There is something rather wonderful about the crackle and hiss of an open fire or the warming glow of a wood burning fire. The aromas of burning wood seem to make a room feel comfy and cosy and yet if your fire smokes or you have other problems with the efficiency of this appliance then it could ruin the magic altogether. Since fires are such a focal point in any room you will spend a lot of time looking at them so it is important that they do not smoke.
Exactly where can the main problems with open fires arise? There are several things which owners of open fires believe may present a problem but the main issues will probably be that the fire smokes, that it doesn’t heat the room efficiently or that it looks bad. So what can you do to rectify the problems in open fires that smoke?
First of all you need to establish what it is that it causing the fire to smoke. It might be that the chimney is not performing correctly and thus not creating the right conditions for the smoke and gases to be drawn up the chimney. There could be external factors affecting the performance of the chimney such as where it is situated or it could be that poor performance has lead your fire to start smoking. It could be that in the past someone has changed the original fire in some way and as a result it doesn’t work. New chimney pots on the top, re-lined or rebuilt chimneys, new fire surrounds or register plate, renovated fireplaces and many other things can cause these issues.
If you suspect it is the chimney itself that is to blame then you need to establish whether there is something wrong with it and perhaps contact a chimney sweep or engineer to identify and address this. There are certain scenarios when smoking fires will not be a problem such as the occasional smoking caused by extreme weather conditions or a cold flue – this will not be indicative of a serious issue.
When experiencing problems with open fires often the easiest way to resolve the issue is to carry out maintenance. Maintenance may include removing the build-up of soot and tar, or removing obstructions such as leaves and birds’ nests, which can reduce the size of the flue. By putting regular maintenance into place many of these problems can also be avoided in the future.
If you have open fires that smoke why not visit our website for some helpful advice?