Why is my wood stove smoking so badly?

I just moved into a house in the Catskill Mountains of New York, and it's getting cold, and there is no central heat! There's a woodstove, but I'm finding that I can't use it because it smokes so much. No matter what I do, every time I open the door to add wood or stoke the fire, so much smoke pours out that it really pollutes the air in the house. This is a problem, because we've got a ton of wood and we really need to be able to burn it to keep the house warm.

The stove is a Jøtul F 400 model, if that is helpful, and I'm attaching a picture below. That 90 degree bend in the stovepipe can't be good, and there's another 90 degree turn to send it back up the chimney, which is 3 stories high and stone and massive.

Things I have tried:

Having a chimney sweep clean the stove and chimney. He said all is well (doesn't mean he's right, but that is his job).

Starting a small fire from kindling and waiting for embers before adding more wood.

Opening the door a crack and waiting for the temperature and pressure to equalize.

Opening the cleanout door under the unit, to allow air in from the bottom to create an updraft.

But nothing works: any attempt to open that door billows smoke into the room.

Is there anything else to try, or is something just wrong with this setup?

Sometimes it has to do with the house being a partial vacuum. When you open the stove, the difference in air pressure forces smoke into the room. If you open a widow just a crack before opening the stove, you may alleviate this issue.

Also, Open the flue all the way for about a minute before you open the door. (all the way to the right) This will help create a better updraft through the stove and up the chimney as well as making the fire a little hotter and thus, less smokey.

Burn only clean DRY wood. Wet wood will always make more smoke and the water vapor slows the exhaust of smoke up the chimney.

Don't stack the wood close to the front of the stove. Burning the fire in the rear of the stove keeps the smoke flowing up the chimney.

If all tat fails, try opening the stove door only a crack for a minute or so before fully opening it. The smoke may be flowing in one direction with the door closed and then in a different direction with the door open. Opening the door suddenly will disrupt the flow of smoke and may cause it to waft out of the stove. Move slowly and you likely have better results.

I don't know if your stove has a side door but if it does, use it. They tend to smoke less.

Jotel has a lot of good info on their website... including videos demonstrating the use of these stoves.

Best of luck.

Make sure your smoke detectors work.

Better safe than sorry.

Hi,

Thanks for the info. Here's what I have observed, relevant to your suggestions:

Sometimes it has to do with the house being a partial vacuum.

Interesting. I can't imagine this creaky old place is sealed tight enough for that, but I'll give it a try.

Open the flue all the way for about a minute before you open the door.

There is no flue control! There's a damper, which I open before adding wood, and there's the cleanout, which I also open. The fire clearly flames up, but the smoke still pours out. I wonder if the missing flue control is a sign of a botched job. Or maybe it's just always open.

Burn only clean DRY wood. Wet wood will always make more smoke and the water vapor slows the exhaust of smoke up the chimney.

I think the wood is pretty dry. The guy who supplied it swore up and down that it's been seasoning for years.

Don't stack the wood close to the front of the stove. Burning the fire in the rear of the stove keeps the smoke flowing up the chimney.

This is hard to do, because I'm trying to close the damn door as quickly as possible because of all the smoke!

try opening the stove door only a crack for a minute or so before fully opening it

This is exactly what I do, but once I open it, it still smokes.

Jotel has a lot of good info on their website

I spoke to the local distributor, and he thinks there's an opening somewhere in the chimney, in the basement, that's causing a downdraft. So I've called the chimney sweeps again. This seems related to your first suggestion though: something is causing the pressure inside the box to be higher than the outside. I hope someone can track it down.

Cheers,
Josh

I thought of a few other things:

If you go into your basement and can see the base of the chimney, there should be a little metal door. Make sure that sucker is shut tight. While you're there, take your camera and snap a few pics up inside the chimney. You may find a blockage that was somehow missed. Aim straight up and use the flash. You'll be surprised what you might find. If all is clear, you should have a tiny picture of the sky.

The other thing is that the rise from the stove to that first ninety degree bend is pretty short. Maybe that could have something to do with it. that being the case, remove that piece of pipe from time to time and clean it out really good. If you're getting a lot of smoke, you may also be getting a lot of creosote in there.

Is the top of the chimney higher than all the surrounding structures? Maybe you're getting some kind of downdraft caused my the wind outside.

These things can be a pain in the ass to deal with when all you want is a nice clean warm fire. I know how it goes. I bought an old farm house with a good Jotul stove and it took me a good two heating seasons to really get the hang of the dynamics.

Here's what I would do next time I started a fire in your stove.

Build a small fire from kindling and slowly add small wood to it to get a good hot fire going. When you're ready to add more wood open the damper all the way. Leave the clean-out closed. As long as the fire gets hotter, you know the damper is working right. Now, close the damper and let the fire die down for a minute. Now open the clean out only ( just a crack). If the fire heats up again, you know that there is no blockage between there and the box. Now close that back up. So far so good.
Now be sure that the clean-out door in the basement is tightly shut. Crack open a window in the same room as the stove and note the draft. Is air coming in or going out? Neutral? Now open the damper, wait a minute and then open the stove door. Take note of the smoke and also see if the draft near the window changes too.

I hope this helps to narrow down where the issue is.

Joshua,

I did a search of "Jotul F400 problems" The website www.hearth.com and others have discussions on it. Since the Chimney sweep is returning can you discuss lighting a fire while he is there. Good luck. Tell us how it works out.

(The stove has a bottom air feed, No chance that is blocked? If you burn a single sheet of newspaper, and add newspaper knots does it smoke up the house)?

@Bill: The air feed seems to work, because I can see the fire glow brighter when I move it from closed to open. But pretty much any fire of any size does smoke up the house.

@Craig:

If you go into your basement and can see the base of the chimney, there should be a little metal door.

I don't see one, and the guy who installed it says that this has no such thing. The stove apparently uses its own exhaust pipe, and it only runs up, not down. What is that basement door thing *for*?

remove that piece of pipe from time to time and clean it out really good

I just had the whole thing cleaned by a chimney sweep and he says it's okay.

Is the top of the chimney higher than all the surrounding structures?

No, although we're nestled against a ridge that rises steeply away from the house, so who knows what the air currents are like.

I'll keep trying your suggestions and see what else I can learn. Thanks for all your help!

Cheers,
Josh

Joshua Frank wrote:@Craig:

If you go into your basement and can see the base of the chimney, there should be a little metal door.

I don't see one, and the guy who installed it says that this has no such thing. The stove apparently uses its own exhaust pipe, and it only runs up, not down. What is that basement door thing *for*?

In my set up, my chimney has two separate exhausts. One is designated for the oil burner which runs my forced hot air heat system. The second one is designated for the wood stove. Each of these chimneys has a clean out door at the very bottom of the chimney in the basement. I suspect this is in case anything falls down the chimney (birds, meteors, ash, soot). When I sweep my chimney I do it from these doors. All the chimney junk falls down to that spot where it's easy to vacuum it up.

So if you remove that "L" pipe on your stove and reach in to the stone chimney, are you saying that there is no way for anything to go down? Only up? There may be too many bends to effectively get a good updraft.
If the chimney is three stories tall and all stone, it could be that the chimney isn't hot enough to create the updraft. How long are you burning a fire? What kind of wood? Aside from being well seasoned, is it stored away from wet areas and out of the rain? You might need to get a good hot fire going for a good day or so to dry out the chimney fully. Is there a cover vaulted over the chimney top to keep rain from falling down inside?


If possible, you may try getting the chimney extended high enough to clear the wind/air disturbance that seems to be forcing air down.


I have to think that the previous owner must have had a way of making it work right. Is there any sign that the house has smoke damage to any degree from this behavior? Can you contact the previous owner and ask questions?

your exaust pipe does it turn up in the chimmeny or strait in , in the second case it micht go in to deep and by doing so create a to small gab to get a good exaust flow into the chimmeny

an other option is to make a new conection just under the ceiling go up from the stove and enter there normaly the stove pipe chould create a stack effect to not have a smoke back
plus recuperating more heat for the room

kind regard karl

Well, I know nothing about that stove except the picture and that Jotul usually has a great reputation. The stove looks really shallow with a HUGE door that appears higher than the flue out the back--I can't see how it could NOT smoke up the house when you open it.

Flew/chimney needs to maintain 300-600 degrees for smoke to exhaust out of your wood stove. Your massive chimney is 3 stories high..Its robbing all the heat needed and stalling out the smoke ..With a cold flew its going to take the least path of resistance and with a 14x28x36 firebox with the 6" flew mounted on the rear with 90s on it and a load door almost the size of the box?..I'm not sure what to tell you.

Jotul is an outstanding scandinavian stove company that has been around a LOOOONNGGG time. Their stoves are exceptionally fine. A couple of observations that strike me:

1. This is a large stove. Designed to heat a large area (1,600 sq. ft.). This stove has a huge firebox!

2. The chimney is huge!

3. You mention 'opening' the damper/air inlet/ draw control prior to opening the door.


These 3 issues are a major cause (and most common) of smoking. If the chimney is an exterior chimney (it appears to be) this is compounded by the cooling effect of the outdoors.

With stoves this large, it is easy to want to load them up and choke them down to get long burn times out of them. Smoke is a product of incomplete combustion… If the stove is oversized for the area that it is heating, people have a tendency to choke the air off to cool the room. This forces the stove to run inefficiently and cooler. The flue should run about 400 degrees constant to keep the smoke moving up the chimney. If it isn't that temp. the exhaust cools and sticks to the inside. When you open the door, the pressure in the firebox is high. But, the cooler / heavier air in the chimney is push the hotter air out of the feed door… Thus, the smoke in the room.


Suggestions:


1. Get a smaller stove. It is better to get a smaller stove and run it efficiently (and get the proper btu's out of it) then to get a big stove and keep it reigned in all the time.

2. With the Jotul; burn smaller, but, hotter fires. This may keep the room temps in a comfortable zone and keep the flue temps higher allowing the exhaust to make it to the top of the chimney and keep the pressure up in the chimney.

3. If you are forced to choke the air down; before opening the feed door, open the air inlet all the way, and get the wood to a free burning stage before opening the door. This will increase the heat in the chimney and increase draw.

4. Think about the chimney as the 'damper'. the chimney is what controls draw… If it isn't drawing air out of the stove, you have no efficiency… and that is bad… and dangerous.


Hope this helps.

Frostymedic

Joshua Frank wrote:

Burn only clean DRY wood. Wet wood will always make more smoke and the water vapor slows the exhaust of smoke up the chimney.

I think the wood is pretty dry. The guy who supplied it swore up and down that it's been seasoning for years.

Wood that isn't dry will sizzle. You should get a thermometer to keep track of the flue-gas temperature. If everything is right, you should have consistent hot gas flowing up the chimney, 600 oF or so. Adding wet wood will drop the temp in the chamber by 100 oF or more.

Consider batch burning and upside-down fires. The normal MO for wood burners is to create a small fire and then throw some cold wood on top. The cold wood condenses the hot gasses coming off the small fire, causing smoke. And as the surface of the new logs starts to get up to temp, the cold interior cools it, also causing smoke. If you put the really big logs on the bottom and kindling on top, some of the heat conducts down, preheating the wood that will burn next. Makes for a smoke-free fire.

People with masonry heaters and rocket type configurations favor batch burning. Basically, you heat up everything and it keeps heating the room while the fire is out. Maybe you could do something like that.

Annoying as this problem is, I'm sure you can eventually make it work.

I've been building outdoor furnaces for a while now, I really think the problem is the overall design of the stove coupled with your chimney... as pointed out earlier, that stove is shallow with a big door, it's gonna smoke unless the chimney is really sucking it up. I don't really put any stock in "it's an X brand" even a mercedes can be a clunker. My opinion is you have 2 options at this point, install a double or even triple walled flue for the whole run of your chimney, or get another wood heater. I'd personally be looking at a larger heater with a deeper design (not shallow) with a rise in the body of the stove before the flue pipe goes out, and with a door that is well below the flue pipe.

Larger heaters aren't as "efficient" but depending on your situation, efficient isn't always best. My current furnace uses quite a bit of wood to heat a small space, BUT... I only have to stoke the fire once a day and run with the dampers fairly well closed. I do have to open it up periodically to help get rid of the buildup, but it's better for my lifestyle than having to feed one every couple of hours.

Ideally, you would do a triple walled flue pipe (this also increases the safety factor exponentially) with a better designed stove. Without changing something, I don't think you'll ever be happy with the results from this one. 3 stories is a long run for a flue pipe....


There was one more idea mentioned that would probably work as well, someone mentioned changing how the flue exits the stove and have it go up a bit before it turns into the chimney/wall... That may help, probably would, and would be the cheapest route...

M Foti wrote:Larger heaters aren't as "efficient" but depending on your situation, efficient isn't always best. My current furnace uses quite a bit of wood to heat a small space, BUT... I only have to stoke the fire once a day and run with the dampers fairly well closed. I do have to open it up periodically to help get rid of the buildup, but it's better for my lifestyle than having to feed one every couple of hours.

Recipe for disaster IMHO. Efficiency in converting wood to heat is everything. Anything else means fuel will wander off as smoke and condense where it can, forming tar. This is bad, especially when it catches fire. I think it was Dale mentioned in another topic, burn small intense fires. That way you need only open the door when all flame has died, and you are left with only charcoal. Yes you have to feed it often, but that's the nature of the beast. If you want to feed it only every few or several hours you need a masonry or other high mass stove.

It is hard to tell from the pictures:

Is the chimney internal or external to the building? if external the stone may be cold.

is the stone chimney lined with a metal flue liner? An insulated double walled flue liner keeps the temperature of the gases high and drafting strongly

when your stove is burning normally and the door is closed does your chimney smoke? An efficient stove shouldn't smoke so this could indicate some other problem. Likely causes are damp wood, overly damping down the draft to the fire, low temperatures in the firebox, and damp or partially seasoned wood.

Someone has already suggested adjusting how you feed the fire to facilitate batch burns - this is a pretty good idea. Load the firebox up high and don't touch it again until it has stopped flaming and you are left with a nice deep layer of glowing embers. Open the stove at this point and it shouldn't smoke. Poke the embers around to open them up and add you next load of logs on top.

Other possibilities - are you also having trouble lighting the stove? If so you may have a temperature inversion where the inside air temperature is cooler than outdoors. You chimney draft is having to fight a downdraft.

Could the exit of your flue be blocked or restricted? Restricting flue diameter at any point along its length can cause drafting problems. Your chimney sweep may have cleared the run of it but not looked at the cap on top? Generally any kind of flue damper is a bad idea - they can lead to smoke backing up into the room, or worse still carbon monoxide, especially if they are closed down at night while the fire is burning low.


Ultimately my money is on the wood being damp or unseasoned.
http://www.woodstovewizard.com/seasoning-firewood.html

Mike

Michael Cox wrote:
Someone has already suggested adjusting how you feed the fire to facilitate batch burns - this is a pretty good idea. Load the firebox up high and don't touch it again until it has stopped flaming and you are left with a nice deep layer of glowing embers. Open the stove at this point and it shouldn't smoke. Poke the embers around to open them up and add you next load of logs on top.

Loading the firebox too full will cause problems. Once he wood is heated and gassing well, there is too much fuel for the available air, so the excess goes up the chimney and condenses. It may also make the room too hot from the high heat output. Leaving space and ensuring the air/fuel is balanced will produce the most heat from the fuel, and as you say, open the door only when the flames have died.

PS I wouldn't leave the door open even when the flames have died, until the smoking problem has been fixed. The same problem may exist, but instead of smoke, the room is filling with carbon monoxide. Leaving the door open could cure ALL your problems.

I have a similar stove, the jotul f500, and had a similar problem. I discovered that the elbow had failed and split apart..causing insufficient draft. I couldn't get the wood to burn very well and tons of smoke was coming into the house every time I opened the door. After replacing the elbow (for about 15 bucks) I'm back in action. No smoke and wood burning much better.
I also wouldn't use the ash door for draft..I was told that using the bottom door causes a "flame thrower" effect and can heat your stove up too quickly. If I need more draft for some reason I open the side door. Not sure if you have one on that model though.
Hope your fix was as easy as mine...happy burning!

It is very rare that there is a problem with the stove, it is always the chimney or wet wood, yours is not drawing properly. The chimney sounds high enough so it will be:
. Air is entering the chimney elsewhere which is providing an easy route, rather than being pulled through the stove. Check for leaks, particularly if there is an ash pit below, or if the chimney is being shared with another opening.
. If the chimney is not lined you are going from a 6" flue pipe into a much larger void and losing suction. The answer to all your problems will be to drop a flue liner down the chimney and connect it to the flue pipe and the top of the chimney.
. The 90 degree angles are really not helping. If you have to have them, take the flue pipe vertically off the top of the stove for as far as possible (keeping a safe distance from combustibles) before going through into the chimney void.
. Don't burn wood which is >20% moisture, preferably <15%.

Hope this helps.

S

Just noticed the reply above about leaving your door open. DO NOT LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN. Sure, it will burn the fuel but you could be putting huge amounts of CO into the room. 400 ppm of CO can kill you, a solid fuel stove can generate 80,000 ppm. I make stoves, not CO detectors, but everyone who has a wood burner should have a co detector.
Just another thought on the smoking stove. If you live in a valley or have overhanging trees etc you may have a downdraft coming down the chimney. A cowl will help reduce this but you should ask an export to have a look at it.
S

You need a new chimney sweep! One who is certified by CSIA, and I mean the one who is working on the chimney, not just the owner being certified. First of all, no single chimney should ever vent two or more appliances. Second, I'm betting if the masonry chimney were to be lined with an appropriately sized and insulated liner (with an appropriate clean-out tee at the bottom), you would be having zero problems. Jotuls are excellent units. Your problem is in the chimney.

Funny but I don't think anyone has mentioned that lime leaching out of the chimney and running down the inside. My money is on an amateur built chimney. Seen lots of them. In my experience JUST a ss liner can double or triple your draft. You are suffering from a sick draft. With a good draft you could run that stove open front fireplace style and never get smoke. A modern gasifier stove could help greatly in terms of efficiency (sorry Jotul) BUT any stove is only as good as the chimney will allow and a ss liner does wonders. 500.00 to 1000.00 off the internet depending of course on your chimney height and install has always been a breeze if you don't mind heights. Figure half a day if you are into do it yourself as I surely am. (that way I have no one else to blame and that's the way I have always liked it:-) Be sure and get an install kit with it.

Hi There, just stumbled upon your smoky stove issue - had the same issue myself and did some research- discovered that horizontal flues are the enemy when it comes to getting good draft in a chimney -any horizontal flue over 12 inches/300mm is a big no-no and should be kept to min length as possible. This is compounded by the fact that modern stoves are super efficient at containing the heat in the firebox (my own is measured 75%) this means less heat to the chimney flue which in turn means slower smoke movement, slower to get to the 35 degrees operating temp for capillary heat movement(draft) up the chimney.
How to resolve: try get rid of horizontals and harsh 90 degree bends, they are trapping slow moving smoke and its easier for the smoke to flow into the room, introduce 45 degree joints and diagonal/vertical flues from the stove. This will allow smoke to flow/escape upwards. Also insulation helps greatly as the chimney gets to operating temp more quickly and retains heat (also prevents condensation and premature aging of flue liner)
Hope this helps cheers

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Hello Folks, New to this forum, found it while researching a similar problem with my Drolet wood stove. My problem is the same,but the actual cause was the insulation blanket at the pipe outlet being sucked up after high winds and blocking the exit. The supplied weight is not enough, I fabed 2 steel bars to hold the blanket down. Does anyone have any ideas on removing the insulation altogether?
Thanks,Brian

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I Expect that I am not alone in saying the Drolet Wood Stove is un-known to me, It is a Canadian stove and Is imported to the states, I guess because they seem willing
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To many of Your fellow members who heat with aRocket Mass Heater have experienced Extreme Metal Fatigue, and Embrittlement when an area that was supposed to
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With all the suggestions I haven't seen to many that deal with what the problem is. I have seen a few that are part of the problem and these need to be addressed. This is vent or exhaust. Your outside pressure is overpowering your firebox. So look at obstructions for sure. Your problem is the design of this stove and the horizontal outlet or vent. For this stove to work well, you should cut a new exhaust in the top of the stove, or at least remove the elbows from the 2 I see (which means there are 3). This stove wont vent properly until you have a single elbow immediately after the rear vent, then go straight up.. Your problem is the stove is sensitive to this even with the single rear vent. Now that you have added elbows that sensitive stove cannot compete with outside pressure because of it.

If you haven't found a solution to the smoking issue, let me relate my story. My Basement wood stove had a drafting issue and was very difficult to get started and had back draft problems and smoking whenever the fire got low. One day when trying to get the fire going and having a tough time of it, I stepped outside and noted a surge in the fire. Wow, what a difference. Thereafter, I opened the door whenever I had to start the fire or reload the stove when the fire was low. But, unless I wanted to leave the door open there was still smoke issues if the fire was not roaring away. I attached remake air from outside which did not seem to make a lot of difference, but the line was only 1 1/4 inch, I think now double that at least would be notable. Then one day I read about a draft assist fan. It cost around $140.00 bucks and I read some negative reviews regarding the not air tight fit, and when it arrived I noted it said not to place within 2 feet of heat source or let it get over 90 degrees F. So I talked to the company tech who advised "do not put it close to a bend but that I could place it outside in the horizontal section. So I placed it outside where a little smoke leaking is no issue and there is no chance of it getting to hot. It has a reostat which I wired to the inside of the house (no problem) and set it on high sometimes to start the fire if I don't have pine kindling around, and otherwise leave it on low. Wow, no more smoke issues. I could almost dance a jig. One problem I had was if I turned it off and it set awhile the fan would stick and I would have to reach the stem with long nose pliers and turn it to free it up. After doing this twice I elected to just let it run on low all the time, Electric use is not notable and because I had run in remake air from outside, it doesn't pull heat from inside. In reflection I wonder if I could of got off cheaper by buying a heating duck assist fan which is the same size and looks exactly the same only it is silver vice black. Because It is located outside in a low heat area I think I could have, and they run about $60.00 bucks. I have run this unit all winter from November and even still when it gets cold. Life is great without smoke in your face. Just look up draft assist fan on amazon and it should bring it up. You cut a rectangle slot in the side of the pipe and attach with 4 screws. The paddle wheel fan dipps inside the pipe and helps to pull the draft from the stove on out. The pull is strong enough that when you take the ash out of your stove if you keep the can or box tilted in the door it will such all the airborn ash up and out the chimney. Good Luck.

Joshua Frank wrote:I just moved into a house in the Catskill Mountains of New York, and it's getting cold, and there is no central heat!  There's a woodstove, but I'm finding that I can't use it because it smokes so much.  No matter what I do, every time I open the door to add wood or stoke the fire, so much smoke pours out that it really pollutes the air in the house.  This is a problem, because we've got a ton of wood and we really need to be able to burn it to keep the house warm.

A friend of mine had the same problem. We fed a bore-scope camera down the chimney and found that something had built a nest on the shelf above the fireplace and was plugging the flue.

Also, does the stovepipe go all the way up the chimney or just through the brick? That could be a problem.

I'm new to this site, so maybe my answer will help others with this problem, if not the original questioner. I am familiar with the Jotul stove though mine is a newer model, and I have had this same problem. On the back of the Jotul (in this same configuration) is a manifold held in place with a couple of bolts. There is a rope gasket between the manifold and the body of the stove which can get burnt and deteriorate through repeated exposure to hot gases. This will cause a leak (smoke) preventing the stove from getting full draw. The manifold and flue have to be removed and a new length of rope gasket cemented into place. Also, weekly additions of Chimney Cleaner powder (many makes) onto a bed of hot embers will limit the creosote build up. Also, with a well drawing flue all talk of pressure balance etc... throughout the house becomes moot. Hope this helps.

This is an ancient thread but in case anyone scans it looking for answers here goes.  The massive chimney matched to a modern stove would be where I would focus my attention.  There is no mention if the chimney is lined but if not it should be.  A chimney must be able to carry hot air all the way up to the top to create a good draft.  That stove is fairly modern so is using most of its heat to heat the room.  That chimney unlined would suck up massive amount of heat from the exhaust.  It would take hours if possible at all to establish good draft conditions in it.  It should be lined with stainless or a draft inducer installed.  I would vote for a liner.
Best regards, David Baillie

This may be of help to all woodstove owners out there, but particularly Jotul owners. When I bought my new Oslo F500 six years ago, I foolishly opted for the enamel finish in dark green, because it looked very attractive. I am now paying the price for my folly. The finish on the top is flaking off. Contrary to what the Jotul rep has to say, I have never spilled anything on the surface that has been allowed to boil, and all that Jotul, through the dealer (Friendly Fires, Kingston, Ontario) is prepared to offer me is a bottle of touch-up paint, at my expense. A very poor response and a band-aid fix. Further, that colour finish is no longer an option, so I cannot replace the entire top even if I wanted to. However, I have come up with a good solution, and which also has become a blessing in disguise. When I removed the top, (very simple, three small bolts, two front one rear), I discovered that the insulating blanket over the baffle was covered in almost two inches of ash, severely affecting the ability of the stove to draft. I am a heavy burner; continuous from late September through to May, six to seven cords. A few minutes with the shop-vac cleared all the ash out. A local metal fabrication plant is going to sandblast off the top's enamel finish and powder coat it. A far tougher, industrial finish, much better than Jotul's brittle enamel. A lesson well learnt is that maybe I should remove the top every three years and clear out the ash, replacing the gaskets at the same time.

I will add my experience.
I have an apartment in an old house built 1911. The ventilation was supposed to work through the fireplace, but the draught was miserable because it was no longer used for daily heat (the house now has central heating).

I had this wind-powered fan installed on top, and now I have perfect drauhht.

Those wind turbines work well. Unfortunately, they will not stand up to the heat of a wood stove.

However, I have used a rotating chimney cap with some success. Typically for temporary stoves with chimneys that were too short. They use the prevailing wind to create a wing effect (low pressure area underneath) to increase the effective draft.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Those wind turbines work well. Unfortunately, they will not stand up to the heat of a wood stove.

Douglas, the one I got was designed to tolerate the heat from a burning stove. That is why it is stainless steel.

Kaarina Kreus wrote:

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Those wind turbines work well. Unfortunately, they will not stand up to the heat of a wood stove.

Douglas, the one I got was designed to tolerate the heat from a burning stove. That is why it is stainless steel.

Thanks, Kaarina! That's useful information. I haven't seen those before.

The knowledge base here just keeps expanding. Amazing!

I don't know how is it called in english, but here are some links. I am sure you can find it in your local hardware store.

https://eskon.fi/palvelut/mekaaniset-hormi-imurit/

https://www.netrauta.fi/hormi-imuri-spiroflex-o130-mm-ruostumaton-teras

https://www.hanakat.fi/verkkokauppa/vedonparantaja-turbowent-200mm-lattamalli