Brand new Harman p35i wood smell inside

[warren0127]

Hello,

I just had a brand new harman p35i installed today. The installer said it is normal to smell the oils burning off in the first 30 mins. He ran it on test and then ran it on high room temp and said after 30 mins it should be good.

I fired it up again a few hours later and I’m smelling the wood pine smell from my pellets heavy. I’m pretty sure it’s the pine smell but could also still be the oil metal smell from being new.

Do I need to worry? Or should I give it a few more hours of running? He said he sealed the pipe inside and outside. Not sure what could be the issue. I have an OAK he ran out the side of my bumpout and the flue is ran up and out the back wall (I have a pre fab framed dog house that came with the house attached to my living room).

Thanks for any help. Again, I’m hoping it’s just from being new but something tells me I’m not supposed to smell the pine smell from my pine pellets…

 

[warren0127]

Day #2 and have ran the stove a total of 5
Times. Still smelling wood burning smell inside the house. Not sure if it still needs to be cured or not but I would’ve thought if it was new stove burn off smells they would’ve been gone by now. Thanks again for any help or suggestions. I don’t see smoke or anything like that.

I will say when it first ignites the flue pushes out smoke initially but only for the first 15 seconds or so.

 

[mtnbiker727]

There should never be a smoke smell inside the house. Something is not sealed correctly. Call the installer back and have them make it right.

I'm not familiar with inserts, can you pull them out of the chimney and still run them? If so, turn the lights out next time you start it and use a flashlight in the back to try to catch the shadow of the smoke. Then you'll know where it's leaking from.

 

[johneh]

If you are still smelling smoke take the advice from Mtnbiker 727
and others in your last post. We are not there and have gone throw the process
of checking for a leak. At this point, all you will get is a rehash of what you
have been told before. Get your installer out and show him

 

[Don2222]

Check the exhaust flange docking gasket. After the frame was installed, the threaded rods that hold the frame into the fire place should be nice and tight. Then when the stove is pushed into the fireplace frame the foam docking gasket should be seated properly. Check for any defect in the foam gasket and make sure it is a snug fit when the stove is pushed in. I have seen another brand stove not seated correctly and cause this problem.
Good luck

 

[warren0127]

Check the exhaust flange docking gasket. After the frame was installed, the threaded rods that hold the frame into the fire place should be nice and tight. Then when the stove is pushed into the fireplace frame the foam docking gasket should be seated properly. Check for any defect in the foam gasket and make sure it is a snug fit when the stove is pushed in. I have seen another brand stove not seated correctly and cause this problem.
Good luck

Thanks for the tip. I called my installer and he is coming out this week to check things. He even mentioned what you said above and thinks it may be it. He also said the joints were duravent double wall pvp and snap together with a gasket that make a seal… and said silicone and tape are not needed for those types of pipes.

 

[Don2222]

Thanks for the tip. I called my installer and he is coming out this week to check things. He even mentioned what you said above and thinks it may be it. He also said the joints were duravent double wall pvp and snap together with a gasket that make a seal… and said silicone and tape are not needed for those types of pipes.

That is true about the Duravent silicone pipe seals however you could easily add High Temp Foil tape to each Duravent Seam to be sure.

 

[warren0127]

Ok so the installer came back out and checked everything. Apparently the pipe connection that is on the back of the docking station that connects to the flue had a very small leak. The foil tape had a brown streak which indicated the leak. So he put the high heat silicone on it.

Another thing he pointed out but said it wasn’t a leak issue was the foam gasket. The one corner of it was brown, but he said because it didn’t have a streak that came out to the edge that it was not leaking.

A few hours later I fired it up and I would say most of the smell is gone and def has improved a ton. I do get a whiff for the first few minutes when firing it up and also a whiff as it cools down… in between I still think at some times I can occasionally smell it BUT.. I’m not sure if I’m spelling the metal stove smell or not. Perhaps the foam gasket corner that was brown is in fact still maybe contributing to a very small leak, but again the smell seems to be gone for the most part.

I am told I’m still not supposed to smell anything at all period after break in and I’m still getting a faint smell occasionally but smells more like hot metal I think.

Also the Simpson duravent joints do not have foil tape over them

 

[warren0127]

Ok so the installer came back out and checked everything. Apparently the pipe connection that is on the back of the docking station that connects to the flue had a very small leak. The foil tape had a brown streak which indicated the leak. So he put the high heat silicone on it.

Another thing he pointed out but said it wasn’t a leak issue was the foam gasket. The one corner of it was brown, but he said because it didn’t have a streak that came out to the edge that it was not leaking.

A few hours later I fired it up and I would say most of the smell is gone and def has improved a ton. I do get a whiff for the first few minutes when firing it up and also a whiff as it cools down… in between I still think at some times I can occasionally smell it BUT.. I’m not sure if I’m spelling the metal stove smell or not. Perhaps the foam gasket corner that was brown is in fact still maybe contributing to a very small leak, but again the smell seems to be gone for the most part.

I am told I’m still not supposed to smell anything at all period after break in and I’m still getting a faint smell occasionally but smells more like hot metal I think.

Also the Simpson duravent joints do not have foil tape over them

Quick update:

I ran the stove again today for 2 hours. Appears I get a slight smell of burn smell only during the initial start up for about 15 mins and then when it starts to shut off. The smell isnt present during the prime burn times and only smell hot air.

Is it normal to get the burn smell during the startup and shut down periods?

 

[johneh]

Start-up and shutdown are the only times a pellet stove should produce smoke
More so on start-up, If you get smoke at other times you have an inefficient burn

 

[stoveliker]

But the question is whether that smoke should be smell-able in the home.

Not knowing much about pellet stoves, I would think it should not be smellable in the home. To me this suggests some sealing issue in the down-fire system (as it's at a little overpressure by the exhaust fan).

 

[johneh]

You should not be able to smell any smoke
In 23 years of using a pellet stove have never
smelled smoke (from the stove) in the house

 

[warren0127]

You should not be able to smell any smoke
In 23 years of using a pellet stove have never
smelled smoke (from the stove) in the house

Yeah I was under that assumption too. I get mixed answers from different dealers. Some say it’s normal to smell a bit of wood burn smoke at startup only for a few mins and some say as you said not supposed to smell anything.

Well at least part of my issue was resolved. Now I just need to figure out what’s causing the initial startup smell. Perhaps the gasket needs to be replaced or docking station reseated as don mentioned.

 

[Ocelot]

As a general rule, if everything is sealed well, you shouldn't get the burning wood smell from a pellet stove. That said, it isn't uncommon to hear people say they get a brief small amount of smell just on start up. In my case for example my Harman is sealed up tight with no leaks, but I sometimes get just a touch of campfire smell on start up. Not because of a stove leak, but just because my house is old and not 100% airtight. During start up, which is the only time the stove even makes smoke, I might smell a small amount of that campfire smell from the smoke that goes outside the flue pipe, probably through the leaky house itself. Once the flame is going and there's no more smoke, it goes away I don't even get it all the time, probably less than 50% of the time. Maybe due to outside conditions such as wind direction, pressure, etc.
I think of it this way, if there was a nearby brush fire, or something else causing a strong odor outside and I could detect it indoors with all the windows closed, my house isn't sealed tight, so same idea, but just from the initial smoke coming out of the flue during ignition.

Ray

 

[warren0127]

Ray,

Thanks for that insight. I went to vacuum out my stove and I noticed the left side of the burn box has an ooze streak of black, whereas the right side does not. attacking some photos to show you, but I’m not sure if this is normal or not and if it may be contributing to the smell at startup? Looks like a streak coming from the left side underneath.

 

[stoveliker]

In a wood stove that would suggest an air leak there, which could expel some smoke.

 

[johneh]

In a wood stove that would suggest an air leak there, which could expel some smoke.

I would agree but that's inside the firebox which is under vacuum
when the combustion fan is running so it pulls air into the firebox not pushes air out

 

[warren0127]

I would agree but that's inside the firebox which is under vacuum
when the combustion fan is running so it pulls air into the firebox not pushes air out

Thanks. But regardless do you think this is still an issue with the stove itself? Perhaps the burn pot assembly needs to be replaced if it’s leaking?