Occasional downdraft on my stove

I got that quite often on my basement wood furnace. Sometimes real bad. Enough to fill the entire house with smoke trying the different methods.
What worked best and fastest for my furnace was a large window fan jammed right up against the open door. Reverses that draft real fast.
May not work too good on all woodstove door designs

we will not be discussing my various experiments with gunpowder

 

I have had that happen only a couple of times when the stove is cold. Corrected it with lighting a couple pieces of crumpled newspaper on top of the wood and keeping the door cracked an inch until it reversed.

 

I use a propane torch pointed into the chimney opening inside the stove for a minute and crack a window open just a little. Works every time. I have an outside chimney on the northeast side and a basement hearth.

 

Our basement wood furnace chimney down drafts routinely at startup. I always open the nearest basement window before opening the furnace door. I then load a starter pile with crumpled newspaper near the top and below the kindling to create a burst of heat and then close the window.

 

I had that problem at the last house. 17' flue.
I put a couple of crumpled up newspaper right
under the bypass on the Lopi and fire it off.
Worked every time. No smoke in the house.

 

I normally turn the draft with a sheet of newspaper rolled up and shoved into the stove pipe.
What you are trying to do is get the stove pipe filled with hot air. Hot air rises.
Once the hot air starts to rise, it would be difficult to stop it.

Those times when conditions make it hard to get the chimney flowing up, I grab a cheap box fan and stick it over the stove door. In about 5 seconds the chimney is drawing up

 

Thanks for the suggestions! It is currently 43 and rainy here on Long Island. I got home and opened a window in my basement, along with the stove door for a few minutes. Lit a piece of newspaper and it went right up the chimney. Small sample size but these are the exact days that I have trouble with the draft.

 

shop vac output thru hose up flue- does the trick also- what i use to use when i had a wood furnace in basement.

 

I have the same issue. Daylight basement with an exterior chimney. When it's cold I heat the flue with either a torch or a wadded up piece of paper which is usually enough to get the draft going. I also installed an outside air kit to help with the negative pressure from the basement which the stove is to the pressure outside with the outside air kit. Seems to have helped in my situation and opinion. I'd always have smoke dump into the room upon opening the door, now I don't. I don't understand all of the science and physics behind it, but it did change something for the better in my situation.

 

I don't like the wadded up newspaper up the flue trick...when it doesn't work you still have a house full of smoke...hot air from propain/mapp gas torch, or electrons is better IMO...

 

Propane torch is the best. I’ve had that happen and filled the house with smoke. Even using a fire starter like Super Cedars which don’t throw off much smoke work well too.