I've got a Buck 80 insert that's just short of 4 years old. Just the last few fires I can't seem to keep the smoke from rolling out the front when I open the door. I turn off the blower, open all the air controllers wide open, pull the bypass damper open, crack the door open an inch or so for half a minute or so, then slowly open the door, but it still rolls out. Never happened before, any thoughts on what's going on. I did check the bypass damper today before building a fire to make sure it was functioning correctly and it is. Everything else in the firebox looked fine, but I'm no expert on the construction of this unit. Thanks in advance of your thoughts.
Couple quick possibilities; warm temps, clogged system (esp cap) or change to house that tightened it up or something competing like clothes dryer etc.
Warm temps could be a real possibility. From the ground the cap looks open, but tomorrow I'll fetch out the ladder and check it. The pipe got brushed back in July and I've not burned anything that hasn't been css for at least 3 years. But I do burn very low, especially with the weird weather we've been having. Thanks for your input, I wouldn't have thought about warm temps!
×2 Obviously something is effecting your draft. If you've got another reload coming before you can check your chimney. Try opening a nearby window before you open the stovedoor.
See, that's why I love this place, so many good minds. I'm what you might call "slow-smart" I would have come up with the window thing but it would have taken me another week!!!
Do you have a screen up top, over a year ago we had the same problem, our screen was plugging up so we had it removed and we haven't had a problem since. I clean our pipe twice a year from the bottom up so I think some of the screen plugging was done by cleaning from the bottom up.
Good suggestions so far but I'll add one being a Buck 91 insert owner myself. I don't know if you can easily see the stove connector (cast iron collar) that mounts on top of the stove with the 2 L/bolts. Mine was a little off set when I installed and came loose partially leaving a gap at the top of the stove.
Low pressure and borderline temps like this evening will cause a little smoke rollout. I reload before the coal bed gets too low, and open the air up sooner that I would if it was a cold night.
I know outside temps and even wind direction can mess with the draft on my little fire machine. I have a different stove than you, but when I cold start, the door open too wide is just as bad as if I lit it and closed the door. Kinda like goldilocks porridge lol. Is it possible that too much air is escaping up the chimney and unintentionally cooling it down with the door cracked that much?
Only when venting outside... then a dryer sends a lot of air outside, and it can create a negative pressure in a house.
What Stinny said. Bathroom or stove vents, another heating appliance like a furnace, even heard recently of radon fans causing problems. Mostly depends on how tight your envelope is and stove placement within it (stack effect).
That part about cracking the door an inch or so for half a minute seems odd to me. So long as you open the draft fully and wait a minute or three you should not have to crack the door; just open it slowly. By leaving the door open a crack, you are letting a lot of cooler air into the firebox which then goes into the flue and that could work unfavorably. You need the flue good and warm to keep the draft going.
I close the primary air controls so more air gets pulled in through the door. That doesn't help all that much though. You probably have one of the other issues mentioned.
