I had a Franklin freestanding cast iron wood burning stove and we did this:

Sprinkle logs in the fireplace with salt. The salt on the wood reduces soot, leaving you with a clean fireplace. Make sure you do it before lighting the fire.

Now that I live in a condo, I also do the above.

I think it sounds like you must have creosote built up & you're not getting enough draw on the chimney. This can happen especially with a mild winter. I don't know if those Creosote logs work or not. DH gets up on the roof & cleans our chimney with a cleaner apparatus. I don't think I would take a chance, but would have have your sweeper/inspector come again. Creosote itself catches fire & you sure don't want a chimney fire.

Good point about the chimney fire, Bee. I forgot about that. I heard back from my DS, who said the snow/ice should be melted off the roof by this weekend, and he can clean the chimney then. He has the rods and brushes. Meanwhile, I think I'll burn some oil. I've been spoiled this winter; the oil burner has been turned on maybe three times.

Thanks, Bee and Glenda!

Hi, Susan,

No, I would not use a Creosote burning log in your wood stove. The only way to remove creosote safely from a stove pipe or chimney is have it removed by someone who knows exacty what they are doing. A chimney fire also does the trick but I am sure, that is what you would like to avoid.

Call a Chimney Sweep in the morning and have it taken care of by an expert. He/She can clean it and advise you. It could be a combo of warm weather and a few pieces of greeish wood, you never know. You have been using this exact stove in this exact configuration for many years, I think you know what you are doing. This year is a bit of an anomaly, right?

You might ask the Sweep if your horizontal pipe leading into the flue should be at more of an angle. When our stove was installed, several years ago, our installer insisted that the horizontal pipe leading from the stack to the chimney flue had to be installed with enough of an upward angle to insure that the hot air/smoke/exhaust was always rising. Just a thought.

Good luck, Susan. I'll bet if you call a Sweep tomorrow you will find out that you are not the first to call with such a problem. Warm winters are frustrating for those who burn wood.

sooey
who misses her wood stove a bunch.

Sounds like it needs a good scrubbing to get creosote out.

Or...sometimes you can warm up the chimney a bit first to get a better draw. You might try opening the damper and stuffing a wadded up piece of newspaper up in there and light that to let that little bit of smoke warm the chimney up a bit, then light your fire and see if it has a better draw from being warmed up first.

That horizontal piece of pipe looks like it would easily keep the smoke from exiting quickly if there was some creosote buildup plugging things up. Our pipe has an angle near the top, and I know the smoke sometimes hovers there before it goes out the top of the chimney.

Oldgardener, I'd be afraid that piece of newspaper would be just what the chimney needed to go on fire. :-)

Actually, the smoking situation has progressed to the point that it emits smoke all day, whether the chimney is hot or cold.

Sooey, thanks for the thoughtful advice. I think you should get yourself another woodstove if you miss yours. I had the chimney professionally cleaned for years (and the sweep okayed the horizontal pipe, although I see why it could be a problem). Then a couple of years ago my son started doing it himself to save me the expense, and that has worked out well. I don't know if you saw my post (just before yours), but it looks like the chimney will get cleaned this weekend. Meanwhile, I'm not planning to use the stove.

Still not certain about the sweeping log, though. Some of the reviews say it loosens up the creosote, making it much easier to remove from the chimney. That would be nice....

I was raised in a house with a wood buring stove as our sole source of heat. Your stove pipe arrangement does not appear unusual, but I do recommend more slope for the horizontal run.

Most old time wood burners had a damper in the lower part of the stove pipe. I did not see one on yours, but that function could be in the stove itself.

By your description, there must be an obstruction in the smoke outlet somewhere. Since you have cleared the pipe, the obstruction must be in the chimney. Does your chimney have a clean-out trap at its bottom? It should have one. If there is one there, during daylight hours, open the trap and insert an inspection mirror - a mechanics mirror will do fine. In fact, any mirror that fits the space will work. A mechanic's mirror has a handle and adjustable angle of the mirror making it convenient to use. You should be able to see daylight up the chimney. If you can't, its time to look for the obstruction. The chimney could be blocked by a dead bird or animal. If the fire had been out for a week or so, a squirrel or raccoon could taken up residence in there. If you have a tree or plant with branches within a foot or so of the roof, squirrels can easily access the roof. A squirrel can easily jump a 2 ft gap at the end or a small tree branch.

This year we have had smoke problems also, I think because the mild temps. We have cleaned ours 3 times and shortly after cleaning the smokey problem comes back. I've learned how to adjust the dampers to help control it some. I do miss having it open with the screen so the fire can be seen, but enjoy the warmth.

Go to this website... (below)
These guys are really great about responding to questions quickly. And some experts are online frequently.

I got a new stove this year with a catalytic combuster...those guys were invaluable in helping me learn about it.

I am sure someone will give you good advice, quickly.

Here is a link that might be useful: stove forum

Could be that the gaskets/seals around the doors and other areas are bad, that would permit smoking. We had to have ours all replaced at one time.

Oh yes, check the gaskets as bigack suggested, since the stove smokes all day.

If it was mine I would consult a professional that is nothing to play around with according to records over 200 people die a year due to fireplaces and carbon monoxide poisoning. Many people do not realize that is a problem when using a regular fireplace/wood burner but it sure is. If you are having that much visible smoke that you can see and smell just imagine how much of the invisible non smelly gas is getting into your lungs. The way your flue has a double hard bend may be why you are having these problems, Take a look at this info and please have a professional look at it, cleaning is good but cleaning may not be what you need.
Chimmeys & Carbon Monoxide

do you have a carbon monoxide detector in that area? if not you definitely should have.

CARBON MONOXIDE The Deadliest Gas

Birds built a nest in there?

ole joyful

We replaced our gasket last weekend, after we found a flat spot that was leaking smoke if the damper was real low. Can you see where the smoke is coming from? I have had no experience with the cleaning logs. We burn about 2 cords of wood a year and have never required more than one chiminey sweep call to clean it.

Thanks so much, everyone. I should have been clearer in my description. The stove smokes when I open the door, not when the door is closed. My son misunderstood my meaning on this, too.

He took a look down the chimney this afternoon and found it clear except at the point where the stovepipe enters it. I removed the pipes and found them badly encrusted with creosote. I removed quite a pile! The wood I burn has been well seasoned, so I'm not sure what caused this.

I hope the removal of the crud will solve the problem (I haven't fired the stove up yet, but when I do I'm going to check around the door and around where the pipe enters the chimney to see if we're losing draft in either place.

I again recommend sprinkling salt on the logs.

Glenda, what does that do exactly?

Salgal, I meant to thank you for the link. I had been looking for a site like that one.

Raven, I do have a carbon monoxide detector--two of them, actually. Good point about the gases.

Jem, there's no clean-out opening at the bottom of the chimney. I don't know why.

cleans the soot Trust me it works_

Is the damper completley open? If it isn't drawing properly it will go out the easiest way which would be the door. I never heard of the salt idea but googled it and Glenda is right, it is a big help. It also says the creosote burning log has a lot of salt in it. Glad you mentioned that Glenda. Looks like we have more winter than we have wood, so I will be shutting ours down a few days.

Although you reported you have seasoned wood, there are some types of wood that tends to soot a chimney anyway. Woods in the evergreen family are loaded with pitch and tars, spruce being one of the worst. I do not recommend firing with spruce, however, you might be able to burn a few pieces after the fire bed is already established with a good bed of coals. The better woods are maples, ash, elm (well seasoned), birch, and oak.

Always start the fire with kindlihg made from the better variety of woods adding lower quality pieces only after the fire bed has been established. If the fire is to be burned for a short time and then allowed to go out, stick with the better buring woods. Short term fires do not heat the chimney liner enough to clear away deposits.

wish we had a fireplace! can't believe both houses in ca and wa had them and we move to mi and none!

i'm very big on having a pro come out and check the chimney too...often they have cameras these days and can really check the interior from the roof down...

Our firewood is from our own property--maple and ash. Although we'll have some apple wood in the mix in a couple of years. I know that's supposed to be great for burning in the fireplace (smells good), so I assume it's okay for the woodstove.

When I need kindling (I don't use much), I use scraps from my cousin's furniture making--kiln dried stuff. I also use sticks of fatwood when necessary.

Does anyone know if we can reclaim a woodstove that hasn't been used in about 10 years or more, and has rusted? It, too, is a Yotul, but a smaller model. We have no need for it at the moment, but eventually my son will want a woodstove in his house. I was thinking this one might be good in the basement.

We've burned wood for heat for years. Have had three different installs in as many different locations. Looking at your installation, I see several problems.

1. You stated that the chimney has no cleanout...so that means that all the creosote over the years has been collecting at the bottom of the chimney. That debris really, really needs to be removed. That's going to mean a lot of vacuuming to remove it. Having a cleanout installed would make life a lot easier but, short of that, remove the debris after every chimney cleaning. It's just not a good idea having all of that fuel for a chimney fire accumulating at the bottom of the stack.

2. A whole lot of tight bends in the single wall stovepipe. I count 3 ninety degree bends. And there is that long, nearly horizontal section of pipe. All that twisting and turning is making it really difficult for the smoke to exhaust. Heat rises--or wants to; the long horizontal section of pipe is working against that and allowing the smoke to cool somewhat which leads to more creosoting problems. The pipe needs to be reconfigured, using 45 degree elbows. And the pipe needs to be angled up to the masonry chimney. Remember that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. By angling the pipe, the smoke will travel a lot shorter distance to get to the masonry chimney. And softer bends (rather than the sharp 90's) will make a huge difference. (I eliminated the two 90's in my shop heater last winter using the 45 degree elbows--smoke problems--and was amazed at the difference it made.)

45 degree fixed elbow:

The link below explains some causes for the smoking and also talks about the "creosote burning logs" and the salt that Glenda suggested (which is not recommended).

You'll need to go about halfway down the page to find the information.

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ

I bought one of these heat exchangers from ChimneyHeaters.com and it is Stainless Steel. The rest of the pipes in my house are Copper and some plastic. I get a tremendous amount of heat from this thing and I am worried that it will melt the copper or plastic tubing.

The heat coming out of the Chimney Heater is about 190f does anyone know if this is to hot for the copper or Plastic pipes in my House?

Here is a link that might be useful: Chimney Heaters

Could be a bird flew in ...

... built a nest in the flue ...

... and neglected to take it with him/her ...

... when s/he flew?

Lacking a clean-out door at the bottom of the flue, you could likely use a mirror in the opening where a pipe enters.

But it would be a good idea to get rid of that accumulated soot at the bottom - it could make a real good fire!

In which case ... you'd better hope that there ain't no chinks in the chimney! (That should really be "any" instead of the "no": double megatives aren't helpful in the case of potential house fires!)!

ole joyfuelled (sometimes full o' hot air)

You essentially answered your own question. It's commendable that you know to burn a hot fire rather than a smoldering one. That's the way to keep creosote from building up, but then you say you turn down the inlet. Well, think about it, what will that do? Smolder. And that's your creosote problem.

Salt, cleaner logs and other as seen on TV myths are no substitute for proper handling of fires. Fire is good, but it can be dangerous. Yes, you'll lose a little heat that you want to keep inside by having the fire roaring, which means it needs to be fed often, but it's still the safest. For extra heat recovery, get some of those fins on the stove pipe to get extra surface area.