I live on a ridgetop and it's usually windy. I got a new Buck 91 and my chimney temps aren't as hot as they was when I had the non epa stove. When the wind really gets up, it blows the smoke down the chimney smoking up the house. I've been looking at some chimney caps that's supposed to help but not sure if they work? Has anyone else had this problem and if so, how have you solved it? Thanks folks!!!
I don’t have this type of cap but have heard good things about them. Wind Directional Chimney Caps and How They Work | FAMCO Might be worth looking into.
We now have one with fins that spins like a pinwheel, but even the top hat type caps I've not experienced smoke blowing down. Did something obstruct your pipe or current cap?
No sir, chimney's clean as a whistle. It happens when the wind gets above 30mph or so. When the winds not blowing it does great. And to be honest, it even draws pretty well. When I'm starting a fire it will sometimes pull so hard its had to keep the match from going out.
A modern efficient stove on a 8x8" clay chimney is going to be a headache. Clay runs cool, plus you are WAY oversized. I'm sure that's a 6" stove, so that's a 28.26 sq in chimney, you have 64". That slows the flue gas velocity to a crawl, and that, combined with the clay absorbing the heat, is killing your draft...so when you get wind just the right way, bam, draft reversal. On top of this all, a square flue does not draft as well as a round one (the corners cause turbulence) and is harder to get really clean. You can try one of those wind blocking caps, but the best cure would be an insulated stainless steel chimney liner. Draft better, run cleaner, safer, and almost surely stop the draft reversal. (Nothing's ever guaranteed when it comes to wind and chimneys)
Weellll..... the stove has an 8" flue to be honest. And your right, my flue temps are only around 200-300 on the stove pipe, so it does run cooler then my old non EPA stove. I had thought about building a new chimney, but that particular chimney goes thru the center of my home and that'd be very expensive. Plus, I have a really good draft. When lighting a fire on a cold chimney it draws really well.The only time I get smoke into the home is when the wind blows very hard, say above 30+mph.
Ok, if that's an 8"stove then that helps, you are still 14 sq in oversized, but much better...being interior chimney helps, A LOT!
