Barbel Bob Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Hi,Has anyone got any tips for creating a good 'draw' on an open fire? I have been told to warm the flue before putting any large logs on to prevent smoke pouring into the room, which has been happening, not sure what to use to warm the flue first? really need to stop the smoke coming back into the room which can happen at any time during the evening not just at the start. We have had the chimney swept.Jue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Do your have VMCs in the house? These can interfere with the draw, and although they are not fitted with on/off switches, they can often be turned off at the consumer unit in newer installations, which does help a little.Also, if yours is a newish house, they are so well insulated against draughts that it is often difficult to get sufficient draw. You could try opening a window a tiny bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 Hi Cat,No we do not, and our house is old, we have lit the fire with the window and doors open but the smoke still pours into the room, we have also tried to warm the flue before adding small logs but that did not help. We thought having the chimney swept would improve this problem but it seems worse than it was last winter.[8-)]Jue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 We had a problem with our new logburner - smoke poured into room on attempting to light but only when wind in N or W. This was resolved by either/or/both 1. extending chimney height to approx 50/60 cm above ridge (I told them at the beginning that this was a cause but I'm English so cannot know about such things)2. fitting spinning turban atop the chimneyPossibly not much use to you thoughJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Hi again,After googling most of yesterday and today and after ruling out all the possible causes of smoke entering the room when the fire is lit, i have found a possible solution below, there has been apartments built next door and as that is higher than my house suspect that this may be the reason for the problem, the solution below gives me 3 options, the only option suitable would be option 3, does anyone know who i would get out to do this for me? our house is 3 storeys tall!!!! or if a chimney fan is sold in France?Jue Problem: The air current over the chimney is deflected by a tall tree, an addition on the building or a neighboring building.Solution: First, try a Wind-beater style cap. Then, if that doesn’t work try building the chimney 2’-3’ taller than any structure or vegetation that might be causing the air deflection, or if that is not possible install an Exhausto fan at the top of the chimney with an air supply ventilator on the windward side of the home near the fireplace or preferably on the lowest floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqui Too Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 [quote user="Barbel Bob"]Hi,Has anyone got any tips for creating a good 'draw' on an open fire? I have been told to warm the flue before putting any large logs on to prevent smoke pouring into the room, which has been happening, not sure what to use to warm the flue first? really need to stop the smoke coming back into the room which can happen at any time during the evening not just at the start. We have had the chimney swept.Jue[/quote]Julie you seem to to have the classic problem that people get with open fires! It is possible that the problem with your chimney getting some sort of downdraft from your neighbours building is possible, but these problems are usually caused by the size of the openings at either end of your chimney e.g. opening at the bottom is larger the the opening at the top, which is allowing to much air up your chimney and as it cannot escape as fast as it is entering it will curl down and exit in your room and no amount of lengthening the flue will help this! What is needed is for the opening at the bottom to be reduced. this can be done by adding a canopy if it is an inglenook. very few inglenooks work properly without some sort of regulation at room level, probably why so many now have log burners in them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassis Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Which is why you see lots of "characterful" smoke stains above large old fireplaces.But a hot flue, in time, does help the draw enormously. As does Iceni's suggestion of a 'spinning turban' chimney topper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted October 26, 2008 Author Share Posted October 26, 2008 Jackie,Thanks for the advice, it is not an inglenook just a regular fireplace, not even large roughly 100cm wide, 118 high and 28cm deep, could you tell me what i would use to reduce it as I dont understand. I have placed a large sheet of metal across the front whilst a small fire was burning but the smoke still poured in below no matter how much i covered?I have ruled out the chimney fan, they cost a fortune [:'(] i will now look into a spinning turban, we have found someone who will hire us a cherry picker for the day, Iceni where did you get your spinning turbine from and how much did you pay?Jue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Chris Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 We gave up with the open fire shortly after moving in. The combination of a smoke-filled room and getting through half a forest of 3' timber per night pushed us into getting a wood burner. Best decision we ever made (apart from moving here, of course...)Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 [quote user="Barbel Bob"]i will now look into a spinning turban, we have found someone who will hire us a cherry picker for the day, Iceni where did you get your spinning turbine from and how much did you pay?[/quote]Spinning turban was supplied by the firm (RMS, Biars) that installed logburner etc as part of a package to solve the smoking problem - sorry, but invoice filed so carefully that I cannot find it.Suggest that you spend a day wandering around the bigger bricos, specialist fire shops etc.A few years ago I calculated the pay back period for an acquaintance to fit a logburner, liner etc into his inglenook fireplace and as ypu might guess the answer was several years HOWEVER this did not take into account the benefits of being warm/hot instead of just above freezing. I know that this is not what you asked but I would recommend it anyway.John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seb47 Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 BBWe had an open fire and whilst sometimes it worked a treat, at other times we had smoke filled room syndrome - very frustrating. After a particularly bad spell, and an incident when the fire spat a burning cinder over the fire guard onto the rug (luckily we were sitting in the room at the time so extinguished it immediately), we decided to fit an insert - a Supra in our case with a secondary heat chamber. These have a number of benefits - tax relief at 50% of the cost of the appliance (if it has the Flamme Vert label); a built in 2 speed fan (one speed thermostatically controlled); a lever to adjust air flow for drawing - you can set this low so that if you pile up the wood before you go to bed it will stay in through the night, also there are 4 extra outlets apart from the one to the chimney stainless steel liner so you can connect the fire to 4 other rooms via inox conduits for secondary heat. In practice we only use one to heat our adjacent bedroom. The glass door stops cinders flying all over the place (you can safely leave it burning fiercely when you leave the house or the room) and the fire gets so hot it consumes the ash to the point where we only really need to empty the tray about once a week. Total cost fitted about 1500 Euros less about 675 Euros refund on the tax. We find on the few coolish nights we've had so far this autumn we have to limit the heat flow or strip down to t-shirt and shorts! We realise it's quite a costly option but haven't regretted our decision at all.Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarksinfrance Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 There are various cowls that can be fitted to a chimny top, from the spinning cowls all ready mentioned, to powered ones, so that on a windless day/night you can still get a draw, there are various shaped cowls that look like a large "H" shape, to cowls with vanes on to turn the exhaust away from the wind.A couple on the accessories section here:http://www.poujoulat.co.uk/gamme.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 2 kilowatt electric fire for twenty minutes to pre heat the chimney and get the air flowing in the right direction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 4, 2008 Share Posted November 4, 2008 [quote user="Anton Redman"]2 kilowatt electric fire for twenty minutes to pre heat the chimney and get the air flowing in the right direction[/quote]A 2 kilowatt fire for twenty minutes and you won't need to light the wood burner [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbel Bob Posted November 6, 2008 Author Share Posted November 6, 2008 Thanks for the link, we had enquired about the powered ones but they were so expensive so we are either going to try one of the non powered ones or just save up and buy a 2nd hand log burner, in the meantime we have bought another paraffin heater on sale in brico depot! all a shame as we have enough wood for the winter already!Anton we have given up trying to warm the chimney after being smoked out several times [:'(]Jue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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