Noob - New Stove - Very bad smell! Help!

We're in the SW of France, where the weather has turned and we've had an Arduro wood stove installed a couple weeks ago. We ran it on and off over a few days with all seeming to go well until yesterday morning, when we woke to a very strong smell in the house. I had a look at the stove and found that around the join between the chimney and stove, there was a tarry liquid bubbling away and the source of the smell. We'd been using oak, that's apparently seasoned, so I was surprised that this was there, not to mention how quickly such a large amount had built up (it's run from the joint, over the top plate (below an insulating plate...so hard to reach!) and down along the doorway to the floor).

I let everything cool down and cleaned out the stove and have 2 questions:

1- I've never installed a stove, so am not really qualified to assess the work, but wonder if the installer simply failed to use a compound to seal the joint (and if compound is always used?). Aside from not using compound, are there other likely reasons for this problem? The person who installed it is a jack-of-all-trades type, employed by the owner of the house we're renting and it would be helpful to understand as much as possible so that we can work together to resolve this. Things can move slowly around here and I don't want it to take many attempts to fix this (I'm also buying a carbon monoxide detector to ensure that we minimise risk to our family, in case it does take several attempts before it's fixed)

2- The tarry substance has hardened, and I'll need to clean it (it's in some hard-to-get-to places as well and gummed up the joint for the damper...argh!). Any recommendations on natural stuff or active ingredients that should be in cleaning products to remove this? Looks like it won't be easy. As I'm out in a rural area, finding products that are common in large (anglo!) building supply places is unlikely here (which is the reason that I'm asking for active ingredients or natural solutions, as that will help track down corresponding products available in France).

Many thanks for any suggestions!

Simonkenton said:

That black tarry stuff is creosote.

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Yes, it's quite long pipe (as it's in a room with a very high ceiling).
I thought it would be creosote, but was surprised by how much and how quickly it appeared. The installer stopped by this afternoon and said he thinks it might be plastic that was lining the chimney pipe, but I'm wondering about this because 1) the quantity seems too great for some liner plastic (and knowing this would be used for a chimney, lining it with plastic, even for transport seems like inviting a problem). Even if that was the cause, I'd have thought that it would not come through the joint. He mentioned that it's not sealed, but I'd have thought there should be a seal between the pipe and stove?

Squisher said:

Cleaning that creosote up is a good idea, but it's treating the symptom not the ailment.

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Agreed! Any suggestions on best way to do this?

You should get some pictures up here of the stove and setup. You should confirm the moisture content of your wood with a moisture meter, and you should confirm the temperatures that your stove is running at with a thermometer...

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Will try to get pics. I think I've got a moisture meter somewhere. Will try and dig it out and I'll look at the manual for temps.

It's a new stove, so have you had a fire hot enough in it yet that any of the paint has burned off/cured. Like has it got hot and smoke either come off of it or the connecting pipes that smelled really noxious and you had to open up windows and whatnot?
If you haven't then you're not getting nearly hot enough.

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The manual advised to run the initial fires with the door slightly ajar, which did and susbsequently I've had it running with around three to 4 four 33cm logs (it's got a small capacity and doesn't fit standard logs...annoying). So it's burned, I think as hot as it'll go. It gave off a smell from the paint for the first couple days. Then a day or two was fine, but then the smell that led to this email appeared.

begreen said:

One thing that you can check right away. Stove pipe has a plain (female) end and a crimped (male) end. The male end is always pointing down, toward the stove...

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Thanks. Will check this with the installer in the morning.

Thanks to each of you for your help! Here are some pics...

Update!

The installer came full of contrition...and a correct joint (I.e. male to swap out with the previous). He's back today to ensure that a couple details are set right. In the meantime I've gone into town and bought a carbon monoxide detector to install (I'm playing it safe that this is all done as it should be)!
I went out this morning and split some wood and used a moisture meter and the values are all good (16-19).
Unfortunately some of the paint has rubbed off the top of the stove and the bare metal shows. I'm assuming I'll need to paint this as I imagine it'll otherwise rust?
Thanks to all of you for your help. Exceptionally wonderful and helpful! I'll let you know how we get on once everything is set and we light it again.

Thanks. The installer went to specialist before coming out with the (male) joint for the stove itself. We'd had lots of wet weather and the other thing that he'd been advised was that the gap between the chimney cap and the opening is too great. He's replacing it with something with a shorter gap. Could that explain it?