What Causes A Smoky Fireplace?

No matter how hard you try, you just can't figure out why your fireplace keeps spitting out smoke at you. We'll show you some reasons why backdrafting occurs and some methods you can use to help prevent it, so you can start enjoying your fireplace.
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[@mansooralqahtani5419]

Great explanation,we have another trick we do in Saudi Arabia,I don’t really know who invented it or thought of it,but it is common here,so we put a pipe built inside the chimney structure from the sides from the top till the middle,the trick is that when smoke gets out,Air has to be replaced,so it comes down through the pipe built on side of chimney,when air comes in,it comes warm because the pipe is warm,this way you get warm air,with no back draft or smoke and you don’t even need to open window,the problem with it is that in summer when it gets hot and dusty here,bad air and dust could leak in,but we have other tricks for it,i hope I explained it well

[@omanhaddadtbh]

Watching this as I’ve got backdraft in the room currently 😂

[@Brovioli]

From my experience as a chimney sweep, the two main things are getting the fire hot enough to get the draft going, aswell as having the actual opening properly sized to the smokechamber and flue. ive seen many fireplaces that have wayy to large of an opening for a 13x13 terracotta liner (which id bet that most of you reading this who have a fireplace also have this size flue connected to it). and that necking down is just as bad for the draft as for example, running a 6inch pipe from a woodstove into a 8x13 or 13x13. You can always get a glass door to put infront of your fireplace to help keep the heat inside while starting a fire to start sending that heat up and getting a draft, and it also helps with evening out the flow of air so the amount of air coming in is more equal to that 13x13 terracotta flow rate creating an even stronger draft. Those firestarters are great for fireplaces, because they burn hot quickly, and with minimal smoke. Perfect for starting a fire on a cold day when the pressure is flipped in the chimney.

[@michaela.2261]

I’ve lived in the same house for 22 years and never had a problem. I just started having problems with smoke coming into the home because I put brand new windows in the house , very tight .now I open the window and everything works fine.

[@nathanjohnson2744]

Iv been watching your videos and like most of them. One thing I would recommend is slow down the screens with the typed explanations. I had to pause a few different times or rewind to catch the last few words.

[@walk2miles]

Great info. Thank you so much

[@Angel_HippieCityHealing]

Buying my first home and it’s older so I’m having the fireplace inspected but I’m trying to learn all I can. Thank you

[@davidmoore2699]

I love your work

[@Jeesus_Loves_You]

Thanks for making these videos. 👍

[@silentspeaker2255]

Thank you so much. It helped me a lot

[@GABRIELSANTOS-ic3ei]

Good info. Thanks for sharing. I'll start with getting my flute checked. The try the window method. I'm so pretty sure the furnace was kicking off and on. Thanks again.

[@jdubdoubleu]

Thanks. Im a 100% good'ol fashion city boy, and don't know sh*t about fireplaces.

[@figster414]

It happens bro, now you know so welcome to the country 😉

[@2wheeled76]

Thanks for the video!

[@Didymus1984]

I go to KZbin precisely to **avoid** having to do any reading. Just kidding-great video. Thanks!

[@gurkan61514]

You are the king man, i solved problem with opening a little window opposite the fire place to reduce negative air pressure

[@farida7777777]

Thank you sir.

[@disasterprophet]

Nice video !!!!! thanks

[@Gracia144JesusSaves]

🖐️♥️.Thank you for sharing youre insights its importend to know especialy for people in different countries who still have one and dont have central heating ,and in cases of snowstorms and extreme cold .

[@AllWeatherFirestarters]

Cool video!

[@bsmith4804]

Thank you

[@johnbriscoe5932]

Good primer on the subject. It can require some investigative skills to take care of the problem but first you have to understand what you're dealing with. From a 33 year Master Chimney Sweep.

[@sonjal2933]

0:44 brought me here 😂 thanks for the info

[@grahampalmer]

Good info but the video text needs to be displayed for a good deal longer in my opinion. I kept having to go back and review in full the messages as they came and went so fast.

[@ianthompson1928]

You can pause the video or rewind it if you need longer time.

[@jerryhoughton1869]

What about free standing Ben Franklin fireplace stoves?

[@robertaponte5894]

Hi sorry for the ignorance but how long do you have the damp door open after a fire

[@stevesmith9221]

If there's heat, there's smoke.

[@visano.]

Does the surface of chimney roof has effect on the direction of the smoke flow? Usually it's flat but mine is gable roof

[@stephenallen9786]

I live in Tampa Florida and have been here my whole life of 51 years. I am a custom sheetmetal fabricator who has just about mastered my chimney cap and spark arrestor skills. With that being said, a poorly constructed or no sign of up keeping of a roof cap can and will cause bad air flow. When I create my caps I try to include a inner flue (stainless steel for hot gasses leaving) and a middle flue (galvalume for air intake) there is a thrid flue (galvanized for keeping heat inside the flue to help protect cheaply built chimneys without a fire brick). The main cap will have a 3" collar that the before mentioned flues will come up and thru and a spark arrestor installed having both a stainless steel inner flue and a middle galvalume flue both separate for correct air flow. Then I fabricate a windscreen that is installed that will hide the spark arrestor but it will but installed 3" up from the outside cap edge. This 3" gap with the 3" collar combined with the windscreen creates a well enough flow that allows most fireplaces to perform safely. I havnt checked my Instagram in a while but you might be able to see some of my work. Just type in my first and last name, StephenAllen. Hope this helps!

[@knellwal]

My upstairs neighbor burns their fireplace and the smoke comes down into my apartment. It's 11 degrees outside; can’t really open a window. Any ideas?

[@christophermullins5416]

I've got a fire place with two front doors and a fan. Do the same rules apply. As well it hasn't been used in probably 15 years or so. So my question is who or what type of professional do I need to have inspect and clean everything?

[@American-OutdoorsNet]

Christopher Mullins you can do a search in your area for ie chimney sweeps and also contact local home inspectors for a referral. 15 years tells me to wait until I know for certain it is in safe working condition before I strike that first match. Thanks for watching.

[@christophermullins5416]

@@American-OutdoorsNet ok cool thank you for the fast response. Your video's are awesome and very knowledgeable.

[@diannaberg3503]

I have 2 handles in my fireplace . One is the damper and I dont know what the other is for. Can you tell me please?

[@American-OutdoorsNet]

Hi Dianna, do you have any photos?

[@roryconrad1503]

We have a home built in 1949. The fireplace smoked as a woodburner so we put in a gas log. It still smokes, making the ceiling and mantel etc. smokey. We had the local HVAC man come and put an extension on the chimney to make it a little taller hoping that would fix the problem. Still smokes the same amount. We don't want to use an electric insert because they don't put out the heat we would like, and we have already spent quite a bit to get where we are. Any suggestions?

[@American-OutdoorsNet]

From what you said it sounds like either an obstruction or a leak, and it is almost always the obvious and the simple. So simple we tend to look past them initially. Confirm the flu liner is clear and sealed. Confirm the top plate on the chimney is intact and the proper cap for your current heat source has been installed. Gas caps are not the same as a cap for a woodburner.

[@roryconrad1503]

The fireplace we have is a brick and mortar fireplace. It was a wood burning fireplace. It smoked. We had a gas log installed. It still smokes. We had them add an extension to the chimney to make it higher than the roof peak. It still smokes the same amount as always. The company who did our work said the chimney was clear. Any more suggestions, please?

[@stephenallen9786]

Add a smoke gaurd, which is a small piece of metal across the top edge. This will help with helping the direction of the smoke to exit and at the same time let the heat to radiate. Make sure your using dry wood as mentioned in this video oak trees take about a year before it gets to a dried out state that burns well with little smoke. Hope this helps.

[@kelloggskelloggs6185]

Es verdad, mi casa tiene ventanas muy herméticas y el humo se regresaba, despues de ver este video abri solo un poco la puerta y la chimenea funciona perfecto

[@steveb7714]

I had this experience this morning (to the point where it was almost like the damper was closed !!) and your video helped me understand the potential reasons why, thank you. On my fireplace, I also have a fan system with vents top and bottom on the surrounding walls. When this fan is on, I notice only one set of vents is producing warm air. Are the others intakes? If so, where does this draw from?

[@Bowinja]

The fan system isn't to feed air into the fireplace. It circulates air around the fireplace to warm it before putting it back in the room but not through the fireplace where it would pick up smoke. You are right, one vent is the intake from the room.

[@steveb7714]

@@Bowinja Thanks for responding to my question, bit paranoid right now to risk going through the smoke filled house experience again with that fireplace but an open window nearby and warming up the flue beforehand will get me back on that horse again before winter's end.

[@kevinmoore9203]

@@steveb7714 keep the doors shut while the fans are running. They tend to suck smoke out of the fire. Shut then off before opening

[@cognac8297]

If a log is on fire and you put it out quickly or turn then log and it stops burning that will smoke out the house too

[@paul91124]

Hello. my metal wood stove start leaking smoke,i'd already cleaned pipe but still leak,please tell me,thanks.

[@Brovioli]

Is the male end going upwards into the next piece? If the pipe is going around the outside of the one above it, thats backwards. and the smoke can leak around the edges instead of flowing on up the pipe. Crimped end goes up.

[@darrenmaloney7884]

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[@bobabooey8367]

Jimmy Page Physical Graffiti

[@celticqaidbear]

I got back drafts when its very windy. Fireplace is a zero clearance unit.

[@American-OutdoorsNet]

Celtic Bear elevating the chimney even a bit over the roof peak can make a noticeable difference. Thanks for watching.

[@celticqaidbear]

@@American-OutdoorsNet small peaked roof, chimney is clear.

[@Brovioli]

also consider getting a wind cap. It rotates in the wind so the smoke comes out going with the wind, and the wind cant really blow back into, unless it got stuck and wouldn't rotate with the wind.

[@watchyelamp2771]

I like your videos..but the written parts need about 4 MORE seconds added, because I gotta keep backing up throughout some of the videos. (kinda cumbersome.) once that's done, you can remove this comment. (;

[@happycamper-ux5pv]

is ok to burn bone dry pine cedar in the fireplace

[@American-OutdoorsNet]

Yes, you can burn any wood that is dry.