New Sante Fe, Hey is this smoke normal? See PICS!!

It is normal for a pellet stove to smoke a bit when it is first starting up.

The smoke should then disappear.

My st croix generates tons of smoke on start up.
Once the pellets ignite, the smoke quickly dissipates.
If your stove does the same I'd say it's normal.

I think it depends on the stove and how much the pellets smolder before ignition. My quad smoked alot. So did my Breckwell bigE. But my Omega hardly smokes at all.

j-takeman said:

I think it depends on the stove and how much the pellets smolder before ignition. My quad smoked alot. So did my Breckwell bigE. But my Omega hardly smokes at all.

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Yep that is a fact, my dragon starts out producing very little smoke, but as the stove gets dirty it takes longer to light and there is more smoke.

SmokeyTheBear said:

j-takeman said:

I think it depends on the stove and how much the pellets smolder before ignition. My quad smoked alot. So did my Breckwell bigE. But my Omega hardly smokes at all.

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Yep that is a fact, my dragon starts out producing very little smoke, but as the stove gets dirty it takes longer to light and there is more smoke.

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When it was time to clean the old Quad, I had a much bigger cloud. Due to the air holes being plugged up in the burnpot. I thought my neighbor's were going to call the fire dept.

based on her other post, i think this install does not have the OAK installed, could this be the reason of the flame issue, stove starving for air?

geek said:

based on her other post, i think this install does not have the OAK installed, could this be the reason of the flame issue, stove starving for air?

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Good point geek, Could be? One easy wat to check it is open a window and see if the flame improves.

j-takeman said:

geek said:

based on her other post, i think this install does not have the OAK installed, could this be the reason of the flame issue, stove starving for air?

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Good point geek, Could be? One easy wat to check it is open a window and see if the flame improves.

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:bug: Well, any change in the flame? :bug:

All pellet stoves will smoke until the pellets erupt into flames. How long that takes depends on a few things, how clean the burnpot is can slow the process of getting heat from the igniter to the new pellets as well as the amount of airflow through the burnpot. A good part of the smoke created also has to do with the pellets, whether they may be a bit damp as well as if they are hardwood or softwood, brand and quality. Our first year we used Barefoot hardwood pellets and each startup provided very little smoke. Last year we use Granules LG softwood pellets and always had a lot more smoke during startup. This year we're back to the hardwood and minimal smoke.

Others may also chime in with other thoughts as well, but what smoke I see in your picture appears pretty normal to me.

You may also want to consider talking with your neighbors just to let them know where the smoke is coming from and even show them your stove and explain how it works, how often they may see the smoke.

I see the window right near your stove (on both sides it looks like). That stove requires a 4ft clearance from the vent termination to a window.

You might be able to get around it if the window is permanently closed and sealed.

Also that fence looks kinda close, would have to check the manual for clearances but I am thinking its either 12" or 24".
I do know if the ground is "combustible" (plants) then you are supposed to have 24" clearance there.

pelletqueen77 said:

Here the pics of my Santa Fe that was put in on Monday and if you read my other posts you know that it has a low flame issue. Here is how it smoked up tonight when I started it and pics of the vent etc. Let me know what you all think!

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IMO, that is a LOT of smoke, but it could just be the brand of pellets, plus the lack of air problem you're experiencing. Wait until you get the stove running right and then see how the smoke problem goes.

Also, I would turn the end of your pipe so it faces downward.....less chance of rain/wind blowing back into it.

Just tell them your curing hams to give away to the neighbors at Cristmas Time That should shut them up That smoke is quite normal on start up. It just comes along with pellet/biomass burning.

AR

Most times my Quad Castile hardly smokes at all.. It fires up with just a tiny wisp of smoke. But there were times I thought the fire would never start, it smoked for a solid minute, and I mean HEAVY duty smoke. I think if it were my install I'd put in a T pipe with clean out and run it up vertically all the way up the house to the top and put a rain cap and it, this would give you a fantastic draft. That straight horizontal pipe isnt going to draft very well, but it will work and it is cheaper to do.

Slow to ignite will cause more smoke, fast ignite little smoke.

I agree with imacman, my P-68 does the same thing, it really depends on the quality of the pellets, stove cleanliness and just when the auto-ignition happens.

Our Quad will huff out a fair amount of smoke during a typical cold startup.

The actual amount of smoke will vary depending on the brand of pellets, how long its been since the fire pot was cleaned and a few other issues.

If the lower level of the fire pot gets a clinker in there the pellets will take longer to light and can smoke pretty good during the process.


Our other stoves are manual light types and we dont get the smoke issue.

As long as you dont have smoke once the unit is lit, your fine me thinks.

Snowy

tell us what settings so we all know and learn, for future reference.

Mine smokes like that on some startups. It bothers me to the point that I plan on adding a tee and going straight up, not just to achieve some draft, but to make it obvious that my house isn't on fire to the neighborhood. This is with a thoroughly cleaned stove I might add.

Duane

No smoke on startup with mine. Using charcoal lighter fluid or alcohol (manual lighting) I get an instant flame with no smoldering at all , and much quicker heat ups. The igniter is a great feature for most users and the method of choice for obvious reasons but it is slow .

Gio said:

No smoke on startup with mine. Using charcoal lighter fluid or alcohol (manual lighting) I get an instant flame with no smoldering at all , and much quicker heat ups. The igniter is a great feature for most users and the method of choice for obvious reasons but it is slow .

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That could be said for most igniters as there just heating elements. They heat up and use what ever air that flows thru the burnpot from the combustion blower. But these new multifuel stoves are using pressure igniters. The closest I have seen to using a propane torch to light the fuel. They are not slow at all and reduce the smokey starts. Not all igniter systems are created equally!