Fire alarm and cast iron stove experts?

[BobUrban]

I did put this in the classic forum but we get more traffic over here and I think this relates to any stove, especially any cast stove so please forgive me if I am out of bounds. PS. as many of you know I am upgrading to an EPA for next season. Any input, feedback or experiance is helpful to me as a newer wood heat junkie.

***I am burning a VC Defiant that was siting for some time prior to my install. I did a total quality inspection, clean up/out and checked for any obvious air leaks with a shop light shut inside in a dark room. Nothing could be seen or identified from that test so I was good to go. Stove was owned by a family member who rarely used it so it is actually in great, like new, condition other than surface rust from sitting under a tarp in their garage for years.

My question relating to smoke alarms is this: If I go from cold or luke warm with stove top temps at around 100 or less to 350-400 rather quickly I am setting off my hard wired alarm system in the house and driving the dog crazy. I can run it at 450-500 no problem as long as I ease it up there. The alarms only go off it it gets there in a hurry. Estimated time is around 10minutes or less from like 290-375/400 and BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!! Also, when I do this I get a funky smell from the stove. Not strong and not wood smoke(there almost never any smoke in the house) just a chemical type of HOT smell. This only happens when it gets hot in a hurry and I am guessing that is what is setting off the alarms. If I take it up slowly from 300-400+ and up this smell does not happen and subsequently - no alarm.

I was guessing that the smell was the little bit of Rutlands I used around the seams or maybe the brand new stove pipe burning in but again, it only happens at certain times, not certain temps. I have had the stove to over 750 on top with no alarm and do not plan to go that high again(learning curve) and like it cruising in the 4-500 range with 450 as my upper, walk away-leave the house-go to bed, comfort zone.

I have also run a lighter around the stove at the seams and doors and do not see any bending of the flame indicating leaks.

So, do you think this is the panels not being seated together well when cold and there is gasses leaking a bit on fast fire ups prior to the stove getting warm and expanding? Or is it that the new alarms(replaced all of them with stove in the fall) are just real sensitive and the sudden change in temp is setting them off?

Sorry to be so long winded but I anticipated as many questions as I could think of to get a more educated answer from the experts. I am not real concerned as far as a hazard because everything is working fine, although I did panic a tad the first couple times. It is more of an inconvenience as related to the noise and my dog.

Thanks for any help with my question - Bob Urban

 

[nyokie]

my new stove pipe gave off a pretty good stink until i had quite a few hot burns in, id let her rip a time or 2 and see if it quits?

 

[firefighterjake]

The detectors are picking up something . . . but as to why they would only pick up something when you run the stove up quick . . . well I am stymied. Since smoke detectors are not heat detectors it isn't the heat or rate of heat rise that are setting them off (although I should say that heated air can affect smoke detectors in the fact that hot air rises and often carries particles of dust, smoke, chemical compounds,etc. up to the detector.

 

[Chettt]

sudden change in temperature.

 

[OldVet66]

If this is just an interconnected smoke detector system, I would change the one in that room to a kitchen smoke detector (of the same brand). they are a little more tolerant than the standard smoke detector. If it is another type of system, I wouldn't know about that.

 

[firefighterjake]

If this is just an interconnected smoke detector system, I would change the one in that room to a kitchen smoke detector (of the same brand). they are a little more tolerant than the standard smoke detector. If it is another type of system, I wouldn't know about that.

Actually this may not be a bad idea . . . I would guess the detector is an ionization type of detector . . . perhaps swapping out the detector (doesn't matter if it is a stand alone or interconnected detector) for a photo-electric detector may possibly fix the problem.

 

[stircrazy]

I would call the company that installed them and ask if you have a smoke/heat detector.

that is behaving like a heat detector where they are actavated by a specific amount of heat change over a period of time. changing it to a regular smoke alarm (if it is a heat detector) will fix the problem.

Steve

 

[nola mike]

I'm wondering if something is getting hotter than you think it is. If you run up the temps quickly, the point where you're measuring might be lagging behind, say, the flue pipe or whatever.

 

[OldVet66]

On the interconnected smoke detectors, any replacement must be the same brand. Other detector brands are known to set off the alarms. I have been out of the electrical trade fore some years now so I'm not currently up on what is currently being installed. They are a simple system, black and white wire to feed power and supply a neutral to the alarm, and a red wire to trip all the other alarms in the house if one goes off. All the bare grounds are tied together and are not used to connected to the plastic alarm itself. Older powered systems may only be two wire, and brand does not matter because only the affected alarm goes off. The same applies for battery only alarms. It all depends on the age of the house and what code required when the house was built. Then there are fire alarm systems that are a different animal altogether and not found in most homes. You don't find parts for them at your local hardware store.