Cleaned exhaust blower, now a smoke smell

[greg48154]

Yesterday I pulled the exhaust blower out and gave it a good cleaning. Replaced with a new gasket and put back together. There is a U shaped bracket that was giving me a hard time, I think it secures the blower to the exhaust chamber, that's what it looks like. It has 6 screws on it to secure it. I fired the burner up this afternoon and now there is a smoke smell. I cannot see any smoke leaking from anywhere. The blower is the only thing I touched yesterday. Any ideas to where the smell can be coming from? My first thought was that U shaped bracket but all the screws where put back in and tightened. My CO detectors are reading zero. I have read in other threads where ash could plug a leak after a while if burning. The burner is an insert so it's not the easiest to get back there. I can see the exhaust blower when I open the side panel. Thanks for any suggestions

Greg

 

[boo boo]

You must have a leak back there either from the u shaped bracket you described or from the exhaust pipe itself. The distribution fan is probably picking that up and blowing it into the room air. Can you smell it from the hot air exiting the stove?

 

[greg48154]

Yes, the smell is being blown out of the heat exchanger into the room. I just don't understand, I unscrewed the 6 screws, pulled the bracket off, then put it back on and tightened. If I seal it, won't it be a pain to get off in the future? I don't know if silicone tape will work because I can't go completely around it

 

[boo boo]

I can see the exhaust blower when I open the side panel.

Use a flashlight when the room is dark around the blower where you did the work and the exhaust line during a start up
The smoke will be more visible then.
They make a high temp silicone for the exhaust that can be scraped or peeled away when needed

 

[greg48154]

Ok. Thanks