Almost managed to kill myself last night. Be warned.

[Pablo]

Let me preface this by saying that I am originally from Miami Florida. We have no fireplaces there. So this might sound weird, but I have little to no experience with them or dealing with cold weather in a home in general. Growing up I don't ever recall even using the heater in my home.

So I just got back in last night from a much needed vacation. My girl and I were tired from a 12 hour drive and it was cold so I threw some wood in the fireplace and started a little fire. In the time I have been living in this house I have used the fireplace only a few times.
We were setting up the Christmas tree and eventually got tired and got ready for bed.
The fire was on its way out in the fireplace and the bedroom was still cold. All the lights were out so I walked out and flipped the heater on. My girl was already passed out and I was really beat and was just about to pass out in bed when I noticed that I could smell a little more of the fireplace then I thought was right. I was this . close to disregarding it and just falling asleep when I had a second thought and got up.

When I got out to the living room I realized the house was full of smoke. Like enough to kill someone given enough exposure.

Through the fog of my mind and confusion I figured out that the heater was creating a vacuum in the house and pulling air from the chimney. I had to quickly put out the fire and open every window and door in the house. Completely airing it out took a good while.

Now I don't know if this is common knowledge for all of you, but it didn't occur to me that the heater would pull such a vacuum considering it was putting the same air right back into the house.

It scared the crap out of me thinking that I and my girl could have just died in our sleep from smoke inhalation. Granted, my room has a smoke alarm but I had never paid it much attention. It does work, I tested it after. I would hate to have relied on that to save me.

So if you haven't checked your smoke alarms, maybe this little story might be a good inspiration to do so.

And if you guys can tell me whether or not this phenomenon is normal I'd appreciate it. My girl is from Colorado and it was a surprise to her too.

 

[chopped39]

That is strange.But it does make sense. High efficency units probably would not do that because of the exhaust and the intake are outside.My buddy almost lost his girlfriend and her 4 kids to a similar problem.We were out repoing cars and drove past his house. we stopped to use the washroom.I walked in the door and by the time I got to the bathroom I started getting a headache.to make a long story short. A racoon fell down in the chimmney and died.Her and all the kids were sick but all ok.thank god.

 

[TT/Ameasap]

Thank God you are alive! Did you ever clean the chimeny before you lit the first fire? I am guessing either the damper was barely open enough to pull the smoke up or chimney is clogged with creasote and needs cleeaned...Combined with the vacuum of the furnace...... I have a wood stove and a fireplace and never had that problem before.So, if I were you, I woud get the chimney sweeped first(if you havnt already).....Then see if you have a damper (like a throttle body blade thingy in the hole)and look for and adjuster handle or chain....Open it all the way up (WOT)... I would light a piece of paper in there with the heater on and see if that fixes the problem. If not, call fireplace company and have someone come out.

HTH
Bo

 

[jcawley3]

glad your ok...I would get that chimmney checked out and cleaned.... I burn alot and never had that happen. Damper may not have been fully open. CHECK THOSE SMOKE DETECTORS PEOPLE!!

 

[S2V6RACER]

You house has insufficient make up air. You need to add a cold air inlet to the return air plenum of the furnace. It is common that it will also pull air from the bath fans and or the hood over the stove if it is vented outdoors. Do this and then test and you will find your problem solved.

 

[bmackinnon]

Are you sure you opened the flu/damper in your fireplace before you lit it? In my experience, once a little heat gets into the chimney, it pulls air like a mother from your house, so much that often the cold air it pulls in thru cracks in windows/door frames is more than the heat from the fire(place) puts out... resulting in a negative net heat gain from the fire in the fireplace.... Just wondering if you even looked up into your chimney from your fireplace to check/open the flu/damper, as you said you have NO experience with cold weather/fireplace situations.... and the 'heater' (central air?) you refer to should have basically a net zero airflow situ. when you figure the 'return' outflow vs. duct inflow....