Strange smell...question.

Bumping to the top . . . this one deserves an answer . . . unfortunately I am not the one to answer this as I am a bit perplexed.

If this was a new install I might suggest it is the smell of paint curing . . . but it seems as though this is not a new install and most folks don't describe the smell of curing paint as "sweet."

Creosote is also not generally described as "sweet" as most folks tend to describe the smell as being bitter, chemical-like, etc.

If I had to guess I would say it almost sounds like smoke from some type of "sweet" tree (i.e. softwood, cherry, apple, etc.) which could possibly be caused by a less than ideal draft (perhaps due to a partially blocked chimney) . . . once the draft is going and going well there may be enough of a draft to remove the smell. The only proverbial fly in the ointment is that I would think you probably know what smoke smells like.

In any case, perhaps others will chime in with some ideas . . . if nothing else it may be a good idea to check and clean your chimney if you haven't done so.

I know when my flue gets too hot by the smell. I know when my stove is puffing by the smell. They're both different. Neither is sweet though. And the flue odor is temp. related which can happen at startup only if I run too hot.
Could be something to do with poor drafting on startup for you?

By chance did the stovepipe ever leak?

You said it happens at start up. What are you starting your fires with. This is my first year burning and I grabbed a box of Fatwood to try. It gives off a weird sweet odor.

Hi,
I have the exact same smell with my chimney- for 7 yrs now. Mine smells a little waxy as well as sweet. I have the same slotted double-walled blk pipe.
Do you by chance have selkirk chimney? The end of my chimney is missing the smoke pipe adapter- thus exposing the creepy plastic that holds the insulation in place- pre installation. I am telling you all this because I have always attributed the smell to that plastic as I have watched it melt over the years....

I had the same problem. The only similar aroma I can think of is burning sugar in the oven. I wrapped every stove pipe connection with fiberglass gasket and clamped the gasket in place with steel strapping, just wanted to be sure it was not a leaking stove pipe- No luck there! The problem was the fiberglass gaskets in the Harmon Oakwood cast iron stove, they failed and the stove was only a year old. I returned the stove and exchanged it for a steel stove made in BC. If you have a cast iron stove you may want to look at a few gaskets, I was shocked when I did, gaskets in the bottom of the stove were burned and leaking. It was very difficult to determine where the smell originated due to the rising heat effect.

On the first Freedom Bay insert in late December of 2008, that sweet smell started just a few months after being installed. It is almost overpowering and you wonder how much of it is trapped in your clothes you wear to work or to town... It always started at the end of a low/slow burn, when fire was down to just red glowing coals. With a lower heat, I'm guess there was also a LOWER draft, and when really low temps. hit, the heavy cold air slowed whatever draft was there was....

That unit is being shipped back to Travis Industries for them to findout if there was a leaking fractured weld. If there was an air leak from a crack, then it allowed air in. My guess is that if they find a broken weld/crack, the added inlet of air allowed a sloppy sealed door to "leak" out the sweet smell, instead of it going up the flue.

Even before it being pulled out a few weeks ago, what stopped that sweet smell was the change-out of the cast iron door frame. With a new door and its new seal, the sweet smell had stopped, but the First Alert fire & CO detector kept picking up spirts of high Carbon Monoxide... I guess the be best encouragement the OP might take to heart is to be sure he has a CO detector...just in case there's more than smell getting back into his home. Checking the door seal by placing a dollar bill between the seal and the fully clamped/closed door by pulling it out and feeling the resistance. On the first door, the leak appeared to be at the top right...

Bill

Swedishchef said:

Hey

Well, it's nice to know that I am not the only one who has had this problem. It is quite perplexing. I will have to look closely at the setup. Then again, I will call my installer/distributer and ensure that he fixes it..his work is on warranty for 1 year and the stove is lifetime (pfft).

Thanks for the comments guy. I will keep heating this week (the temperature just dropped 7 degrees C in 2 hours! Brr) and once it warms up a bit I will get him to come clean my chimney and look at my stove with me

Andrew

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I just remembered what that smell was like and where I've smelled it before.... That sweet-tangy odor is like a molasses block you feed to cattle...like you'd buy in a commerical feed store.... Maybe this will help others to know... ;>)

Bill

Hmmm . . . very odd. Let us know what you guys find out . . .

The sweet smell you are discribing reminds me of fibreglass insulation getting too hot - sort of burnt sugar meets automotive antifreeze. Is there anywhere areound the unit getting hot - perhaps at the wall thimble?

I'll take a stab--

How do you know the smell is coming off the pipe? If it only happens at startup, what if your flue reverses when cold, and you get a burst of cresosote-smelling air in the room while you are loading up? It has then dissipated by the time the stove is rolling.

If you have localized the smell to vents in the pipe, well, if the flue is reversed, the pipe's air gap is also flooded with the same smell, but the stove loading could be when the big dose gets released.

Try sweeping? Try some of the anti-sote powders to dry out whats in the pipe?

Oh yeah....do you know your pipe is installed properly/right side up? Maybe some creasote leaked into the air gap due to improper installation, and now your cooking that smell off, until the draft is strong enough to pull in on the pipe vents.

You are using and have a CO detector ?

Swedishchef said:

My wife doesn't want me starting it up since she's pregnant and hyper sensitive to smells at the moment...

Click to expand...

My wife isn't pregnant but she has an olfactory like a bloodhound. Just the tiny bit of creosote smell coming off the end of the poker is enough to set her off. Opening the stove door into the room can release some smell off the inside surface into the room too if it hasn't yet burned off. I made the mistake of putting some stove polish over some rusty spots and incurred her wrath. Had to let the fire go out last night to maintain marital harmony.

Metal will give off smells particularly when combined with other elements. Just try handing some unprotected metal and then smell your hands.