Selkirk Chardonnay, Installation And Operation Manual

22

TROUBLESHOOTING 

Expansion and contraction noises during the heating and cooling cycle are normal. Here is how to 

prevent smoke flow reversal: position air intake lever to maximum, slowly open the fireplace doors before 
lighting the kindling, make a torch by lighting rolled up newspaper and hold it out to the smoke chamber until 
your feel the chimney begin to draw. 

A properly installed Chardonnay fireplace should never smoke. If it does, it will probably be for one of 

the following reasons: 

1.  The chimney’s outdoor installation is defective or incorrect, creating draught reversal problems and, 

consequently, making it difficult to start a fire. 

2.  The chimney was not adequately preheated. Remember that the hotter the fireplace, the better the chimney 

draws smoke.  

3.  The fireplace doors or the air intake damper were closed too quickly. Adequate air supply is essential to 

sustaining combustion. 

4.  If the room is too airtight or negative pressure has built in the house and there is no outside air intake, air 

supply to the fireplace will be lower than usual. Temporarily open a window near the fireplace to increase 
air supply. 

5.  Any type of fan (range hood or bathroom exhaust fan) that draws air outside can create negative pressure. 

Shut off the fan and/or open a window near the fireplace to solve this problem. 

6.  Wet wood smokes more than dry wood. The damper the wood, the less heat it generates and the more 

creosote it produces. If the wood being burned is very damp, inspect the chimney every month it is used. 

7.  Make sure the chimney is reasonably clean and unobstructed. 

8.  Check whether the chimney is the recommended height: minimum of 3’ (914 mm) from the roof joint. If 

not, add more lengths of flue. This will improve draw and reduce the fireplace’s tendency to smoke. 

9.  Fireplaces with chimneys abutting an unfinished outside wall often tend to smoke and are difficult to light. 

To prevent these problems, open a window near the fireplace and preheat the chimney by holding a 
newspaper torch in the smoke chamber (upper part of the combustion chamber). Wait long enough to 
establish effective draw, then light the fire. 

10.  Always remove excess ashes before lighting a fire. Maintaining a 1” (2.5 mm) thickness of ashes optimizes 

combustion and maximizes fire duration. 

11.  Use only dry wood, i.e. wood that has dried for one year (15% to 20% humidity). Very dry wood will burn 

very well, but will generate a great deal of heat and will not last.