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.
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!The advantage of purchasing a small fireplace that runs on electricity is the ease of use. It is also unnecessary to spend your valuable time (not to mention gas), to make trips to the store to get what is required to keep the fireplace going. The disadvantage is that your electric bill may increase significantly. However, this can be remedied by monitoring the amount of time the fireplace is in use.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.ElectricToday, there are various options to choose from to have a cozy romantic fireplace in even the smallest of spaces. From compact, wall-mounted, tabletop, to a virtual/digital fireplace, there is sure to be one to suite any home or even office d�cor.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.Gel FuelMany may not consider a virtual fireplace as a serious fireplace option. However, before it is written off completely, it should be noted that today's technology has brought the virtual fireplace a long way from the mock fireplaces of yesteryear. Today's virtual fireplaces are basically a DVD that you put into your television or personal computer that creates a realistic illusion of a crackling fire. The DVD loops around and plays continuously until you turn it off.The house has mullioned windows, gas central heating and a cottage garden with well and field views.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.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!
Author: Rick Pocock
No comments:
Post a Comment