Hey everyone we have a f 50 tl. This season we have been battling smoke coming in when we load the stove after it has been going. We also have a lot of smoke a lot of the times when starting in the mornings. I have cleaned out the stove pipe and the stove We need to find a cure my wife is saying we may need to stop burning... Any help would be great.
I have the same stove but no backsmoke issues unless the draft is reversed during a cold-start. You say you cleaned the stove pipe but did that include the chimney pipe too? How much chimney pipe is above the roof? You might need a stronger draft, just another piece of chimney pipe can make a huge difference. Also, check the chimney cap
Never had a smoke problem before this? Check the cap. Very common for the mesh to get plugged, especially in wet weather and low burns. It doesn't have to be totally plugged, just restricted, to cause smoke issues like you described.
Are you reloading during the burn cycle, or waiting to the coaling stage? I usually don't open the door unless a split rolls to the glass and I open the door to poke it back. I open the primary air first for a minute and let the draft increase and then crack the door open slowly. During the coaling stage when reloading, there is really no smoke left. If you are loading during the burn cycle when the splits are off gassing, the disruption of opening the door could cause it. We also don't usually burn over 45 degrees outside due to slower draft. If we do, we use pine or other dry softwood for quick hot fires. Have you looked into the "stack effect" which can cause reverse draft. There should be a thread here about it. Something to consider.
Do you run fans in the stove room? If so, turn them off then re load. That is what I have to do. I have a short stack, so not the best draft. Once it gets going it's fine, but I get the occasional smoke spillage during reloads, particularly if my ceiling fan is left on or the little window fan on my floor pointed at the stove. Usually I just reload and get the door shut as quick as possible.
Found the problem!! I did not spend enough time cleaning the cap!! I have a viper cleaning brush and I kept banging the cap with the end of the brush. I could not believe the chunks that came down. The cap looked a little dirty from the ground but it was partially plugged. Here is a pic before I cleaned it
