smoke odor during slow burn

[RustyShackleford]

Hi, newbie here ... I have been heating with wood for about 33 years.
I have a Consolidated Dutchwest Federal "air tight" stove that is about
20 years old.

For the past few years, I have noticed a subtle smokey odor in my
house when I attempt a slow burn - specifically when I close the air
intake WAY down in order to keep coals going until the morning.

It's not enough smoke to bother the smoke alarms or CO monitor, or
to leave a residual odor in the house, but it IS aesthetically displeasing.

My chimney remains very clean - I clean it every 2-3 years but it
doesn't really seem to need it. The catalytic converter is pretty old
but still seems to light up well.

I'm wondering if the problem is simply that the stove is really old and
the seals between the cast plates have deteriorated. And if so, what to
do about it. I'm pretty handy, and replaced all the door/etc seals
awhile back, but I found that to be a big pain and assume replacing
the internal seals is quite a bit more involved.

Thanks !

 

[Brian VT]

The smoke may be from a bit of backpuffing as the air has been taken away from the burn.
I get some at times and it's usually not a big deal unless you get a big one.
Try closing your air down in stages as opposed to all at once.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

When you are down to coals, it is time to open that draft, not close it!

 

[wellbuilt home]

Hi I burned a DW 24/7 for 15 years +- and loved it . I would try cleaning the ash around the cat and replacing the top gasket. My stove always burned clean and never really needed to clean it , mostly just inspected the stove and flue and ran the brush up a few times . If you get the stove hot and turn the air down low you could run a lighter around the out side and see if the flame is sucked in any where . My stove was over fired and cracked . The grate on the bottom was bent in a u shape the rear stone cracked in 3 places and the top of the box split where the cat sits. With all that damage my box was still air tight . Try moving your glass around in the frame i had to change my gasket there was some smoke leaking out on the top of the door if the stove puffed . Try dusting out the stove there is a air intake on the bottom that crates convection heat and you could be smelling burnt dust from around your cat . John

 

[Jags]

Take a good, hard look at any joint/gasket area. Sounds like you are getting a little "leak by" when the stove is being lazy. If its a metal to metal joint, rutland stove cement can be used, or if it is a gasket area, well....you already know about changing gaskets.

Also check your pipe for a good connector seal. Inspect for cracks in steel components. Just a few ideas off the top of my head.

 

[sammy]

Hey guys,
I have a few questions to those of you who had or are having problems with odor from your EKO 40. I finally got my stove running christmas eve, i waited a week to let the stove break in before complaning to the local supplier. Since then he has been over n gave me a pamphlet with knew settings for my stove. Those settings have not worked, so i have been trying to adjust with no luck to get rid of the smell. So in short i know at least 5 diffrent people who bought stoves from the same supplier (those stoves are EKO 25) and some have a far worse odor and some less. The supplier has tried several diffrent things with there stoves with no luck. I cannot see any visible smoke except once in a while a puff comes out on both sides of the fan cover, but the odor seems to be coming from door. I have a newborn in the house and would like to get rid of the smell. Will this stove always have a creosote smell? Also should i be messing with this myself, or should the company be doing something about this? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[RustyShackleford]

Thanks for the replies and ideas.

I don't think it's back-puffing; I know about that and don't think it's happening,
and this isn't something that just happens when I first close things down for the
night (I don't think).

Sounds like I need to look for leaks; turning on the whole house fan is a way to
find 'em quick !

Or just get a new stove. Lotta money, but 20 years' service
is good for the old one, and could probably find a good home for it. The new
ones spook me a little, with the non-access to the catalytic (you must remove
the stove top plate).

 

[weezer4117]

maybe the exhaust is coming back in the house through the windows??? just a thought

 

[BotetourtSteve]

My 600 does the exact same thing when it is turned way down, or slow getting going. It is a faint smell, and it smells of "burned smoke" versus "raw smoke" if that makes sense (same smell as outside from chimney since smoke is reburned in stove). It bugged me at first, but I have learned to basically ignore it. Never anything visible, and has never set off smoke detector (nor CO detector since I don't have one). I figure it is just a quirk of a cast stove.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Every home that I've been in that is heated with wood, if you smell that, it is almost always caused by not properly seasoned wood. Even in the tightest stove, you can still smell that stuff. Ugly.