Air poisoning?

[Rogerwood]

For the past three weeks I’ve had a bad taste in my mouth. It started one day when I was loading the stove and it seemed like one of the logs had a bad burnt plastic smell to it. Since then, the bad taste in my mouth lingers all day long and eventually starts to go away, but each time I work with my woodstove or smell the smoke outside my home the bad taste comes back and takes forever to go away. It’s a metallic taste. I’m mostly burning Elm. Is there some kind of toxin in the stuff? I’ve been using my woodstove for over a month now. I wouldn’t think I’m still burning off paint am I? Not sure if this matters, but my woodstove is in my concrete basement which was put in three years ago.
No one else in my house it’s experiencing this, but I tend the stove 90% of the time.

 

[begreen]

Have you been tested for Covid-19?

 

[Rogerwood]

Have you been tested for Covid-19?

Not yet. But That thought did cross my mind

 

[begreen]

Odd taste and smell can be a symptom for some.

Might also be the paint not baking in. What stove is this and how hot has it been run?

 

[Rogerwood]

Odd taste and smell can be a symptom for some.

Might also be the paint not baking in. What stove is this and how hot has it been run?

2004 Lopi Liberty. Repainted when we purchased it in November 2020. It has reached 600° a couple of times. Otherwise I run between 400 and 500

 

[begreen]

2004 Lopi Liberty. Repainted when we purchased it in November 2020. It has reached 600° a couple of times. Otherwise I run between 400 and 500

I'd take it up to 650 or 700º stovetop to further bake it in. What paint was used? Does the paint job still look good, no sign of any issues like aligatoring?

 

[gthomas785]

I've caught a whiff of a "burnt plastic" smell from my fire a couple times, it seems to happen if I open the stove partway through a load of less than ideally seasoned wood. Like a really intense creosote smell that starts to get a bit of a chemical quality to it. Could that be what you're smelling? If so then I'd check your wood moisture and make sure you're not smoldering the fire by turning it down too low. That's all I can think of. If it was the paint then I think you'd smell it whenever the stove was hot.

 

[MMH]

Do you have any other signs/symptoms? I’ll +1 begreen; you’ve baked the stove, and maybe it could use a little more but I wouldn’t think you would get a lingering smell and taste issue out of this, I baked my stove at 600 also, no problems. If this were a curing issue I’d think predominantly smell. Quick search reveals elm can cause skin and eye irritation but anything else is very rare. The fact there is a taste issue also and it’s been weeks I’d say get yourself swabbed for covid

Also keep in mind that if it’s been weeks you may swab negative as you no longer have active virus, the smell and taste issues can linger for weeks-months.

 

[kennyp2339]

Thats def weird, for what its worth I was in a house fire last Monday, got a couple mouth full's of that acrid house is on fire smoke before I put my mask on, got home later that night, took a shower, drank a beer, took another shower and went to bed, woke up fine the next morning.

 

[peakbagger]

Carbon Monoxide has a distinct taste and odor. If the stove is running without enough air it can put out a lot of CO quickly. It has a very brownish haze to it. Very bad stuff as once CO binds to a blood cell it locks out O2 from transferring to it in the lungs. When I tune up large wood boilers I usually get a couple of hits inadvertently. On occasion I have heard of folks with partially plugged stacks getting CO from their stove.

Since my boiler is a bottom grate, I can create large CO plumes if I have a bed of hot coals and throw a shovel of scraps or sawdust in on the coals. The coals gasify the wood scraps but there is no secondary air. If I open the loading door too quick, the flames will lick out the door in search of oxygen. I think firefighters call it backdraft where there is far more fuel than air to burn it. CO is unburned fuel it needs around 1700 degrees F to burn unless there is catalyst. Otherwise it just goes up the stack.

Given that a prime early symptom of Covid is change or loss of taste and smell definitely get a good test to rule it out.

 

[MMH]

Carbon Monoxide has a distinct taste and odor. If the stove is running without enough air it can put out a lot of CO quickly. It has a very brownish haze to it. Very bad stuff as once CO binds to a blood cell it locks out O2 from transferring to it in the lungs. When I tune up large wood boilers I usually get a couple of hits inadvertently. On occasion I have heard of folks with partially plugged stacks getting CO from their stove.

Since my boiler is a bottom grate, I can create large CO plumes if I have a bed of hot coals and throw a shovel of scraps or sawdust in on the coals. The coals gasify the wood scraps but there is no secondary air. If I open the loading door too quick, the flames will lick out the door in search of oxygen. I think firefighters call it backdraft where there is far more fuel than air to burn it. CO is unburned fuel it needs around 1700 degrees F to burn unless there is catalyst. Otherwise it just goes up the stack.

Given that a prime early symptom of Covid is change or loss of taste and smell definitely get a good test to rule it out.

CO is actually colorless/odorless etc hence why it’s called the silent killer; also, your hemoglobin binds CO with 200x more affinity than oxygen, CO actually prevents your hemoglobin from releasing oxygen.

 

[gthomas785]

CO is actually colorless/odorless etc hence why it’s called the silent killer; also, your hemoglobin binds CO with 200x more affinity than oxygen, CO actually prevents your hemoglobin from releasing oxygen.

That's true, whatever @peakbagger is breathing probably contains some CO but that can't be the only component since CO itself does not have a smell.

Now, if you breathe enough CO it could actually cause you to experience a metallic taste due to hypoxia, but that is very serious and you'd probably be gasping for air at the same time.

 

[MMH]

That's true, whatever @peakbagger is breathing probably contains some CO but that can't be the only component since CO itself does not have a smell.

Now, if you breathe enough CO it could actually cause you to experience a metallic taste due to hypoxia, but that is very serious and you'd probably be gasping for air at the same time.

Yeah agreed there’s obviously more components in there besides CO, and yes you’re highly likely to be past the point of no return so to speak at that point.

 

[peakbagger]

Yes I agree, its not pure CO but the incomplete combustion odor associated with substoichometric combustion is very distinct. If I have a precision meter around I usually overwhelm the sensor as it goes from less than 10 PPM to 10,000 PPM in a very short period of time.

 

[Rogerwood]

I've caught a whiff of a "burnt plastic" smell from my fire a couple times, it seems to happen if I open the stove partway through a load of less than ideally seasoned wood. Like a really intense creosote smell that starts to get a bit of a chemical quality to it. Could that be what you're smelling? If so then I'd check your wood moisture and make sure you're not smoldering the fire by turning it down too low. That's all I can think of. If it was the paint then I think you'd smell it whenever the stove was hot.

I think you’re probably right about the wet wood. It’s definitely chemical sort of taste. Sort of reminds me when I used to grind steel for a job. my neighbor has been giving me all the old elm from around his fields, but none of it has been properly stacked and dried. It burns up great but I have a feeling it still has too much moisture in it.
so it sounds like I either have Covid with absolutely no other symptoms, or I have breathed in so much creosote that it is taking a while to get it back out of my system

 

[stoveliker]

So, get a swab of your nose, and buy a moisture meter for a few bucks, as well as a CO alarm.

The first and last protect you and your family, the middle one is an excuse to buy a tool - but one you can use to prevent chimney fires by making sure your wood does not have excess moisture.

 

[john26]

Dad had a few loads of black locust that had a horrible smell when it was burnt, but it was out of a septic drain field it even stuck when we cut it.

 

[begreen]

One should not be smelling the fire in the stove indoors regardless of the wood being burned.

 

[stoveliker]

One should not be smelling the fire in the stove indoors regardless of the wood being burned.

Correct, but the OP does say that the smelling starts when the door is open.
Wet wood leading to creosote and a (so far partial) blockage could be consistent with this.

Has the OP checked (binoculars) any chimney cap for creosote?

 

[brickie]

By chance, have you eaten pine nuts lately?
It happened to me....

Food, Nutrition and Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle

Latest trends and guidance on food, nutrition, and recipes for general healthy living and chronic illnesses.

www.berkeleywellness.com

 

[firefighterjake]

As others said it may be worth the time to do a Covid test . . . as much as it pains me to suggest it . . . the "poke your brain" test, not the simple swab the end of the nose.

Several weeks back I had a day where everything I ate tasted metallic . . . then I got really sick for several days. Ended up doing one of those simple tests at Walgreens and it came back negative. My wife also ended up sick, but only had a mildly sore throat for a day. I ended up with several other symptoms which have more or less resolved (I still have an infrequent cough) . . . ended up having a second test about two weeks in . . . also negative. Nurse tried to convince me to go for the more invasive test to rule out Covid as she said it was better at determining whether I might have had it by looking for antibodies in my system, but I'm spleeny and opted to not do so.

That said . . . I am still having issues with taste as many foods have a bitter after taste . . . particularly sweet foods like donuts, cake, ice cream, etc. . . . in other words all the foods I really, really, really enjoyed eating. Meanwhile, my wife reports that meat has an odd taste to her.

At this point getting a test to see if I had Covid 19 would be fruitless as I have had both shots from the Moderna vaccine and it should in theory show antibodies at this point.

 

[MMH]

As others said it may be worth the time to do a Covid test . . . as much as it pains me to suggest it . . . the "poke your brain" test, not the simple swab the end of the nose.

Several weeks back I had a day where everything I ate tasted metallic . . . then I got really sick for several days. Ended up doing one of those simple tests at Walgreens and it came back negative. My wife also ended up sick, but only had a mildly sore throat for a day. I ended up with several other symptoms which have more or less resolved (I still have an infrequent cough) . . . ended up having a second test about two weeks in . . . also negative. Nurse tried to convince me to go for the more invasive test to rule out Covid as she said it was better at determining whether I might have had it by looking for antibodies in my system, but I'm spleeny and opted to not do so.

That said . . . I am still having issues with taste as many foods have a bitter after taste . . . particularly sweet foods like donuts, cake, ice cream, etc. . . . in other words all the foods I really, really, really enjoyed eating. Meanwhile, my wife reports that meat has an odd taste to her.

At this point getting a test to see if I had Covid 19 would be fruitless as I have had both shots from the Moderna vaccine and it should in theory show antibodies at this point.

Touché I’m taking round 2 today

 

[Rogerwood]

Here’s a picture of my pipe. It’s about 17 feet tall. But I seem to have plenty of draft. The flames and heat get pulled up the flu with an obvious visual in audible sound

 

[Rogerwood]

By chance, have you eaten pine nuts lately?
It happened to me....

Food, Nutrition and Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle

Latest trends and guidance on food, nutrition, and recipes for general healthy living and chronic illnesses.

www.berkeleywellness.com

Interesting. But no

 

[Rogerwood]

So, get a swab of your nose, and buy a moisture meter for a few bucks, as well as a CO alarm.

The first and last protect you and your family, the middle one is an excuse to buy a tool - but one you can use to prevent chimney fires by making sure your wood does not have excess moisture.

Well, the bad taste is almost gone today. So I’m not sure the swab will do me any good. I do have the moisture meter. It was cheap enough, but the log splitter is a little more costly. At this point it won’t make much difference, because in about a month I’ll be out of firewood. The utilities here are cheap enough that I’m not gonna Buy firewood from someone else. So I’ll just have to wait till next year when I have some more seasoned wood