Wood burning stove-smoke coming from my chimney

nelsbells

Hi everyone.
After having my Firefox 4.5 multi fuel stove installed for 11 months,a couple of days ago I received a letter from the council informing me that a neighbour has seen smoke coming from my chimney.I thought the stove that I bought was smoke exempt so rushed outside to check for myself(i had only just put the fire in and was just waiting for it to get going).when I looked up at the chimney there was no thick black smoke bellowing out of my chimney like I was expecting.it was more like a whispy lightl/faint grey seeping out of my chimney.so I went back into the house and put some larger pieces of wood on to really get it going to see what difference that made to the smoke coming out of my chimney.they were 5"x3",dry, pine noggins that I put on.I waited 5 minutes for the larger pieces to catch and then went outside to check again.still the same.I went back inside and by this time the fire was in full flow,flames rolling and the temperature on my stove thermometer was 400F so I closed the bottom vent.when my girlfriend returned home she told she did not notice any smoke coming from the chimney.I went outside to check for myself and sure enough she was right.it seems that the problem is occuring when I'm getting the fire started and and the vents are open.that is when the smoke appears(if you can call it smoke).however in the interest of being a good neighbour- and not wanting to risk getting a £1000 fine,I would like to know if anyone has any tips or ideas how I can stop the smoke completely as I am a novice when it comes to working a stove compared to some of you guys.I know that I could just use smokeless coal but i tried this today and you still need to burn some wood to get the coal going and the same thing happens.I also have a free supply of dried pine softwood from work(I work in a factory that makes garden sheds)which is the main reason I had the stove installed.to save money.I don't want to keep spending money on smokeless fuel.I am waiting for the chimney sweep to come round.I last had it swept before I had the stove installed.I don't have a liner.

Sorry for the Long winded post.I hope to here from you guys soon.

thozza

When you say you have a Firefox 4.5, I assume that you mean a 4.5kw output?

Hopefully it is a 'cleanburn' or similar smoke exempt model, in which case you should not have a problem with the council as long as you are burning the correct fuel for the stove:-

Exempt appliances that can burn unauthorised fuels
Unauthorised fuels, such as wood, can be burned in exempt appliances such as some boilers, cookers and stoves.

from

https://www.gov.uk/smoke-control-area-rules

If you installed a standard non-smoke exempt model, then unfortunately you might have to change the way that you burn, as officially you should only be burning authorised smokeless fuel, not wood.

alleycat`

You've not really gone into what the council have said in the letter.

Every stove will put some smoke out of the chimney depending on the stage it is in the burn process / when it was lit.

Even if you use smokeless it will put "some" smoke out of the chimney.

To suggest you'd never see anything come out of the chimney is a bit ridiculous?

Unless it's billowing black clouds / you are slumbering wood i don't really see the issue.

We also don't know if you live in an area where you have to have a defra approved stove or not.

Is this your stove:-

https://www.directstoves.com/firefox-5-1-multifuel-defra-approved-stove.html

Finally. Did you get it signed off correctly at install (council) or hetas?

modsandmockers

It's also worth finding out for certain whether or not you are in a smokeless zone - ask a local coal merchant, they are not allowed to deliver coal within a smokeless zone. But even if you are not in a smokeless zone, it is still possible for a council to consider a complaint that the smoke from your chimney is causing a nuisance of some kind.

nelsbells

My stove is a firestorm 4.5 kw.it's the one with chrome vents at the top and bottom and a chrome latch.I went online to find hetas registered installer.I picked one who came out and installed it but I never got any certification in the the post or via email like he said that I would.

The would that I put on my fire is kiln dried softwood or Canadian cedar.some of the softwood does have sap/resin on it(yellow sticky horrible stuff!)but I never put those pieces on the fire.

The letter that I received from the council was a reminder that I live in a smoke free zone.it said that someone had made a complaint about my chimney emitting smoke.when I spoke to the environmental officer over the phone today he was really understanding and easy to talk.there was no talk about fines or any threats of a fine.he just asked me a few questions about what stove I have and what I burn.he suggested I get it swept to be on the safe side and that I just kept an eye on it.he asked for my phone number and said he would give me a call if there was anymore complaints.when I asked if there had been any other complaints over the last 11 months that I've had my stove,he said that it was just the 1 complaint that he received last week.

Am I right in thinking that even a smoke exempt stove will give off a tiny amount of smoke?

matelodave

All stoves will emit a small amount of smoke when being lit, paper & kindling will smoke until the flue is up to temperature and even damp wood will smoke until it's properly alight.

ermine

nelsbells wrote: »

I picked one who came out and installed it but I never got any certification in the the post or via email like he said that I would.

Hassle the dude or report him to HETAS, As they say in their building regs doc

The installer will notify HETAS and you will receive a Building Regulation Compliance certificate

You will run into pain if/when you try and sell your house and you don't have it. You can get retrospective building approval but it's no fun and a git if you are in a chain and selling the house

Am I right in thinking that even a smoke exempt stove will give off a tiny amount of smoke?

Yes - of course. Go around your neighbourhood and use your nose to find the smell of woodstoves, particularly at weekends. You will often see faint traces of smoke.

And do check with HETAS that your installer is registered

Swipe

ermine wrote: »

You will run into pain if/when you try and sell your house and you don't have it.

Only if you leave it fitted. When I moved house I took my stove with me.