Back filing chimney stack

Lodbruk

Last year I had a Multi fuel burner installed in my 1930 s house

Since I have not been using it I have noticed a really bad smell of soot in my living room

I had an anti down draft cowl fitted .... did not help also chimney swept .. did not help
I stuffed the flue/chimney with paper I thought the smell was coming down the chimeny .... did not help

does anyone think filling the void with vermiculite might help The smell seems to be coming from the walls and is worse when the wind blows and the weather is hot ..... ???

Its really really bad I can hardly sit in my living area because of the sooty stink Its definitely soot I have smelt the smell before ....

stuart45

Is it the space between the liner and the brick flue that you have stuffed with paper? There should be a closure plate in the gather.

Lodbruk

no I took the fire thingy off to reveal the liner entrance its the liner I put the paper in I thought maybe the smell was coming down the liner but the smell was just as bad ....There is a register plate I have no access to the outside of the flue liner
Might it be coming through the walls which have been tiled with split brick tiling ??

FreeBear

stuart45 wrote: »

Is it the space between the liner and the brick flue that you have stuffed with paper? There should be a closure plate in the gather.

It really depends on the style of stove and how it was installed - I have a cassette style, and no closure plate is fitted or needed.

OP - Stuffing newspaper in gaps around the flue is really not a good idea. Unless you can remove all of it before lighting the stove, there is a real risk of starting a fire where you don't want it.

A photo of the fireplace may help pointing you in the right direction. If there is a closure plate above the (free standing ?) stove, any gaps can be sealed with a heat resistant mastic. For example - https://shop.vitcas.com/vitcas-heat-resistant-sealant-1300.html
Larger gaps can be plugged with fibreglass rope - I used 1" rope to seal a ½" gap round my stove.

Might be worth calling back the installer to take a look at it. You shouldn't have any soot or excessive smells blowing down the chimney - He should be able to do a smoke test to see if there is any leakage. This involves sealing the top of the chimney and then lighting a smoke bomb in the stove (no, it doesn't go bang, just lets off loads of smoke).

Lodbruk

Thanks for that It was a HETAS installer and I am sure he sealed it all correctly

a smoke bomb might reveal where the soot is coming from .... There is no smell when I am using the fire .... I will give the installer a call though I did this in June and he swept the chimney and fitted a new cowl ..... I am convinced its coming through the outer walls of the chimney from the void ....ie old soot from when it was an open fire ..... I thought perhaps filling the void with Vermiculite would solve it Its driving me cuckoo .....

Frith

My living room used to reek of soot and I found the chimney was leaking very high up. It seems wet soot smells.

Davesnave

Filling the void around the flue is what should have happened anyway IMO, but that doesn't mean doing so would cure the problem, as vermiculite is quite loose and wouldn't prevent the passage of air.


However, if it was filled, it would soon show up any leaks to the room in the area around the register plate.

FreeBear

Lodbruk wrote: »

Thanks for that It was a HETAS installer and I am sure he sealed it all correctly

a smoke bomb might reveal where the soot is coming from .... I am convinced its coming through the outer walls of the chimney from the void ....ie old soot from when it was an open fire .....

The installer should have done a smoke bomb test before installing the flue & stove to ensure there was no leaks from the chimney. Assuming your walls are plastered, there is going to be limited areas where smoke & soot will come through - Most likely point is around any register plate.

Davesnave wrote: »

Filling the void around the flue is what should have happened anyway IMO

Two schools of thought on back filling the chimney with vermiculite. One says do it as it keeps the flue gases hot all the way to to the top and stops creosote forming. Second school says heat from an uninsulated liner will radiate heat in to the chimney and drive off any damp as well as providing some warmth to rooms above.

I have vermiculite surrounding the stove and the first 500mm or so of flue. The remainder is uninsulated. Creosote has not been a problem, and it certainly warms up the chimney breast upstairs and provides a noticeable source of heat for that room.