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combustion air and the advice of the
original installer should be sought.
• Causes:
Extreme weather
conditions
High winds or freezing
temperatures can also temporarily
effect the performance of the chimney
draught and consequently its
effectiveness in removing smoke and
fumes from the stove’s firechamber. In
the case of freezing temperatures it is
important to build a larger pre-fire than
normal to quickly provide the additional
heat needed to warm the flue system
and to counteract the much lower
temperatures at the exit point of the
chimney. Please see the section on
lighting your stove on page 18.
• Causes: High winds
If the problem
is associated with high winds and it
becomes a regular occurrence, then
you will need to fit a specialist chimney
cowl. These are designed to provide
a stable draught and prevent specific
types of problems. Specifying the right
cowl should always be left to an
approved installer.
• Causes: Flue Exit
Check, especially
at the beginning of the heating season,
that summer tree growth has not
interfered with the free passage of
smoke and flue gases from the
chimney top.
OVERHEATING OR EXCESSIVE
FUEL CONSUMPTION
This can be caused by a number of
factors.
• Causes: Excessive Chimney
Draught
This limits the effectiveness
of the air controls so that the fire burns
with very strong bright yellow flames
and with very little difference when
the air controls are operated. In such
circumstances an adjustable draught
stabiliser in the flue pipe may need to
be fitted to ensure that the stove will
always operate under a stable draught
to allow the stove’s controls to
function correctly. In the interests of
safety, because draught stabilisers limit
the exit of flue gases from the stove,
they should only ever be specified,
fitted and subsequently tested by an
approved installer.
• Causes: Fuel
The fuel itself may be
of poor quality. For example pine and
other softwoods will burn much quicker
than a good hard wood log, such as
Oak. Please read the section on hard
and soft woods on page 15.
• Causes: Faulty Door Seals
The rope
seals around the firechamber door
could have become worn and may not
create the air-tight seal needed for the
Primary and Secondary air controls to
function correctly. When the stove is
cold, you can easily check this seal by
placing strips of paper at various points
between the door and chamber and
checking that when the door is closed
it grips this paper. Any paper which can
be removed easily would indicate
a weakness of the door seal in that
particular spot, in which case a
complete new rope seal should be
fitted. See the section on fitting a rope
seal, page 38.
