Odor from wood stove

Hey all,
This is my first post, and I couldn't find this question answered in a previous forum, so I appreciate any advice you can dole out.

My wife and I have a 25-30 year old Ashley wood stove that we just started using almost nightly this winter. In previous years, we've only burned a total of a half-cord all winter -- this year, we've burned at least a cord so far. Every year we get the chimney cleaned and inspected, and we had a stainless steel flue liner installed.

The problem is that we get this weird, almost chemical-ish odor coming from the stove on occassion. Last night was the fourth or fifth time it's happened, and it was really bad! We woke up to the smoke alarm going off, though there was no actual smoke that we could see in the house. The other times this odor has appeared, the smoke alarm has gone off then, too.

We have a CO detector, and that has never gone off. Last night, the smell gave me some mild chest pains, and my wife said she was a bit dizzy.

We've had our chimney guy out a previous time this happened, and he couldn't figure out what the smell is and ruled out paint or smoke blowback into an adjacent chimney. He said -- on an outside chance -- that it almost smelled like a decomposing animal that could be stuck inside the wood stove unit.

Last night, we had the stove burned pretty hot (though not to the point of making the walls glow) and the blower was at full blast. The times we've smelled this before, the blower was going strong and the fire was going hot.

Any thoughts on what the source of this smell could be and why the smoke alarm is triggered despite no apparent smoke?!? We love using the wood stove but can't deal with another night like last night (I didn't go back to sleep as we aired out the house and let the fire burn out).

Thanks

Thank you for the quick responses so far!

One quick adendum: I realized that I used the wrong term in describing the unit. It's actually an Ashley insert that we have, not a stove.

Sorry.....rookie mistake on my part

As if I'm not already juggling a couple possibilities here, I got another ball to add to the mix:

Obviously it'll take some effort and time to find a crack if one exists, and I'm more than a little interested in trying what Valhalla suggested. However, the alternative is to just put my decades-old insert out to pasture and take advantage of the last day of the "Qualified Energy Property" tax credit (expires on Friday!) and get a little something back for an energy-efficient investment.

I have no idea yet what route I'll take, but I appreciate all of the feedback. This forum may get downright addictive for me! :D

littlesmokey said:

I wouldn't give up on the critter angle. Is your SS liner fully insulated from base to top? Is it possible something may have fallen in to a lightly insulated block-of plate? It would only smell when the pipe got hot enough and the smell migrated down independent of the stove stack. And last????? could the meesees, miceeess or critters of a small nature gotten in behind the surround and as the stove heats so does the critter.

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My chimney guy came over to the house and said the smell was reminicent of when a small animal got stuck and died in his tractor engine. That was why he wondered if that could be a factor. But we couldn't figure out why it would set off the smoke alarm.

I believe that the liner if fully insulated, but it never surprises me where critters can wedge themselves into.

fishingpol said:

Do you have a stove top thermometer?
Do you know what temps you are running the insert at?

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No, we don't have a stove-top thermometer, but the smell emerges usually after we've been burning for at least 2-3 hours and after the fire has gotten pretty hot. This last time, when the smell and effects of it on us were worse than ever, we had a log or two of locust wood in there (mixed with other wood), so that should give you an idea of how much heat we had going. That said, I don't think we overheated the box (something we are careful not to do).

fishingpol said:

Did the odors just start after the liner was installed?
Were any sealers or silicone used during liner install?

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We actually had the liner installed three years ago, and this is the first year that we've noticed the smell. This is also the first year that we've really burned a high quanity of wood, so that's the biggest change in our habits that I can notice. I am not sure if any sealers or silicone was used.

bogydave said:

PS: I went the get the "tax rebate" option & love my new Catalytic wood stove ... So Im' getting paid forever & got 30% of the stove paid for by "Uncle" (which was part of my money anyway)

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^^This is what it came down to for me -- I wanted a bit of the money I give Big Brother back in my own pocket.

My wife and I ended up getting a Napoleon 1402 to replace the Ashley. If this wasn't the last day of the tax credit, I might have gone a different route. From our time-limited research, the Napoleon looked like a good bet for us, both in terms of heating and cost.

Smoke alarms and strange odors are never things to take lightly when burning firewood, so I mean it when I say thank you for the help and suggestions you all have provided!

Ryan

Lighting Up said:

Are you having the smell with the new stove?

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Actually had to order the new insert online, so it won't get here till this coming week. The local fireplace dealer had a disappointing selection of just three inserts -- pretty much one low-end and two really high-ends with nothing in the middle.

I'll definitely be back on here if an odor persists despite the new insert!

Mystery solved!! (at least we think so!)

Stink bugs.

The mountains of Virginia have been innundated with the little critters this past year, but we hadn't seen them around much since it got colder. Looks like the frost survivors have gone into hiding, which includes in and along the flue.

Once we really opened things up and got to look in there, there were lots of charred stink bugs, including some groups that had melted together. Knowing what they smell like alive, I have no doubt that them burning is what we smelled and had us a little concerned.

Of course, we have already plunked down the money for the new insert, but we can deal with it. The current insert was getting on in years anyway, and with the tax credit and other things, it was probably worth it to upgrade.

Expect the unexpected, I suppose....