# something to stop smoke blowing back down a chimney



## GubMan (18 Apr 2008)

I've a 2 year old dormer on an elevated site in the corner of a field and its a windy site.  With the weather over the last few days being windy and cold, I put on a fire (nothing new in that, lots of fires there before!).  This time though, the room filled with smoke, huge gusts of it being blown back down.  I couldn't believe a few briquettes could make so much smoke, it smells like we lit a bonfire in the house now.  Are there any products on the market that I can put on top of the chimney or whereever, that can stop the blowback?  This has only come to light now but I don't fancy having to stop lighting a fire when the wind comes from a certain way??  Help.


----------



## Squire (18 Apr 2008)

If this is the first time it has happened in two years as you suggest then there is a probability that a bird has built a nest in your chimney. Rod it and get a guard for the chimney pot.


----------



## GubMan (18 Apr 2008)

Thought the same myself, but I have a potguard on the top of the chimney and the chimney is clean, checked it first thing.  The problem seems to be the wind?????


----------



## Superman (18 Apr 2008)

You are looking for a cowl -
there are different types available.
Static or Rotating:
Perhaps you should talk to a rep from some company about the most suitable for you:

[broken link removed]
[broken link removed]

[broken link removed]


----------



## sydthebeat (18 Apr 2008)

+1 on the advice for a cowl.....


----------



## GubMan (18 Apr 2008)

I knew someone on here would have the answer, thanks s-man.  I'll pop into the local builders providers and see what they'll charge, looking at those links, they appear to be approx. 100 euro.  Anyone know of the best place to get for for less than that or is that the kind of budget I'll be looking at?


----------



## selfbuilder (18 Apr 2008)

I had a very similar problem with my chimney.  When the wind would come from the north we would get a serious downdraft.  Our house is a dormer built on an elevated site and i could not understand how there was a downdraft.  I have tried a number of different cowls and presently have a H cowl which i bought online.  I still get a downdraft sometimes and always check the direction of the wind before lighting the fire!


----------



## GubMan (19 Apr 2008)

Just got a Colt Top 2 cowl today for 40 euro, brought it home but it was too windy to put it up, will try tomorrow.  Chap in the shop quoted 250 for the spinning variety, another supplier quoted 160 for the same type.  not sure if it'll work, given the last post, but we'll have to see.  Can't really stop lighting the fires on the weekends, herself likes a fire with the bottle of vino!


----------



## flattea2 (20 Apr 2008)

Would posters recommend raising the chimney as next best solution?


----------



## GubMan (21 Apr 2008)

Flattea2, I was up on that chimney on Sunday, fitted the cowl correctly, lit a few briquettes and we're back at sq 1.  The house now smells like an encampment!  Disaster!  Ive 2 chimneys for 2 open fires at either end of the house.  This chimney is the only one we've used (the other is in the kids playroom/TV room), but when up there I looked accross and saw the other chimney appears to be maybe a foot higher.  The chimney pot itself on the problem chimney is about 1-2 feet above the height of the apex of the dormer roof, which itself is probably 10 feet back (the chimney is a stand alone chimney at the front of the house)

This is not good, never had a problem with this in 2 years and now we've a smoke filled house.  I also hear we don't get Northerly/Easterlys that often but we've had to have had ones in the last 2 years, surely.  

Also noticed a hairline crack around the chimney breast externally, about 5 feet from the top.  Looks like a plaster issue only though.

Anybody have any ideas about what is the next step?  We're up at a high elevation with very little rising ground behind us and we've a 120 metres distance and 8 metre drop to the lane/roadway in front of us, so I can't see adding a couple of feet to the chimney doing anything for us. 

Also, what the hell can I do about the smell of smoke in the house, its everyehere now and it appears that the continuing downdraft is continuously feeding the smells back into the room, with attendant soot etc.  HELP!!


----------



## secman (21 Apr 2008)

We do not usually get an easterly wind for a prolonged period, this is going on for over a week now, obviously this is causing your problem as you never had it before. The good news is that our normal westerly wind is returning on tuesday. Glad to see the back of the cold easterly. Can't help on the cowl , will be interesting to see if problem is gone with the easterly wind. Often wondered about the spinning ones, after a while do they get noisy when spinning, can they be greased ? , could be another problem , especially with a dormer.

Secman


----------



## GubMan (22 Apr 2008)

SEcman,

The wind appears to have changed today, the papers I placed over the fire ope are now being sucked back into the chimney, as opposed to blowing out into the room, so your theory stacks up!  I had a friend tell me that the 55 degree pitch roof will be bouncing the wind back at the chimney stack, creating a swirling wind that will dispupt the airflow, so the only answer appears to be to raise the chimney a few feet and don't put fires on when the easterlies are about!

Now all we've to do is totally clean the room(s) as there's a nice layer of soot on everything!!


----------



## stickman (9 Dec 2011)

Raise the grate by 2-3 inches,this stopped blowdown's for me.


----------



## Leo (9 Dec 2011)

Note this thread is more than 3 years old.


----------

