Osburn 2400........STINKS!!!!!

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OverRHeads

New Member
Jan 11, 2011
20
Northern Arkansas
Hello Everyone!

I made the jump and bought an Osburn 2400 a few years back when the big tax credit was still available. After some shipment issues (due to damage), I installed the insert in February 2011.

Background: I installed a block off plate in my masonry fireplace. I cut a piece of galvanized metal (Purchased from Lowes) and sealed around it using 3M Fireblock Sealant from Lowes. The part number is FB136 and it says it is for "chimney and fireplace" among other things. I installed a brand new 6" stainless liner in my 13"x 13" clay flue. I cured the paint on the Osburn as instructed and began using the stove. It worked great and heated well but put out a strong odor once it was heated up and cruising. I used it for a few months during the cold nights of February and March and had the firebox packed full on several occasions leading to a hot fire. I shut it down in the spring of 2011.

In the winter of 2011/2012 it was so abnormally warm that we didn't use the stove much so we didn't have to deal with the odor.

I cleaned the flue a few weeks ago in order to get ready for burning season and started our first fire of the year a few nights ago. When I did, I noticed the odor again as soon as the stove was heated up. I cannot smell anything until it is heated up. When it is cool, heating up after initial startup, or burning at a lower temp of 350 or so (when we get up in the morning) it does not smell.

The smell is hard to pin down but it does not smell like a chemical smell or paint cure smell. It smells more like a hot clutch or brake smell from a car or 18 wheeler.

I have read people say that it may be reaching temps that it has not reached before and may be further curing but I know i have reached some high temps with this thing so there shouldn't be any more curing occurring.

Any suggestions? Could it be the galvanized metal or 3M fireblock?

Thanks!
 
Hello Everyone!

I made the jump and bought an Osburn 2400 a few years back when the big tax credit was still available. After some shipment issues (due to damage), I installed the insert in February 2011.

Background: I installed a block off plate in my masonry fireplace. I cut a piece of galvanized metal (Purchased from Lowes) and sealed around it using 3M Fireblock Sealant from Lowes. The part number is FB136 and it says it is for "chimney and fireplace" among other things. I installed a brand new 6" stainless liner in my 13"x 13" clay flue. I cured the paint on the Osburn as instructed and began using the stove. It worked great and heated well but put out a strong odor once it was heated up and cruising. I used it for a few months during the cold nights of February and March and had the firebox packed full on several occasions leading to a hot fire. I shut it down in the spring of 2011.

In the winter of 2011/2012 it was so abnormally warm that we didn't use the stove much so we didn't have to deal with the odor.

I cleaned the flue a few weeks ago in order to get ready for burning season and started our first fire of the year a few nights ago. When I did, I noticed the odor again as soon as the stove was heated up. I cannot smell anything until it is heated up. When it is cool, heating up after initial startup, or burning at a lower temp of 350 or so (when we get up in the morning) it does not smell.

The smell is hard to pin down but it does not smell like a chemical smell or paint cure smell. It smells more like a hot clutch or brake smell from a car or 18 wheeler.

I have read people say that it may be reaching temps that it has not reached before and may be further curing but I know i have reached some high temps with this thing so there shouldn't be any more curing occurring.

Any suggestions? Could it be the galvanized metal or 3M fireblock?

Thanks!
maybe?
 
I have the same unit. I love that beast. Is this the first fire of the year? I'm not surprised. I had a faint smell this year during the first fire or two. I've had probably 20 fires now and there is no smell. Honestly even the first two fires, it was a faint smell that only lasted a short time. I don't know if that helps, but that has been my experience.
 
I have the same unit. I love that beast. Is this the first fire of the year? I'm not surprised. I had a faint smell this year during the first fire or two. I've had probably 20 fires now and there is no smell. Honestly even the first two fires, it was a faint smell that only lasted a short time. I don't know if that helps, but that has been my experience.

Thanks for the reply. I have had a few fires this year but I was smelling this odor after 10 days of 24 hour burns after I put it in. I thought it may go away so I didn't think much of it. When we had our first fires of the year this year, the smell was still very present and annoying. Therefore, I wouldn't think the issue is "the first fire" smell.
 
That sounds nothing like what I'm talking about. Contact your dealer. If you have no success there contact the hearth.com member fyrebug. He works for sbi, and has been a great resource for hearth.com members. SBI is a good company, I'm confident you will be taken care of.
 
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Hey Overheads

Sorry for the delay. I normally try to follow posts about Osburn (love the company) and have been a bit busy with a newborn, a 2 year old and some yard work lately.

My stove acted in a similar manner. After my breakin fires, I felt that my stove simply gave off a smell. My installer, who is a nice guy if everything goes his way, wanted nothing to do with the issue. The smell my stove was giving off reminded me of brakes or some chemical type smell (such as windex or something). It would only smell once the temp reached about 350-400 degrees. The installed (from whom I purchased the stove) came here and tried to tell me I was losing my mind. If I had been heating the basement throughout the day and you came in my front door upstairs, you could smell it. It was as if someone had sprayed something on the stovetop when hot and somehow it embedded in the paint and off-gassed when warming up. My installer was useless and Osburn finally gave me a break. I sent the stove back to them and they set it up in a "lab". They end up calling me and telling me that I was right, there is a smell> They said they had scoped it, grinded all the paint off of it and could not figure out where the smell was coming from. Perhaps it was simply PR and they wanted me to hush so they made me feel better. Either way, they sent me a brand new 2300 to my door. Great service in the end

If I stuck my nose near the stove top once it reached 300, that is when I could start smelling it. It seems as though you purchased the stove at the same time as me. Perhaps it was a bad batch of paint????

Hopefully Fyrebug chimes in. He works for SBI and a class A guy. He can certainly point you in the right direction.

Andrew
 
I cut a piece of galvanized metal


I didn't clue into that. Many strong warnings against using galvanized for stove pipe. Not sure what that means in this case as I know nothing about block off plates, or insert installs in general, but I'd suspect anywhere with stove temps and galvanized mixing may be a concern. This may be a stupid question - would replacing this metal mean having to pull the stove and / or chimney liner?
 
I didn't clue into that. Many strong warnings against using galvanized for stove pipe. Not sure what that means in this case as I know nothing about block off plates, or insert installs in general, but I'd suspect anywhere with stove temps and galvanized mixing may be a concern. This may be a stupid question - would replacing this metal mean having to pull the stove and / or chimney liner?

I can totally understand why you would not want to use galvanized for stove pipe. In this case, there is never any combustion gases coming in contact with it. It is merely used as a blockoff plate to keep heat from traveling up chimney. However, it is exposed to intense heat. Would this cause a concern? To answer your question, I would only have to remove the insert but not the liner.
 
I can totally understand why you would not want to use galvanized for stove pipe. In this case, there is never any combustion gases coming in contact with it. It is merely used as a blockoff plate to keep heat from traveling up chimney. However, it is exposed to intense heat. Would this cause a concern? To answer your question, I would only have to remove the insert but not the liner.
I wish I could offer more - leaving it to the experts here to answer but I suppose if it came down to possibly replacing the stove, and you had to pull it anyway, maybe swapping that plate with a steel plate to sanity check if the smell goes away? I recall someone cutting a piece of galvanized metal with a torch and the smoke / fumes etc were awful. Not the same as stove heat, but it makes me wonder....
 
It could very well be the galvanized pipe. Pull out the stove and swap it with someone else. Try some roxul on top of concrete board or something of the like. It is a PITA but it may work!!

Keep us posted!

Andrew
 
It could very well be the galvanized pipe. Pull out the stove and swap it with someone else. Try some roxul on top of concrete board or something of the like. It is a PITA but it may work!!

Keep us posted!

Andrew

Thanks for the reply! Just to be clear, there is no galvanized pipe in my setup. I have a stainless steel liner from the top of the chimney to the appliance connection. The galvanized piece is a flat piece of sheet metal that is used for a blockoff plate. I have a piece of Roxul on top of the entire blockoff plate. I may try to remove it this weekend.
 
just troubleshooting 101 tidbits from me as I'm not familiar with the inserts or installations, but if you can get set up to burn without the plate with only a couple hours of messing around (apologies if that's a dumb idea) then a couple fires without it should identify (or eliminate) the culprit. Easier than shipping / swapping / welding / dragging / swearing at 350+ lbs of stove....? I hope you get it nailed down. That issue would drive me nuts. Good luck!
 
just troubleshooting 101 tidbits from me as I'm not familiar with the inserts or installations, but if you can get set up to burn without the plate with only a couple hours of messing around (apologies if that's a dumb idea) then a couple fires without it should identify (or eliminate) the culprit. Easier than shipping / swapping / welding / dragging / swearing at 350+ lbs of stove....? I hope you get it nailed down. That issue would drive me nuts. Good luck!

Thanks! I have decided to simply pull the insert out this weekend and remove the blockoff plate and Roxul altogether. I will then slide it back in and use it for a while. My hope is that the smell will go away and I won't even need the blockoff plate. If I decide down the road that a blockoff plate is necessary, I will put a carbon steel plate or concrete board up there. It really isn't that hard to slide the unit out.....just a bit time consuming! Heck, that's was weekends are for!
 
If the galvanized block off is off gassing you should see some indication of it where it touches the stove pipe. It will be discolored and possibly "white-er" than the rest. If you see ANYTHING like this, get rid of it. The gasses from galvanized steel is very poisonous and will build up in your system.
 
If the galvanized block off is off gassing you should see some indication of it where it touches the stove pipe. It will be discolored and possibly "white-er" than the rest. If you see ANYTHING like this, get rid of it. The gasses from galvanized steel is very poisonous and will build up in your system.

It is coming out this weekend for that very reason! I don't care if it shows any signs or not, I am removing it. Thanks for the info!
 
It is coming out this weekend for that very reason! I don't care if it shows any signs or not, I am removing it. Thanks for the info!

Good call.
 
Keep us updated on the progress. Good luck.
 
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