Smoke Coming Out of the Stove When the Door Is Open: How to Fix It?

You have a stove or fireplace in your house to heat the house. When you see your house dirty with dust and smoke, it’s extremely annoying for you. However, despite the reluctance, you often see the smoke coming out of the stove when the door is open. It is common for you to find smoke when reloading it after opening the front door of your wood stove. Unfortunately, things like wood-burning stoves are just that and more so. Fortunately, we can do something about this annoyance.

Although most stoves emit minimal smoke, wood stoves make it even more annoying. When wood is burned inefficiently in a wood stove, there is a strong possibility of smog in the fire. Basically, the most common source of smoke is when the door is opened to reload your wood-burning stove.

The Reason Why Is Your Wood Stove Smoking-

There are a number of reasons why a wood-burning stove is smoking. Here’re some of the notable ones.

1. When Burning Unseasoned or Wet Logs

One of the reasons for smoking is unseasoned or wet logs burn in the stoves. Unseasoned wood has high moisture. The problem with burning wet wood or logs on the stove is that it produces more smoke than usual. Thus, wood needs to be sufficiently dried for use in a fire. Seasoned wood is always stove-friendly.

2. If the Door Opens When the Flame Is Strong

The stronger the flame, the more smoke will be produced. Get more smoke when you want to open the door in such a situation. The initial stage of a strong flame is the initial stage of burning by removing moisture from the wood. 

3. When the Fire Didn’t Get Going Well

If the stove is not lit properly, there is a high risk of smoke. Before starting a fire on a wood stove, it’s important to make sure that the vents in the stove open all the way. Spread the fire evenly over the wood by burning paper in a few places across the stove, and keep the stove door open to provide adequate air supply. 

If there is no air supply to properly light the fire, or if the wood isn’t used dry enough, it’ll be difficult to light the fire, which can start producing smoke.

4. When the Stove Is Too Cold

Too cold a wood stove can produce smoke to ignite a fire. If the stove is too cold, the cold air trapped in the stove can put pressure on the fire and can produce smoke in the room.

5. When the Wood Is Too Cold

When the wood is very cold, the wood can burn inefficiently and the fire can produce smoke. At least one day before burning the wood, it should be brought outside cold and heated to room temperature. The wood stove door should be left open for a while before adding wood to the stove to adjust the temperature of the wood stove. Hot wood doesn’t spread smoke.

6. When the Chimney Is Blocked

Smoke is often generated when the chimney is blocked. Chimneys and flue should be cleaned at least once a year for this. Burnt wood can reveal creosote, which can disrupt the flow inside your stove, reducing the effectiveness of supplying a draft to the stove, and generating smoke.

Also, smoke is generated when the fire is lit too small, or not fully lit. Smoke can be generated if the stove door is closed immediately or if the damper is fully closed.

What to Do, if Smoke Coming Out of the Stove When the Door Is Open?

When you see smoke coming out of your stove, you need to pay attention to the following points.

1. Don’t Reload When There Are Flames

When you first load wood, there is an open flame and lots of smoke inside your wood stove. Stove doors should never be opened to reload wood in such a situation. You’ll get a lot of smoke at this time.

2. Use Seasoned Hard Woods

Burning wet or raw wood always produces more smoke. Seasoned hardwood always burns efficiently and will give you smokeless heat.

3. Reload the Wood to the Back of the Stove

When you reload the wood stove your wood should be loaded towards the back of the stove. When the stove door is opened, if there is a load of wood back the stove, there is less chance of smoke coming out of the wood-burning stove.

4. Turn Off the Air Near the Stove

Turn off all air before opening your wood stove door. This will spread the smoke all over your house as soon as you open the stove door. If there is some smoke inside the stove, leave it there.

5. Check the door before opening

Check the door a bit before the door is fully open and wait left for up to 30 seconds to set for the pressure to equalize between the stove and the room, and then slowly open the door.

6. Wait for the flames to go down

The stronger the flame, the more smoke will be generated. So, you shouldn’t open the stove door when the flame is stronger. You just have to wait for the flame to go down.

7. Check the Chimney

Your chimney or flue should be checked regularly, and you have to be certain that the flue pipe is clear. These affect the efficiency of your stove. And the causes of more smoke production. Your chimney or flue should be cleaned once or twice a year.

Finally, your stove is your asset. If you don’t use it properly, it’ll not take long for it to become a curse for you. Hopefully, following the steps above will keep your stove well and you will participate and make a fauna-friendly global environment.

Related Post:

• How to Stop a Fireplace From Smoking
• How to Reduce Smoke in Your Fire Pit