Woodburner Smoke in Room: Why would a logburner create a smoky home?

Explore some of the possible reasons for woodburner smoke in the room when using your stove.

If your room suddenly fills with smoke after lighting your woodburner – or if you've been using your stove for a while and there suddenly seems to be logburner smoke in the room – you're probably wondering what's going on.

Fortunately, there are many simple reasons for woodburner smoke in the room — and they're easy to resolve.

Let's look at some of the top reasons why a log burner makes a smoky room.

Air pocket

Is the smoke in your room immediately after lighting your woodburner? It's not uncommon for smoke to seep into the room during the lighting process – and there's usually a very simple explanation for this.

The most likely cause is that a pocket of air has formed in the woodburner flue system. This is particularly common if the stove has been out of use for a little while. The air pocket stops the draw of the smoke up the chimney. With the stubborn air blocking the exit route, the smoke created while lighting your woodburner has no alternative but to come back down the flue and out of the vents or open door of your woodburner.

Stop smoke in room when lighting woodburner

One way to stop smoke getting into the room during the lighting process is by using a sheet of newspaper. Place the newspaper flat on top of a log inside the firebox and light it in several places.

The sudden, intense and even burn of the flat paper will cause a surge of heat up the chimney, which ought to dislodge the air pocket. This will enable your stove to work properly again without smoke escaping into your home.

To prevent it happening again in the future, leave the air vents open or the door ajar when your stove is not in use. This continuous flow of air reduces the chance of air settling in the flue. This is also helpful for reducing the risk of corrosion in the stove system.

Paint curing

Is your brand-new woodburner creating smoke in the room? If so, this influx of smoke is likely to be a short-term issue.

The most common cause of smoke in your room from a new wood-burning stove is that the paint is curing. On most woodburners, the stove paint used to finish the appliances isn’t correctly finished until it has been subjected to the intense heat of a fire at least once (and often three or four times).

The curing process often causes a bad smell, which is sometimes accompanied by smoke coming from the woodburner. 

Is smoke from my woodburner due to paint curing?

If paint curing is the cause of the smoke in your home, it will be an acrid-smelling and fog-like smoke. Obviously, you will want to open some windows and get this smoke out of your home as quickly as possible.

If the smoke is caused by paint curing, it will gradually settle once the stove has been used a few times. At this stage, there will no longer be woodburner smoke in the room.

If you’re lighting the woodburner for a fifth time and there’s still smoke seeping into your home, that would suggest you need to investigate other possible causes of woodburner smoke in the room. It is unlikely the paint would still be curing at that stage.

Poor draw or downdraught

Another cause of woodburner smoke in the room is that the draw of your woodburner flue is not strong enough. A flue system should work by pulling air into the stove through its air vents, then continuing to exhaust gases up and out through the flue.

If the draw isn't strong enough, it can result in smoke lingering in the firebox and ultimately seeping into the room through the air vents. There are several possible reasons for poor draw or downdraught in a woodburner. They include:

Downdraught

Woodburner flue downdraughts happens if your property is in an exposed location, your flue is quite short in length, or there are particularly windy conditions outside. In these cases, the pull of air down the flue becomes stronger than the pull in the opposite direction.

This problem can be prevented by choosing specialist anti-downdraught or rotating chimney cowls. They stop air flowing down the flue so easily, which encourages a strong draught up the flue.

Weak or slumbering fire

A weak or slumbering fire is the result of not adding enough fuel or not allowing enough oxygen into the stove through the air vents. You can easily check if this is the case by going outside and seeing if you can see smoke coming from your chimney. Only the slightest wisps of smoke will be visible if your stove is operating efficiently.

A stove pipe thermometer will also tell you if you're operating the stove at the optimum temperature. If your stove is working inefficiently, creating too much smoke and burning too low, some of the smoke sits and can start to fill the room with smoke from your woodburner.

Burning damp fuel

Burning wood that is not properly dried and seasoned can cause logburner smoke to get into the room. This is due to similar reasons as those we discussed in relation to a weak and slumbering fire.

Your stove is forced to waste energy evaporating moisture in the fuel. This causes an inefficient burn, which in turn leads to a lot of smoke being created and not being pulled up the flue. Once a large amount of smoke is sitting in the firebox, some of it will inevitably make its way through the air vents and into the room.

Broken seal

Log burner smoke in your room could be caused by a broken seal around the stove glass or door. This happens when the stove rope becomes frayed or squashed. Once the seal is not intact, smoke may seep out into the room. This can be easily resolved by replacing the stove rope.

Installation problems

If none of the reasons for woodburner smoke in your room applies to your stove, another possibility is that there is a problem with your log burner installation. In this case, the most likely causes are:

• Manufacturing faults - A crack or gap in the stove body.
• Installation errors - Something was not fitted or sealed correctly on the flue system.
• Flue terminal problems - The flue terminal isn't high enough to create sufficient draw.
• Lack of ventilation - There aren't enough air vents or other forms of ventilation in the room to support a strong draw.

If your woodburner is newly installed, your stove installer will check and, if necessary, correct any problems.

For longer-term cracks and gaps in the stove system, you can often use fire cement to repair the damage.

Staying safe with smoke from a woodburner

If you're currently experiencing smoke in the room from a logburner, the most likely causes are:

• Strong wind
• Poor draw up the flue
• Exposed property location
• Lack of ventilation in the room
• Installation errors
• Stove paint curing
• Air pockets in the flue system
• Broken or frayed stove rope
• Wet logs
• Weak or slumbering fire

Remember: a carbon monoxide alarm is a legal requirement of all woodburner installations and, if you’re experiencing the problems discussed in this article, will keep you safe. A carbon monoxide alarm will warn you about any dangerous flue gases seeping into your room from the woodburner.