Is This True?

[HotCoals]

Another thing to try.
Open the by-pass and run it for awhile to see if the smell goes away.

 

[Highbeam]

Not around my wife they don't. She's very conscious of off gassing and makes sure carpets get aired out for months before they come into a room we use. We have no furniture with pressed wood. We can't buy a new car because that new car smell is actually toxic waste.

Whoa. Sounds like a disorder.

 

[wildwildwest]

Another thing to try.
Open the by-pass and run it for awhile to see if the smell goes away.

x2

 

[Quentin2]

Not around my wife they don't. She's very conscious of off gassing and makes sure carpets get aired out for months before they come into a room we use. We have no furniture with pressed wood. We can't buy a new car because that new car smell is actually toxic waste.

You could get a new wife keep the baby and the stove buy a new pickup and maybe an ikea living room set.

Kidding

Sounds like the consensus is wait for some colder temps. Buying a filter or two couldn't hurt either.

 

[wildwildwest]

Years ago I read about taping furnace filters to box fans. We used one for several years, I even scored a 6 pk of the pricey ones on clearance in the spring one year. It might help push the heat around too?

 

[Light in the Dark]

Stupid question... but you reference a well sealed house half a page ago... are you running an outside air kit (OAK) with this stove? If you aren't, and your house is as well sealed as you say it is, you could be pulling exhaust back out of the smallest opening somewhere in the flue pipe. If you arent running an OAK, you should seriously consider one in my opinion.

 

[Parallax]

I've got an OAK. They did a great install.

Hotcoals, can you explain what you mean when you ask if the flame is clean and if it pulls toward the cat. I don't see anything about the flame that seems abnormal. If I disengage the cat and crack the door open, it gets super intense. But it seems alright with the door closed and the cat engaged. The fire appears to hit the entire top of the box. Some of it goes up into the cat.

BKVP worked with me on tightening up the bypass door. By the time we were done, it seemed reasonably tight. Did the dollar bill test. Wasn't as tight as around the door, where you'd literally tear the bill if you pulled hard enough. With the bypass door, it pulled through easily but there was some resistance. Perhaps when the season's over, I'll go back in and tighten it some more.

The only place I can think of where exhaust could be venting is from the hole around the cat probe. BKVP said that can happen if there isn't enough draw.

 

[Highbeam]

The only place I can think of where exhaust could be venting is from the hole around the cat probe. BKVP said that can happen if there isn't enough draw.

Why don't you pull out that probe meter and block it off temporarily to check. I pull mine out regularly to check the color of the probe and to clean accumulations. It's hot there so use something like a bolt.

 

[Straz85]

Just get rid of the baby.

Years ago when we bought our first house we REALLY wanted a wood stove.
However, our first born had asthma and the pediatrician told us a wood stove was NOT a good idea.

So, I don't know, but you could ask the doc (as you mentioned).
You and the wife NEED to be at ease with your stove and your child.

Back then we installed a pellet stove. Not sure how much "less" smoke it put out into the room, but our child never had any issues.

I had a wood insert installed yesterday and my in-laws keep bringing up asthma. My wife has asthma and we have a 5 month old son, as far as we know he has no lung issues, but at only 5 months, it's unlikely we'd know about it yet. I did some reading about it and everything I read says pediatricians recommend not using a wood stove with a potentially asthmatic child in the house, but there's a ton of anecdotal evidence with parents of asthmatic children who have no issues with a wood stove. Here's the thing though, as with most doctor's recommendations, they're going to err on the side of caution. Most doctors know nothing about wood stoves, so they don't know that almost no smoke should enter the house. But even if no smoke SHOULD enter the house, they need to account for the lowest common denominator. I'm sure there's plenty of wood stove owners who don't follow proper procedures. This isn't just with wood stoves. Let me give you an example. I hurt my knee a few years back. The first orthopedic surgeon I went to said absolutely don't do any squats at the gym. Then I went to another, much better doctor, who happens to be the team doctor for the Patriots (Thomas Gill). He said there's no problem with doing squats as long as I'm using proper form, and he went over proper form. But the your average doctor, the general advice is stay away from squats. Unfortunately, not many doctors will be familiar with wood stoves or show you the proper methods for using them.

Moral of the story, most doctors aren't going to have enough expertise about your specific situation to provide the exact advice that works for you, so they'll just say the wood stove is a bad idea.

 

[Parallax]

I had a wood insert installed yesterday and my in-laws keep bringing up asthma. My wife has asthma and we have a 5 month old son, as far as we know he has no lung issues, but at only 5 months, it's unlikely we'd know about it yet. I did some reading about it and everything I read says pediatricians recommend not using a wood stove with a potentially asthmatic child in the house, but there's a ton of anecdotal evidence with parents of asthmatic children who have no issues with a wood stove. Here's the thing though, as with most doctor's recommendations, they're going to err on the side of caution. Most doctors know nothing about wood stoves, so they don't know that almost no smoke should enter the house. But even if no smoke SHOULD enter the house, they need to account for the lowest common denominator. I'm sure there's plenty of wood stove owners who don't follow proper procedures. This isn't just with wood stoves. Let me give you an example. I hurt my knee a few years back. The first orthopedic surgeon I went to said absolutely don't do any squats at the gym. Then I went to another, much better doctor, who happens to be the team doctor for the Patriots (Thomas Gill). He said there's no problem with doing squats as long as I'm using proper form, and he went over proper form. But the your average doctor, the general advice is stay away from squats. Unfortunately, not many doctors will be familiar with wood stoves or show you the proper methods for using them.

Moral of the story, most doctors aren't going to have enough expertise about your specific situation to provide the exact advice that works for you, so they'll just say the wood stove is a bad idea.

I'm sure this is true. It's difficult to live one's life without taking any risks. Impossible really. I guess we all have to make the choices we're comfortable making. Heck, living in Denver is dangerous because the background radiation level is twice as high as most of the country. No doctor would recommend doubling one's exposure to radiation (or, God forbid, that of a baby). And yet millions of people live in Denver, where they have children and raise them successfully.

 

[Parallax]

Why don't you pull out that probe meter and block it off temporarily to check. I pull mine out regularly to check the color of the probe and to clean accumulations. It's hot there so use something like a bolt.

Good idea. But how does one block it off safely? I'm not going to put a bolt into the enamel finish of my stove. Besides, the top of the Ashford is a tray that sits over a steel box. I wouldn't want to put a bolt in that either since I wouldn't want to expand the size of the hole.

 

[Tenn Dave]

What is the dealer saying about this smoke smell? Is he trying to help you with this problem? Your wife sounds way to smart for most of the people commenting here to appreciate. Providing a safe environment for your family must be your primary concern. Best of luck in solving this problem.

 

[Fsappo]

If the mother is holing up in the bedroom with the child, then that would be enough for me. I'd close down the stove for the time being. Real or not, Mom's concerns are paramount.

If that's all it took to get my ex to hide in the bedroom, I'd smoke out the house during every NFL game! You could have negative pressure in the house. I'd be more concerned about CO2 than a smell.

 

[Parallax]

If that's all it took to get my ex to hide in the bedroom, I'd smoke out the house during every NFL game! You could have negative pressure in the house. I'd be more concerned about CO2 than a smell.

Carbon dioxide is definitely a more serious issue. We have four detectors, none of which have picked up an issue. I've kept an eye on that.

 

[Parallax]

What is the dealer saying about this smoke smell? Is he trying to help you with this problem? Your wife sounds way to smart for most of the people commenting here to appreciate. Providing a safe environment for your family must be your primary concern. Best of luck in solving this problem.

My wife is an amazing person. I definitely married up. The dealer has listened and we're talking. I think he wants to help; he's a good guy. At the same time, he's concerned about the challenge and cost of adding another section of pipe given the location and difficulty of securing the stack against wind. He doesn't want to be sued or for anyone to get hurt. There are times when he seems to prefer not to deal with me. I understand; I'm pushing him. He said he's concerned that we appear to have an expectation that there should be no smoke smell. I've invited him over to smell for himself. I'll call him again. He's a good guy. I'm hopeful he'll work with us.

 

[tarzan]

I think carbon monoxide is "CO" and the one that causes a more immediate threat.

 

[Parallax]

Yes, carbon monoxide. I misspoke.

 

[Highbeam]

Do you have access to a plumb bob? This is a heavy, tapered, plug that should set in the probe hole without damaging the enamel.

 

[HotCoals]

I don't see how burning wood for you is going to fly.
You're almost always going to get some smoke into the room on a reload unless stone cold and even then some smell form the ashes is bound to be emitted into the room.
Is there still a chance also that the smell is from the pipe you touched up or is this for sure smoke smell?
I took my cat probe out and tried to get smoke/smell to come out of the hole just a few mins ago and i could not get it to do it..least i can't tell it..maybe my wife could..lol.

 

[tarzan]

The Ashford has a cast iron jacket, correct? How high off the stove body is that and is the cat probe design different from the King or Princess.

 

[smokedragon]

Your wife sounds way to smart for most of the people commenting here to appreciate.

That's a bit uncalled for.

 

[Parallax]

Do you have access to a plumb bob? This is a heavy, tapered, plug that should set in the probe hole without damaging the enamel.

I can see about getting one. Thanks.

 

[Parallax]

The Ashford has a cast iron jacket, correct? How high off the stove body is that and is the cat probe design different from the King or Princess.

Not sure how it differs from the other stoves. The cast iron top sits an inch or so above the steel box.

 

[Parallax]

I don't see how burning wood for you is going to fly.
You're almost always going to get some smoke into the room on a reload unless stone cold and even then some smell form the ashes is bound to be emitted into the room.
Is there still a chance also that the smell is from the pipe you touched up or is this for sure smoke smell?
I took my cat probe out and tried to get smoke/smell to come out of the hole just a few mins ago and i could not get it to do it..least i can't tell it..maybe my wife could..lol.

I'm told it's possible to get leakage through the cat probe hole if the draft isn't adequate. If the goal is to never ever get a whiff of smoke, that's probably unrealistic. But if we're getting more than that, it's something to fix. Right now I'm trying to determine where we are on the continuum of reasonable to unreasonable. It's hard to know if one has limited experience with wood stoves (and a newborn plus a very sensitive wife).

 

[Highbeam]

I don't blame you a bit for fixing a continuous smoke leak from a woodstove if you can find it. Truth be told, when on low burn I can sometimes catch a wiff of smoke from the stove top from the area of the cat probe. Only if I'm close to the stove though and it is entirely possible that the actual flue collar joint is leaking too.

That is probably more likely actually given that getting that joint tight is impossible without sealant. It's not normally important to 100% seal that joint either but if you're looking for leaks, that's just as likely as the probe hole. With double wall pipe you can't even inspect it.