Can anyone with a log burner assist me please?

[MCR2021]

Hi.
I’m in need of some advice please. We recently moved into a property with a log burner which was swept back in June. I used it for the first time on Sunday night and it all seemed fine- slightly smoky smell Monday morning but seemed to go quickly. I fired it up again on Tuesday, all fine and no smell Wednesday morning. Yesterday (Wednesday) I emptied and ash tray and rebuilt the paper/logs etc for next lighting. Since then the house has smelt really smoky. I aired it all day today and it has not helped. I’ve checked whether something is burning in there, it’s not, and have open/shut vents and that’s made no difference. It’s just starting to concern me now that it’s not shifted after a day of the doors and windows being open and I’m noticing I’m coughing because of it as it my 9 month old baby. I was just wondering whether anyone had any advice please or whether I need to get some help. Many thanks

This doesn’t sound right at all. Either smoke is escaping from the burner or maybe there is a crack in the chimney somewhere? I would start by having the burner serviced by an expert installer (I’m just about to try and get ours done). Do you have another heat source because I actually wouldn’t use a wood-burner or fire with a baby in the house. They’re really polluting inside the home. We do light ours but only on occasion.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/18/wood-burners-triple-harmful-indoor-air-pollution-study-finds

Are you able to find out the model type and download the instructions. This might help you get the primary and secondary air settings right.
Is smoke obviously coming back in the room from the stove i.e. when the room door is open/closed? Perhaps the flue is blocked so the fire is lacking draw.
Has a bird nested in the chimney since it was swept.
I think I would call a HETAS approved sweep or installer as you don't want to cause harm to your family from smoke.
Also suggest that you fit a Carbon Monoxide alarm an essential too.

Yes dont use it until youve had it checked out, and make sure your carbon monoxide alarm is working, you definitely definitely need this.

I'd be interested to know how long the burner was in for before you moved in. Log burners need a good supply of oxygen to draw from in the room they are in, and some installations don't make sure of this (though it's part of the regs) so they are put into rooms which are too well sealed, not enough air supply, which causes them to expirate the wrong way.

Is the smoke coming back down the pipe/chimney? You could try a small fire and see if that works?

I wouldn’t use it again until it’s had a thorough service and chimney swept etc by people who know what they’re doing. Can’t be too careful with these things. Also make sure you had a Carbon monoxide detector in the same room as your log burner.

As an aside (I didn’t realise this until I moved into a house with a log burner) the stove needs a bed of ash - not too thick or thin- to burn properly. We kept emptying ones in holiday homes and then wondering why they were a bugger to get going!

That is not right.
We have had log burners for years and you shouldn't be able to smell smoke like that.

What are you burning on it? Is it well seasoned (dry) wood?

The sweep should have left a certificate detailing any problems with the chimney & wood burner. Have you got this?

Agree it's not right and wouldn't use until it has been swept and checked over - look for a decent sweep who will 'service' it. Try and find the installation certificate.

Is it your property? Or a rental?

We live in a thatch so are very particular about safety around the wood burner. It should not have a smokey smell at all so please don’t use it again until you’ve had it properly checked by a certified chimney sweep. Mine has a camera which they can stick up the chinney to check everything.

Also wood burners can give of carbon monoxide so you should have a detector in the room as well.

*off

Where did you put the ash? My CO alarm on the utility room once went off and it was due to me leaving the bucket of ash by the door ready to take out when it stopped raining. Something to be aware of.

But if it is coming from the stove then you need to get it checked. There is always a slight smoky smell with woodburners which escapes when you load more logs on, but if it is through the whole house then that is a worry. Do not use again until it has been thoroughly checked. Did you get a HEATAS certificate when it was swept?

Is the chimney lined? Unlined chimneys often leak.
Could be height of chimney stack and type of cowl on top funnelling the smoke back down. In a previous house my neighbour chimney would fill my garden and house with smoke and there was nothing I could do about it

Do go outside and check there isn’t a nest or ivy over the chimney.

Probably a stupid question, but given it's smelled all day even with all the windows and doors open: it's definitely coming from the stove not an outside source/a distant farmer's bonfire wafting in? The farmers near us have all been burning over the last week and there is often a lingering smokey smell in the air, although no smoke is visible.
If definitely coming from the stove then (as PPs have said) you need a service and sweep. Has the chimney got a cowl fitted?

To check the seal put in a sheet of paper and close the door - you shouldn’t be able to pull the paper out easily. You may need the cord replaced (quite cheap) but the chimney sweep should’ve checked it anyway.

Check that you have a vent through an external wall and check that it is not blocked or covered.

Also buy a CO2 detector.

Sorry Carbon monoxide detector