Barometer in the storm

[L Austin France]

Our kitchen woodie uses a stand alone, totally exposed stack which often gets cold overnight & results in the dreaded temperature inversion problem.
I always light the fires 'top down' using two side by side logs between which I light a piece of scrunched up kitchen roll soaked in the smoke free petrole used in oil heaters onto which I place the kindling etc.
The petrole burns very hot & works well in the kitchen where it is easy to see the inversion has changed over when the flames get drawn up the chimney.
Bung on the kindling & Bob's yer uncle

[Headers]

Thankyou all for your input.
I have tried the top down fire method.
The temperature in the house is 19 to 20 degrees
The temp outside has been between 8 and 14.
The flue is steel and is encased in brick inside the house and the stack is about 2 metres high on the roof of our 2 storey house. So the total flue length is way over 12m
The wood is dry and I’m using small pieces which burn well but don’t gain enthusiasm.
Some smoke is leaving via the flue but not as much as should be. The rest is just rolling around in the poêle and covering the inside with a shiny tarry film - I assume this is because of lack of adequate temperature.
Normally if I had the vent as open as I currently have it the fire would be hot enough to make horseshoes.
This is the first time in 12 years that I have experienced these issues.

[Headers]

The problem is still unresolved. Even with a slightly better barometric pressure the fire is not pulling and smoke everywhere.
We’ve had the sweep out again. He’s checked the flue, the breather pipe. We tried with the VMC off and on. Still no luck. The only thing that has changed is that last year they installed a steel chapeau on the chimney top. It may have to come off again and I will be very cross because it cost a packet to have it installed.

[L Austin France]

The problem is still unresolved. Even with a slightly better barometric pressure the fire is not pulling and smoke everywhere.

Sounds to me like a cold chimney.
Have you tried warming the flue with some form of smokeless heat?
If you haven't got a gas torch or petrole a hair drier on full chat for say 10 mins. might do it. Just be carefull to keep it out of any ash to avoid pulling it through the drier.

[Polarengineer]

What make and model wood fire is it that you have this problem

[Headers]

It’s a Jotul F600. We’ve had it since 2008. This is the first year I haven’t been able to get it going. The flue is s/steel inside a chimney column about 10/11 metres long. We have an under floor ventilation tube. Both checked today for blockages. Nothing found.
Turned off the VMC. No difference. Is it the chapeau they fitted last year?
We’ve run out of ideas now and the sweep has asked for help from Jotul. I’m getting cold….

[L Austin France]

We’ve run out of ideas now and the sweep has asked for help from Jotul. I’m getting cold

Yeah but have you actually tried warming the chimney?

[Headers]

We’ve run out of ideas now and the sweep has asked for help from Jotul. I’m getting cold

Yeah but have you actually tried warming the chimney?

yes we have. So has the sweep. The flue gets hot at the base but no one’s been up on the roof - too risky at the moment too see if it’s hot at the top.

[Bayleaf]

Sorry to hear you're still having trouble, @Headers . It is beginning to sound like there may be a link with that new chapeau. We had a sudden problem of the wood burner not drawing at some point last winter, and it turned out that one of the connecting pipes going up the stone chimney had come adrift during it's sweep. Do you have a guarantee with whoever fitted the new chapeau, to ask them to come out and check it? If it's only a year ago, there should be some recourse?

[Polarengineer]

In this exploded view of your fire, it might be an idea to check that plate 17, which appears to be an air inlet, is in the correct place and that the hole allows air in. And that part 2 is correctly positioned and open to the flue.
https://www.jotul.fr/sites/french/files ... OS4wLjAuMA..