Good evening everyone. I’ve got a Buck 74 freestanding stove. This is my first year burning but have been burning for about a month and a half now. I was trying to do a cold start this evening and noticed that as after I lit the newspaper to get the kindling going, there was smoke coming out from under the stove where the blower is. Is this a sign that something is wrong? I have the air control all the way open. I noticed it last week, too, but once I got the fire going the smoke stopped coming. Any help would be appreciated. I just want to make sure that my stove is safe to use.
Mine does the same thing at times with a cold start. Most likely there is not an upward draft yet and the smoke needs to go somewhere. The smoke is finding the path of least resistance. I try to use a firestarter of some sort vs a lot of papers (seems to exacerbate the problem) and try to keep the door open just enough to encourage combustion while at the same time preventing too much smoke from entering the house. Once I get an upward draft started, the smoke no longer escapes out of the stove. Do you have a long chimney and/or use a lot of paper when getting your fire started? Also, a very tight house with negative pressure can be a problem as well. At times I also open a nearby window which seems to also help as I have a very tight house. Once you get the fire going you will be good to go.
You can use a small propane torch or "borrow" your wifes hair dryer to pre warm the flue. No sense in smoking out the house. Also check for obstructions.
There should be no smoke coming from under the stove where the blower is mounted. That area is sealed off from the firebox and is below the firebox floor. Either you described this wrong, or wasn’t sure if smoke was coming out of the firebox itself, or there is an issue with the stove, in which case you should call Buck. I highly doubt smoke from the fire is actually coming from the blower area. Make sure it is not electrical smoke from the blower itself. If your description is correct and accurate, then I stand corrected, and you certainly should contact Buck because that would be the sign of an issue. They can assist you. They make a great product. You do not want room air leaking into the stove and going up the chimney…at least not from any area but the stoves air intakes.
Sounds like a reverse draft. It can happen to me too on a cold start. The first couple times really smoked up the house. Is your stove in the basement like mine? It’s never an issue anymore, now that I have a solution that works for me. I take the hose off the shop vac that lives near the stove and attach it to the exhaust side and attach a nozzle (?) that is about 1 1/2 x 3 and very closely matches the air intake of the stove ( which is located underneath near where the blower is located) after arranging the fire ( fire starter, kindling and splits ) light the starter, close the door, and place hold the shop vac nozzle over the inlet before turning on the vacuum (easy to make a mess by blowing ash and dust around) I run it for about 2-3 minutes force feeding the fire and forcing the air up and out. I don’t have to do many cold start in a season, usually just when we’ve been gone for a weekend or something. I’ve also learned to “feel” for a reverse draft as I prepare the fire. I can feel cold air coming in from the top of the firebox. I don’t think you have any real problem, just something that can happen with some setups. You will get the hang of it, and we are here to help. Welcome to the club
I'm surprised that blowing with the vac doesn't just blow smoke out even more, if the flue is cold and reverse draft... Interesting.
I agree with hoytman, no way smoke should be coming out of the blower area no matter how bad the draft is.
If it's only at cold starts it's probably the chimney not drafting well right away. Our True North will back draft thru the secondaries supply at a cold start if the input air is not set to <full blast>. Some stoves the secondaries have their own air source so you can't pinch it down.
Normal for my NC30 on cold starts to poop a little smoke out the back bottom so long as the door is open. See, the draft on these modern noncats sucks all the smoke forward and into a slot above the loading door. If you have the loading door open during startup then room air satisfies the draft and the cold smoke looks for somewhere else to go. The secondary air system is a nice path for that cold smoke to sink out through the back bottom of the stove. Shut the door, even most of the way, and the flue will suck the smoke right back up.
