On my last leg

[Jfk4th]

Just wanted to let you guys know that my Summit might be gone at the end of the week. I consider myself a reasonable person but it seems like the main Pacific Energy company, the PE company in Hudson NY that shipped the stove to Hamburg NY, and the local dealer in Hamburg NY have all blown me off so far. I would think that a local store after installing a double wall pipe 10 days ago would return my calls. I would also think the head PE store and the "main" shipping store in New York would return calls and not just give lip service.

I love my Summit but this customer service, or lack of, by it seems everybody has tainted my feelings for the company. I am sick of that hot metal smell, I am sick of being treated like I don't know about stoves by these stores, and I am sick of waiting and waiting and waiting.......I am sure most wood stove shops are not too busy this time of year, especially for a person that has spent over 2,500 dollars the past year.

This is the second stove shop in Western New York that has treated me very badly, in my opinion, and these stores seem to care only when I am spending money. This is unacceptable in my book and both of these places have lost my business for good.

Time will tell but I have had it. :red:

 

[tkirk22]

Do you have a link to the original thread detailing your problems?

 

[BrotherBart]

I have been following this saga but have to ask. What is it that you want them to do?

 

[Hanko]

Im trying to figure why your pissed. Because of hot metal smell? Idont see what they could do for that? Maybe thats why they wont call you back.

 

[Highbeam]

So you don't like the "hot metal smell" being produced by a metal box with a 1500 degree fire inside of it. The retailers and manufacturers probably don't have a solution for you. Do you know what you want? A refund?

 

[Jfk4th]

I would ask them to replace every part of the stove until the smell is gone. I would ask them to return my calls when they say they will or come to my home and at least smell what I am smelling. I cannot believe that these places are too busy to reply. If they do not know what the problem is then they should replace my stove. I spent a good buck on this stove and for this smell to still be there it is unacceptable. Am I asking too much, I don't think so. Please put yourself in my shoes and understand my frustration. :shut: .......I just want to burn with no smell.......ahhhhhhh

In my field if you do not get back to people you get nasty 'gram from your Lt., or Capt. If you still don't reply you get disciplined and a memo in your file. I don't treat the public this badly when I am on the job nor do I expect the same from companies that are making money off of me. It may not be a lot of money selling stoves but they are still making money or they would not be in business.

I do not like being a negative person especially regarding woodstoves, something that has given me so much happiness through the years, so this will be my last post regarding this matter

I apologize again to those that have read this as I love this website and I hope I have not blackened anyones day by sounding like such a grump.
Cheers and thanks to all that have helped :coolsmile:

 

[Jfk4th]

So you don't like the "hot metal smell" being produced by a metal box with a 1500 degree fire inside of it. The retailers and manufacturers probably don't have a solution for you. Do you know what you want? A refund?

I assure both of you it is more than just a hot metal smell, this is the only way I can describe this. I have been around wood stoves for a long time and I have never smelled anything like this. Again frustrating. No refunds needed, I just want my Summit not to "stink" so that everybody that comes in my house does not say "What is that smell"

 

[thechimneysweep]

JFK, your dealer, distributor and manufacturer all know that your stove was made with the same batch of steel as hundreds of identical stoves, and painted with Stove Bright Metallic Black paint in a batch with many, many others. They know there's nothing unique about your mass-produced stove, and they don't think the stove or the paint is causing this odor none of their other customers are complaining about. And neither do I.

I might have an idea for you, if you're willing to try something:

Step 1: unplug your blower and leave it unplugged for the duration of this burn
Step 2: move your thermometer from the stovepipe to the middle of the top plate, just in front of the flue collar
Step 3: crank up a full load, and let it burn wide open until the thermometer reads 800 degrees

If you don't experience the smell, I suspect you might have an intermittent short in your blower, which could cause a "hot" electrical odor

If you do experience the smell, poke your head up into the attic and see if the odor is stronger up there. If it is, I suspect your insulation or roofing might be too close to your chimney.

If you don't smell the odor in the attic, you've at least determined that you've gotten your stove up to paint curing temperature, without the cooling effect of the blower on the top plate. Let the stove cool to room temp, then fire it back up. Let us know what you find out.

 

[Jfk4th]

Thanks, I will try this but here is some info
I have burned this to 750F for about 3 hours, stovetop temp not stack temp since I now have double wall. I burn this many times without the blower on but I will try unplugging it and see if this changes things. I do not have an attic unfortunately but I did have some blown-in insulation put in way before the stove was installed. I get the smell at about 400F.
I will let you know, thanks for the idea.

 

[Robbie]

JFK, the first thing you need to do is to get several people to verify what you are smelling. Ask a neighbor to come in and don't tell him or her what it is you want them to smell except that it is wood stove related.

Then you will have back up to follow this through...............I would not hesitate to drop this stove at the dealers door step and stop all payments.........there is simply no reason for this smell to last that long.

Make sure and get back up smellers.......... %-P



Robbie

 

[bbc557ci]

Thanks, I will try this but here is some info
I have burned this to 750F for about 3 hours, stovetop temp not stack temp since I now have double wall. I burn this many times without the blower on but I will try unplugging it and see if this changes things. I do not have an attic unfortunately but I did have some blown-in insulation put in way before the stove was installed. I get the smell at about 400F.
I will let you know, thanks for the idea.

The pipe coming directly from the stove is double wall ? I wonder if the smell is the paint on that double wall. Maybe the double wall gets hot enough to start the paint on it curing, but not not getting quite hot enough to finish the job ??

The 1st hot fire in my PE T6 stunk up the house pretty bad. Had to open a couple of windows downstairs and upstairs to air out, and get the smoke detectors to stop beeping. I got a wiff of that smell a couple of more times again, when I burned real hot. After a few hot burns, the smell was gone and never returned.

Good Luck, JFK. Hope you solve the problem.

 

[jtp10181]

You should verify with the dealer that they used an attic insulation shield or something else to keep the insulation away from the pipe. I have found that hot insulation gives off a "metal" type of smell. This has been on gas units where the outer shell does not even get that hot, but hot enough to make the insulation out-gas.

Or... was this insulation blown in after the chimney pipe was there? If so I think you may have found the problem.

But.. that wouldn't make sense because the old stove did do it? I dunno, worth a shot I guess.

 

[Jfk4th]

Thanks for the replies, just to update, the temp was 825F now going down. Smell still there sadly. I wish all of you could come inside and smell what I and others smell. Signing off for now.....

 

[Jfk4th]

You should verify with the dealer that they used an attic insulation shield or something else to keep the insulation away from the pipe. I have found that hot insulation gives off a "metal" type of smell. This has been on gas units where the outer shell does not even get that hot, but hot enough to make the insulation out-gas.

Or... was this insulation blown in after the chimney pipe was there? If so I think you may have found the problem.

But.. that wouldn't make sense because the old stove did do it? I dunno, worth a shot I guess.

Dealer used a shield for the blown-in insulation that was there before, thanks anyways

 

[lvfd50]

Can I ask what dealers you have gone to so maybe I won't. I will be installing a new stove in a house in western new york in the next year and want to make sure I find a good dealer. I have a great dealer when I have issues at my cabin, but now that I'm moving to a different house and want a wood stove there I need to find a good one in Western New York. Thanks

 

[tradergordo]

If you are getting desperate - how about trying to burn rediculously hot for as long as you possibly can? If that doesn't cure any paint, nothing will. This SHOULD produce your smell, but then the smell should dissappear in future fires. By rediculously hot, I mean, look up what temp the manufacturer considers over-firing, and burn about 50 degrees lower than that. You'll probably need to use super dry wood for this, with lots of surface area. Just get some pallets, cut them up, and load the stove half way, adding fuel after that until you hit your target temp, and then feeding it every hour to maintain that temp for as long as you can (10 hours ought to do it). Crack a window, maybe put a fan in the window too, for ventilation, and to keep the house from overheating.

 

[Henz]

well I was thinking it may be the bricks inside but then you wouldnt get the smell from that I guess since the gasses go out the chimney. Hmm.. There may be a part that you cant see from the outside that was painted really really thick-like and it will take months to eliminate

 

[begreen]

I'm wondering if something crawled in and died between the inner and outer walls of the stove. Either that or the welder forgot his limburger sandwich in there...

JFK have you been able to pinpoint the smell to any area, like out of the convection vents?

 

[elmoleaf]

Your stove is drawing air for combustion from somewhere else in your house. I suspect that wherever that air is coming from, there's something stinky/dead there.
Perhaps it's pulling stack gas in from a bathroom roof vent? Perhaps air from a crawl space where something died? Something dead inside a wall or right outside the house near where air passes into the house?
When running the stove, try sealing off adjacent rooms or crack a nearby window to see if you can alter when/if the odor appears.

How about some pictures of your stove setup and the general area?

 

[Jimbob]

Take the stove out, set it in the garage and heat the piss out of it with a tiger torch. If you smell the same smell, then you KNOW it's coming from the stove.
Just have the door of the stove open and aim the flame of the torch inside the stove. :coolsmile:

 

[thechimneysweep]

I've been thinking about this situation, and might have an idea. Many years ago, we were told that one of the reasons to "cure" the paint on a new stove with three small-medium fires was that until the paint is properly cured, a too-hot fire can burn it. The message was, if you cure it slowly you'll smell the hot paint smell for three fires, but if you burn the paint, you'll smell it forever.

Ever since, we've given each customer a handout describing the proper curing procedure, and put a copy in our online Sweep's Library at http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hobreakn.htm. We really stress that this procedure must be followed, and we've never had a customer complain of burnt paint, so I didn't think of this right away.

JFK, is it possible you burnt your paint during the first fire or two?

 

[savageactor7]

Yeah I remember your post about a month or so ago. Sorry to hear you still have this problem JFK...that new stove smell fouls the entire house...same thing when I use to update single wall flue pipe as well. Kind of like a burnt machine oil smell...YUKS!

just a random thought. let the stove go cold and remove all the bricks then inspect carefully. A disgruntled employee might have squirled an oiley rag in the stove bricks...ya never know brother.

 

[tutu_sue]

You have a window close to the stove. Maybe something there like the blinds?

 

[begreen]

This reminds me of the lady with the Osburn that was gunking up their house. We never did hear the lab analysis of what the gunk was, but there was no doubt it was a problem with the stove. Makes me wonder if on rare occasion a stove leaves the factory with a sub-prime paint job where the paint was not mixed correctly?

 

[Jfk4th]

This could be one of the those Begreen, I have been using a brand new Englander for a couple of days, the curring is going away and there is not much smell left. I am going to burn it hot maybe tomorrow again when the wife and kids are gone. When the curring is done I guess I have narrowed it down to the Summit stove as being the problem not anything in my house or pipes, etc. I am not 100% sure it is the stove but it looks like it is. It is kind of sad seeing my Summit in the garage just standing there every time I grab wood.
But, if it is the stove I will either try to get another from PE or buy another stove

At least I can enjoy burning a stove again