nothing worse than coming in after a hard day and when you finally get a
decent fire going, all you get is smoke coming back into the room. It burns the eyes and lungs, and you wind
up having to open windows and doors to let the cold air in to air the room out. That smell gets into all of
the fabrics in the house as well as in your clothes, and it seems to take forever to get rid of it.
Many of the common smoking problems deal with the fact that a fire needs to be
supplied with a large amount of make up air as one of its three primary elements, as well as needing to have an
adequate opening through the chimney to the outside in order to exhaust out the smoke and gases so that they don't
come back into the room. Below is a list of the top ten possible reasons and their solutions as to why
you're having that smoking problem.
1) Dirty or Obstructed Chimney- Have the chimney inspected and swept by a
Certified Chimney Sweep so that the chimney can be checked for any obstructions such as a bird's nest or tree
branches, or your kid's missing volley ball. Also, a dirty chimney cap will prevent smoke from freely exiting
the chimney.
2) Closed Damper- Before starting a fire, always check to make sure that the
damper is completely open. If you're not sure, shine a flashlight up the chimney to see if the metal damper
plate is open or closed.
3) Fuel- Cut firewood must be aged a minimum of one year. It should be kept
dry and protected from the rain. If the log is larger around than 6" in diameter, it should be split so that
it burns efficiently. Also, some types of prefabricated "paper wrapped" logs can be prone to
smoking.
4) Fire Grate Placement- The fire grate is where you place your wood in the
firebox and should be placed as far back in the firebox as possible, preferably right against the backwall in order
to create a good draw. Sometimes it's necessary to raise the grate with bricks to help. This gets more
air under the grate for better circulation and it also raises the height of the fire.
5) Chimney Not Built To Proper Dimensions-Many times the fireplace opening is too
large or too tall, especially in relation to the chimney flue size. This can give smoke a choice of going up
the chimney or coming into the room. The solution could be adding a metal smoke guard to the top of the
fireplace opening, since it shrinks the size of the opening. Also, many two-sided fireplaces have inherent
smoking problems due to their sensitivity to air drafts in the house. In this case you might think about
installing glass doors. One more thing, if the chimney does not have adequate height, you may need to extend
the height of the chimney to improve the draw.
6) Cold Weather- If the weather outside the house is either colder and/or
raining, the air inside the chimney flue will be cold and heavy and block the smoke from venting out. In this
case, it helps to 'prime' the chimney by rolling up a newspaper and lighting it, then hold the lit end close to the
open damper inside the firebox for a minute or two to warm up the heavy air in the flue. Then you can light
the fire and ideally should have a good draw.
7) The House Is Near a Canyon or Hillside- If the house is next to a canyon,
hillside or slope, it can have smoking problems due to wind currents and downdrafts. The air is pushed down
the chimney into the room. Many times a specially designed chimney wind cap will resolve this problem since
the top part of it turns like a weather vane and the cap's backside creates a barrier in the way of the
wind.
8) Central Heating System- If the heater is on, you will lose the draw from the
chimney which will cause a smoking problem. This is because the central air furnace is so strong that even if
the air intake vent for the central heating system is not in the same room as the fireplace, it will suck the
outside air down the chimney and will cause the fireplace to smoke when the fire is going. Do not run the
heater when the fireplace is in use!
9) Air Pressure Difference- Because houses are built much tighter than they used
to be, the air pressure inside the house can be different than outside the house and this will not allow for a
proper draw of air through the flue as well as the fire not receiving adequate make up air. This will also
happen if a house is retrofitted with new tighter windows and doors. To minimize the smoking problem, crack
open a window or door (preferably at the same level as the fireplace) in the room.
10) Tall Trees and Buildings- A tall tree or added-on second story (yours or your
neighbor's) close to the chimney may change the wind currents and cause down drafts to go down through the chimney
and not only cause a smoking problem but possibly an odor problem as well. Keep those trees trimmed!
With the 2nd story problem, the solution will likely be to raise the chimney height, but in some cases the wind cap
might help instead.
These at least hit the highlights of what could be the problem when dealing with
that annoying smoking problem. There are other possible reasons for this problem, so if following the
corrective actions presented here don't take care of it, the best advice I could give would be to contact a CSIA
Certified Chimney Sweep in your area and put him to work figuring it out. Good Luck!
Rick Pocock is a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep and has enjoyed being in this
industry for more that fourteen years and owns Swede Chimney Sweep along with his wife Terri in San Diego,
CA. Terri is also a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep.
He also carries certification as a C-Det Certified Dryer Exhaust Technician and
as a NFI Certified Gas Technician.
For more information about things chimney related, please feel free to visit
http://www.swedesweep.com]http://www.swedesweep.com, a
website full of information pertaining to chimney and fireplace maintenance and safety. Visit http://www.csia.org for information about CSIA Certified Chimney Sweeps, to find one in
your area.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Pocock http://EzineArticles.com/?10-Fireplace-Smoking-Problems-and-Solutions&id=1021075
Gallagher's Chimney Service
707 BelmontAve.
Milmont Park, PA 19033
610 522 9595
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