House smoke out, where am I screwing up?

If the screen on the cap was clogged then very plausible. If it were mine, I'd extend it more whether they said it needed it or not. It can only help. Also is there some sort of plate up there to keep critters and moisture out of the chimney? If not there should be.

I was just about to ask why it doesn't have a cap too lol.

 

Anything is possible, and if they say screens can be an issue... I'd check that first.

 

very plausible. just like shutting a dampener (if you had one, will drastically affect the flue and draft). I didn't read where you had it running fine then all of a sudden it started smoking you out? from this thread it made it seem like its done it since it was cold?

 

Yes it is. More so if your wood isn't the best. The screen can wind up looking like a black "chia-cap" with the buildup that can happen.

 

After speed reading your other thread it seems like your wood may not be well dried either. Honestly I would order another two cords (or harvest your own) and start.... hoarding Stack the wood up nice on pallets etc. to keep it off the ground and wait a few years. You can even pull one off before winter next season and split it in half and check the moisture content to see where you are. It wouldn't be a bad idea to look for somebody with a cord or two of pine to get you through this winter (depending on how cold it gets there etc., you may need 4 cords). I'd get a moisture meter and pick some of their splits out and split them and check the moisture content before you order or pay for any wood.

Wet wood will also gum up your cap pretty badly as well....

My plan of attack if I were you:
Get more oak and stack it in an area where it will see generous wind and sunlight if possible
Let that oak sit for a few years and continue to hoard more, if I were burning oak I'd try to get this year what I'd need in 3 years
Get a few cords of dry wood whether it be pine etc. and check it before you buy it, I've never met a firewood guy that does refunds on wet wood
Extend the stack by 4 feet up on the roof
Make sure there is a block off plate on the claytile liner up on the roof to avoid critters and moisture on your new beautiful stove
Get a chimney sweep to inspect everything at the end of this burn season and do a sweep
Drink beers

That's just what I would do, this is a great thread with lots of info. I hope you get it resolved and hope it helps somebody in the future.

 

Your exhaust is blocked. Check the cap and liner first. If you need to, get a professional chimney sweep to check it out. If that's OK, pull the insert back out. You need to check the simple things first. If that is all OK then your only option is to install some sort of draft inducer.

 

Pop the cap off and lower a flashlight down the chimney. Look at it all the way down. Does your insert connect to the liner and make a good seal?

 

Would a plugged exhaust act up from cold weather? It went from working to not at all in one day. It is a bit confusing to my "logical" mind.

 

I can tell you that a cat can (and does) if it gets surfaced clogged go from burning just fine to not maintaining a fire, in one burn. The build up on the surface is gradual, and you don't see a change in the burn. Then you may have one fire that is a bit frustrating...next one, cat is totally clogged. So, I would say that yes, you can have a mostly clogged flue or cap that seems to work fine until it reaches the critical point, then just stops drafting.

 

That's what I am getting at. If it worked one day and not the next, something happened to it.

 

When you mentioned your insulation is settling in the walls, it makes me think of the "stack effect." Air leakage in parts of your home could be causing the draft to reverse down your flue. My parents house has this issue on a low pressure weather day. We have lit a lighter stick in the door of their stove to see the flame being pushed outward.

Is there any way you can check with your insert cold and not running to see if a candle, match or incense stick blows outward from it?

There are a lot of good tips here to help you.

 

Here is my expert opinion, even though I'm not an "expert"!!

But seriously, I would check/try these two things:
1. In the picture you posted above showing the chimney liner hanging down into the open fireplace just before installing the insert, there seems to be ALOT of liner hanging down. How exactly did they connect that section of liner to the outlet on the insert, and what happened to the excess 3' or so of liner? Did they push it up into the chimney? Did it get BENT/kinked? or did they cut it to the proper length.... ? THAT could be your flue problem. I'd call the installer and ask that question,

2. If your little valley is a problem for flues in general, I would install a "Storm shield" or "Vacu-cap" type cap on the top. These are weather / storm designed caps that create a positive draft because of the way they are designed. Check these out and try installing one, they help ALOT. I have 2 of them on my house (oil burner and wood stove chimneys), and all my issues went away after I installed them.

Couple different ones, I use this first one (Stormshield) which works really nicely for me:
http://www.volkosupply.com/products.cfm?category_id=26&subcategory_id=43&id=26&thiscat=0

http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Stack-Wind-Resistant-Chimney-Cap/dp/B0013KW180

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Chimn...ey-Caps/Vacu-Stack-Wind-Resistant-Chimney-Cap

 

Are you talking about this picture? :


If so, the liner that is showing hanging down was from the old propane insert and not the new current one.

If I recall right, that is maybe 3" diameter

 

Yes, that pic. Oh, ok. So you can eliminate that part. But I would suggest trying one of the weather caps.... they induce a nice draft. My oil burner had problems/puff backs for 15 years. I burned guns out, nozzles, electrodes and fire sensors on a regular almost weekly basis. I had 5 to 10 different burner guys look at it over the years, none could ever solve the problem. I change the entire burner out, still same problem. Then I had an engineer have a look at it, and he measured my chimney hada negative draft. He suggested a vacu-cap. I installed the Stormshield cap, and I have not had once single issue since (3 years ago). (knock knock knock on wood of course!!!) So I installed the same on my stove, which runs great.

 

I misunderstood too, I thought this was a problem from the get go. I had my cap clog the second year since my wood was so-so and it was a colder year, one day I loaded up and smoked out the house. When I went up on the roof I couldn't believe how clogged the screen got and it was working fine one day and not the next. Hope its that simple for you, if that's a problem because of so-so wood at least you can clear the cap every month or so.

 

Sorry about that... yes, this is sudden onset on a fireplace that was working.

I'll see how my picture of the cap comes out but it looks like black bubble gum at the end of a silver straw

Chimney guy is currently here but he commented I should look at an oversized arrestor.

 

And he left.

My smoked out house issue is fixed. Smoke goes up and out the chimney. No issues with leaving the door open while trying to start the fire.

But my ability to start/maintain a fire still sucks

 

What did the chimney guy find?

 

Smoldering fires or wet wood, or both.
Inability to start/maintain a fire sounds like less than ideal wood.
Was the solution a good cleaning?