This morning after the stove was out all night , I tried lighting the stove. Heavy rain outside, atmospheric pressure must have be such that the flue wouldnt draw. Smoke started coming out the secondary inlet air holes in the back of the stove. Scary moment but then the flue started drawing , things reversed and everything was fine.
Had a CO alarm go off 2 years ago with the similar weather change. Lost draft on smoldering fire, with not so dry wood. back flow thru the stove into the basement. CO alarm wen off. CO alarms a must !
I've been on house fires in weather like that. The smoke lays on the ground so thick you came barely see to drive into the area, so much smoke you can't tell which house is on fire unless the flames are showing on the outside of the structure. Not fun,choking in the yard until you get an air pack on.
In weather like this I generally check for down draft before I build a fire in the stove. If I do have a down draft I will take some news paper crumpled very loosely and light it back close to where the flue exits the stove with the door open. You still may get a little smoke but paper flames up pretty quick and within a few seconds the draft will reverse. USUALLY
Got back from Vacation one year in January. -20°f Went to start the stove up, Smoked the basement up with newspaper smoke. couldn't push the -20 air up. Smoke rolling out every orifice on the stove Finally went outside, pull the plug on the clean out "T". Lit newspaper in there, got the draft going in the chimney then back in the house got it going fast, newspaper, some kindling & birch bark to keep it warm. Then aired out the house, basement was worst (used a fan in the wood chute) , cold there with no fire so the smoke mostly stayed. Then started a fire. Learning experience. 20 feet of -20° is heavy, Now I use the Clean out "T" first for new fires if around 10° or colder , less of a smokey mess. A nice extra feature of a "T" With no outside "T" Some say a hair dryer, propane torch not sure, maybe a rose bud tip or weed burner for the cold starts.
Hey Fox, I just got a pair of used Fireman's gloves at a work X-mas party. They are the boss for putting splits in the stove. The guy said they have to replace them after one fire. Love e'm. Now back to the thread. It's like that even in the summer with campfires. Some days they start good and some days they don't due to pressure.
