After replacing a recirculating kitchen hood with one that vents outdoors, a homeowner ran into an unexpected problem. The stronger exhaust started drawing smoky air back through a wood stove flue.
Here's what to know
In a Reddit thread on r/woodstoving, the original poster described installing "a new range hood, that actually blows air outside instead of back into the kitchen" and then realizing they hadn't considered "the negative pressure it would create."
According to the homeowner, the effect showed up even at low fan settings, which left the living room smelling smoky, while high speed "smoked out the house."
One commenter suggested an immediate workaround, saying, "I'd open a window in the kitchen when you turn on the range hood." The homeowner had also asked whether sealing stove-pipe seams with tape might help.
"Unless you have outside air intake attached, taping the flues won't do anything, as your combustion chamber is still connected to indoor air," another commenter warned.
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More background
A separate commenter cautioned against trying to dress up the flue: "Don't put HVAC tape on stove pipe. It's not rated for that application, will be a fire hazard, and won't solve the problem."
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The same commenter said the real issue is that the house needs replacement air whenever the exhaust ventilation runs.
Commenters said an outside air intake does not necessarily eliminate the problem. One person said a bathroom exhaust fan could still "pull air through the stove enough to stink up the place when it's not burning."
Another reply noted that chimney performance matters as well. If the chimney is not tall enough to overcome pressure differences in the house, a range hood can overpower an already weak draft and pull smoke or odors back indoors. Users also mentioned other equipment that can add to negative pressure, including gas dryers, bathroom fans, and even a box fan in a crawlspace.
What can be done?
The discussion centered on airflow and pressure inside the home rather than on the flue's appearance.
Cracking a kitchen window came up repeatedly as a simple workaround. The original poster provided an update.
"I could do the outside air intake, but it's been so wet lately I don't really feel like cutting into the house," they explained. "Might think about it in the spring."
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