Need reference on fireplace troubleshoot

A friend of mine fired up his outdoor fireplace (on his screened porch) and found that the smoke didn’t go the way it was supposed to go. It intermittantly washed out the front of the firebox.
I recall an article, pretty sure it was in Fine Homebuilding, which described methods for modifiying the firebox, chimney, chimney cap etc. to enhance the draft.
Can someone point me to this information?
Thanks for your help.
Replies
Taunton has a book,i think called On Masonry.Talks about fireplace construction and other topics.
The problem is that it is an outdoor fireplace. It is easier for smoke to go whither it will rather than being forced to go up a cold tight chimney.
Fireplace designe watched front openning size, chimney height and flue size to balance them all out based on indoor spaces. It is much harder to control air flow outdoors.
As a general rule, it needs a larger flue size, a control on the openning, a taller chimney, or a combination of all the above.
without major modifications, It is likely that he can overcome the draft problems somewhat by heating up the flue. He needs hot dry fire to begin with.
Excellence is its own reward!
I've had good results from crumpling up a sheet or two of newspaper, stuffing it up into the throat of the chimney, and putting a match to it. Burns fast and hot and pre-heats the chimney just enough to get a draft going. Have the fire laid before you do this so you can light it as soon as the newspaper burns out.
Draft depends on the difference in density between the colder surrounding air and the hotter air in the firebox and chimney. Outdoor fireplaces are always a problem because you don't have a house around the firebox to keep it warmer than the surroundings. I heat with a woodstove. If it is not cold enough outside, you don't get as much draft. If you don't burn a hot enough fire, you don't get as much draft. If the chimney is not tall enough you don't get enough draft. Some times of year I get backdraft from my woodstove. Burn a small but very hot fire to get the stove and chimney hot, the backdraft goes away. I can't make a small fire when it's not really cold outside. If you want to make smaller fires, restrict the firebox opening and the chimney. Otherwise, you have to experiment to find how small a fire you can make before you get backdraft. I don't know all the calculations. They may help, but it will work better if you make a hotter fire. Every fireplace I've ever used needed a little experimenting to figure how it works best. If you use newspaper to heat the chimney and get a draft going, you also need to get the actual fire going very quickly. If you don't have enough heat to keep the chimney hot after the newspaper stops burning, it will blow back.
Picture this: Christmas Eve and a house full of company. That afternoon I ccheck the draft in the fireplace and whoosh! like you read about. Dinner time and I light the pretty birch log fire and you talk about smoke. Running through the house with burning logs and not being able to open the windows due to 10F temps is not the way to impress the family. You have to practice with all different weather conditions(cold,damp, cloudy or clear) to see how each firebox will work. Did you check the damper? It's always the simple stuff. Try it (with no company) a few times before you change anything too drastic. good luck