It's a bitterly cold day, and you've just lit your woodburner, only to find smoke billowing into your room instead of drawing up the flue. You panic—something must be wrong with the stove, right? Actually, this is a common issue on cold days, and the culprit is simple: cold air sitting in your flue.
On particularly cold days, the air inside your flue can become dense and heavy, creating a cold air plug. This prevents the smoke from your freshly lit fire from rising as it should, instead pushing it back into your home. Until the flue warms up enough to create an effective draw, the smoke has nowhere to go but back into the room.
The key to preventing a smoky room is to preheat your flue before adding fuel to your stove. Here’s how to do it effectively:
Before loading any logs or kindling, place two or three firelighters in your stove and light them. This will generate a small but steady heat source that starts to warm the flue.
Allow the firelighters to burn for a few minutes, gradually warming the air inside the flue. As the heat builds, the cold air plug will be pushed out, allowing proper airflow to establish.
Once you notice that the fire is burning without struggling and there’s no smoke spilling into the room, you can begin adding kindling and small logs to build up the fire.
By gently heating the flue before adding fuel, you’re helping to establish the correct draw from the start. This prevents the cold air from blocking the smoke’s path, ensuring that it rises up and out as it should.
We receive many calls from customers on cold days concerned that there’s a problem with their stove. More often than not, it’s simply cold air sitting in the flue causing the issue. Now that you know how to preheat your stove, you can avoid the frustration of a smoky house and enjoy a warm, efficient fire even on the chilliest days.
If you have any other questions about your stove, don’t hesitate to contact us—our team is always happy to help!
