Smoking  Causes And Troubleshooting; Negative Pressure In The House; Fans Operating (E.g.: Range Hood); Wet Wood - Osburn STRATFORD Installation Instructions Manual

2.2.8 Smoking  Causes and Troubleshooting
To reduce the likelihood of smoking when opening the door, set the combustion air controls to
the right (accelerated) before opening the door. Your fireplace has been designed and tested to
provide smoke free operation. Occasionally, there may be a small amount of smoking upon
lighting the fire, until the chimney heats up but this should not continue. If the fireplace continues
to smoke it is probably for one of the following reasons:
A. Negative pressure in the house
As the fire burns, air goes up the chimney. This air must be replaced through leakage into the
house or through the fresh air kit. When operating the OSBURN STRATFORD, open a nearby
window temporarily to check if there is adequate air supply replacement. If opening a
window solves the problem, the house is under negative pressure.
B. Fans operating (e.g.: range hood)
These fans draw air out of the house and may actually cause a negative pressure in the house.
Turn off all fans and open a nearby window to determine if this is the cause of the problem.
C. Wet wood
Wet or tarred wood will smoulder and smoke instead of burning properly.
D. Dirty or blocked chimney
Check to make sure the chimney is clear and clean.
E. Chimney not long enough
The minimum system height is 15 feet (4.6m) including the height of the fireplace itself. The
chimney must extend at least 3 feet (915 mm) above its point of contact with the roof and at
least 2 feet (0.6 m) higher than any roof or wall within 10 feet (3 m) of it. When installed with
offsets, the minimum system height is 15 feet (4.6 m) to 17 feet (5.2 m) as per Table 1.
Additional height will increase draught and will decrease the tendency to smoke. If only the
minimum chimney height is installed, operating conditions must be optimal (interior
chimney, minimum height of 18" before any offset, etc.).
F. Poor chimney draft
With no fire, there should be sufficient draught to exhaust cigarette smoke introduced under
the baffle. Chimneys installed against an outside wall without protection may generate back
draught problems which will cause start-up problems. To prevent this, open a nearby window,
roll up a piece of paper and light it. Then, hold it in the upper part of the firebox to warm up
the chimney. Wait until the draught is sufficient, then start the fire.
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