Expert: James Ball - 10/5/2010

Question
We bought a house this spring that has a woodburning fireplace insert.  We swept the chimney and cleaned everything out well and then lit a fire.  Smoke came pouring into the house.  My husband, junior handyman that he is, immediately began troubleshooting.  We've pulled the insert out and lit a fire in the fireplace and the chimney pulls the smoke perfectly.  So we tried lighting a fire in the insert outside (no chimney attached - just an 8" hole where you can look down into the fire).  It was EXTREMELY difficult to get a fire lit (we had to use charcoal lighter) and again the smoke poured out through the door opening.  When we closed the door of the insert, the fire immediately smoldered and smothered.  Any idea as to what might be wrong?  Also, we're in Utah - can you recommend an organization or other group who can give us a referral for a qualified repair tech in our area?  

Answer
Hello Hillary, not sure what is going on there, most units have an internal damper is it open? try moving the rods and louvers to see if it opens when you look down (it might be broken too), I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep www.csia.org, (there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help.
Hope this helps
James