CO exhaust gas compositon

I have several CO detectors in my house along with smoke alarms this question is not about the necessity for those. Its a small price to pay for safety.

Does a pellet stove burn so clean after its going though that you are not going to smell smoke if there was a exhaust leak (CO) into the house?

As per the EPA,

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and toxic gas. Because it is impossible to see, taste or smell the toxic fumes, CO can kill you before you are aware it is in your home. At lower levels of exposure, CO causes mild effects that are often mistaken for the flu. These symptoms include headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea and fatigue. The effects of CO exposure can vary greatly from person to person depending on age, overall health and the concentration and length of exposure.

You will smell smoke.

Eric

Pellet stoves will burn m,uch cleaner than a wood stove due to the low moisture of the fuel being burned. Pellets will typically be between 3 and 7 percent moisture where cordwood can be anywhere from 18 to 35 percent moisture. This does not mean that pellets burn SO CLEANLY that there is no smoke smell or CO. If you have an exhaust leak, you will mosyt likely smell the smoke. Although it is not uncommon to smell smoke upon the initial start-uop of the stove as the burn pot is lighting.(but this should go away immediately after the stove is cooking)
Anytime you are burning an organic fuel there will be an emmission of CO. Quite simply, it is a by-product of combustion, along with carbon dioxide and water. I am unsure of whether the levels of CO are great enough to warrant a CO detector nor do I care. I have 6 hardwired CO detectors throughout the house and 5 storebought CO detectors. (one by each stove and 1 in each bedroom) Are they necessary?....They are for me. I have the world's two most beautiful little girls in my house along with and my wife and I. Even if it is just a "feel good" purchase, it is worth it to us. Everyone should have CO detectors.

Here is a link that IIRC matches up with some other information I've read: http://www.carbon-monoxide-survivor.com/carbon-monoxide-levels-in-the-air.html

It isn't so much the level in the exhaust when it is measured it is what happens over time as it bonds so tightly with your blood that it can't transport oxygen. Please note there are exposure times listed as well as concentration.

I went looking for the EPA report that listed some test results but it appears that Google is still in its shopping mode for search results, actual informational material frequently gets buried way down in the SERPs when that is the case.

In short it is always in the exhaust, normally the level is very low if you have a proper burn going, your chances of totally preventing it from entering house from the stove system requires that you locate all sources of smoke leakage which you can both see and smell. The human nose is very very good at detecting smoke in extremely low concentrations.

Where there is smoke there is CO. Where there is a fire there is CO. You can't smell it so you use the smoke as your guide.

That is why a smoke smell from a pellet stove system is a no no.

There should always be enough air flow in the system to dump all of it outside except when you open the door.

CO concentrations can also change rather quickly inside a building because of a large number of factors.

One of which is sucking the air out of the building and having it be replaced by outside air through the cracks in your build shell.

Since CO can come from a large number of sources including sucking into your house from a running car parked outside, you should have operational CO detectors in the house, even if you do not have a single stove of any kind.

Peace of mind is worth a few bucks on a few CO, and smoke detectors. Having been a fireman-EMT for 15 years the early warning saves lives. Most fire and CO related deaths are where there is NO working detectors. In early 80's greenhouses were taking the exaust from the pellet burners and directing it into the greenhouse at night for the CO2 and switching back during the day. Heat boost plus the plants love extra CO2. Stay safe and warm this Holiday Season

If you're smelling smoke when you light up your stove you may want to search the site for fixes. A few of the vent manufacturers have vent that leak, silicone and aluminum tape work the best.

My question was purely speculative as to whether you could have CO without smoke, like natural gas appliance.

Yes it is always being produced even after the smoke is gone, this is true of any fire.