Bad Draft???

Very nice chimney Berlin!! I have always had a great respect for masonry and the talent it takes to be good at it. I always notice chimneys as I drive along somewhere. Again the Victorians were tops at building majestic chimneys that worked. If you look at old houses where the chimneys were supposed to function, the chimneys were always built way above the roof line no matter how tall or steeply pitched the roof is. And the better quality houses always had the chimneys built internally rather than on an outside wall. Your chimney looks like it needs a fancy base burner at the bottom of it.

What I am going to do with my chimney to make it work better since it is a modern, outside chimney that works only so so is to extend it up, put a nice corbelled top on it and install some clay chimney pots to extend the length even further.

Yes, 2' is the minimum as posted earlier. Higher and internal is always better. 8x12" might be quite a large volume to keep warm in an outside chimney pulling on an efficient air tight coal stove. The extra height will be a big help. The link below states what Berlin is saying - chimney top higher than the roofline it penetrates

Anybody know if this code is still current? It's copied from the link I had posted earlier on page 1.

• Extend the chimney to provide a minimum of 2 feet clearance to all roof surfaces and structures within 10 feet of the chimney and 3 feet above the highest point that the chimney penetrates the roof (i.e. the side of the chimney furthest up the roof slope). This is a national code, outlined in section FG503.5.4 of the International Fuel Gas Code.

Berlin - that's some fine looking brick work! How many flues are in there?

Vig,

As far as I know that code is still current. I had my chimney inspected a few years back when I installed my wood burner and the height above the peak was one of the first things they measured.

thanks. it's not my chimney/home, but the siding is similar to the cheap grey siding I've used on my house that chimney has two flues, fireplace and furnace, both logan clay tile, interior chase is block backfilled between interior/exterior chase and interior chase/tile liner with vermiculite (a lot of vermiculite). Rebar on all four corners all the way to the top tied horizontally every few feet to block and brick. All lead step flashing. 4" thick concrete cap (this is the biggest pain with chimneys of this height and size when doing all the work yourself - hauling concrete up there). Most importantly, it's about 8' ABOVE the peak.

I'm On Fire wrote:Vig,

As far as I know that code is still current. I had my chimney inspected a few years back when I installed my wood burner and the height above the peak was one of the first things they measured.

There's a good resource for codes on the Virginia state site:

http://www.ecodes.biz/ecodes_support/Free_Resourc ... _main.html

You can read the codes but can't save or print them. Since many states use the same codes, with some modifications, it's handy to have all of the references in one place.

Available are:

Construction Code
Residential Code
Maintenance Code
Fire Prevention Code
Building and Fire Code Related Regulations
Rehabilitation Code
Plumbing Code
Mechanical Code
Fuel Gas Code
Energy Conservation Code

freetown fred wrote:Now that I see--looks like more then 2 or 3 ---at least 2' over ridge line & that cap will work fine just remember to place your tiles as you go.

Yes, I'll second what fred says.

Berlin wrote:Insulation is great (pearlite or vermiculite between tile liner and chase), and so is a hot and/or interior chimney, but these things don't make or break a chimney's performance, height does. With an exterior chimney, any and all faults in design - specifically height in relation to the home - will result in poor performance even while hot, cold start downdrafts and backpuffing in windy conditions. All these chimney problems can be solved if you go high enough. When you think you've gone high enough - go higher!

I've never built anything to the 10/2 rule, I've always exceeded it and I've never had a poor performing chimney, never. Here's an example of exceeding the "rule" by quite a margin, it's a chimney I built recently and produces amazing draft in any conditions:

Super nice chimney. Real nice job, I like it .................and the siding is also super nice (I have the same on my "cheap" house...
nortcan

beautiful chimbley! length matters.

Hi All,
I haven't been posting much, as it gets too controversial and time consuming.

This sounds very much like my original problem, which was the subject of my first posting on the site.

IMHO, a short chimney won't cause a bad draft "all of the time" ... maybe when the wind is wild, etc. .

I would first, open a window in the stove area. If the draft reverses, it's due to a lack of combustion air in the house. If the open window helps, you have to find a way to bring outside air in. Also, putting a piece of pipe on top of the chimney, "for a test", might preclude increasing the chimney height with more masonary. The lower the stove in the house, the more chance of poor draft. Open a window on the second floor, air will be going out. Open a window in the basement, air will be coming in. First floor, practically no air movement.

This is what I have experienced and helped me solve my draft problem. Also, I've had better luck with coal than wood, as the draft creating heat is more constant, plus it uses less air.

In my 50 yrs of stove use,I've found that a properly put up chimney will solve those lack of draft problems--an old farmer friend's son built a house so tight he had to slam the doors to close them--his chimney goes about 6' above the roof peak & has no problem draft wise--how high is your chimney dallas? the kid has to keep his bedroom window open at night just so's not to get cooked out from the wood stove.

I can't believe that a few more blocks will solve your problem.
Have you tried removing the cap ?
Is the clean out door closed and tight ?
Do you have any tees on your inside pipe ? ( tees are draft killers )
Did opening a door or window help ?

Believe it tsb---tried & true

I have no Tees on my pipe. I have also tried opening doors and windows to correct the problem. The only thing I can try now is higher blocks. Will a bad draft cause a fire not to produce as much heat?

PaWoodDog wrote:I have no Tees on my pipe. I have also tried opening doors and windows to correct the problem. The only thing I can try now is higher blocks. Will a bad draft cause a fire not to produce as much heat?

height is the problem, I've spent a lot of time rebuilding or adding height to problem chimneys, in all cases it's dramatically increased draft so that problem chimneys are no longer problems. Make no mistake, there are other factors that contribute to the problem, but, as I mentioned, having the stack the proper height will help diminish their influence. Yes, bad draft will cause a cool fire with little heat.

tsb wrote:I can't believe that a few more blocks will solve your problem.
Have you tried removing the cap ?
Is the clean out door closed and tight ?
Do you have any tees on your inside pipe ? ( tees are draft killers )
Did opening a door or window help ?

A few more blocks, Probably not. After seeing the picture, I'd say about 6 blocks should do it. Leave the hat on. If that's the morning sun hitting the front of the house, no doubt the west wind is comming over the peak, and pushing down the chimney. Remember tsb, not only does the chimney not draw good, smoke is pushed out the stove, and into the living quarters. To bad that chimney isn't closer to the peak.........