Harman P43 smelling like smoke...

[joeljjk11]

Hi Everyone - we just had our Harman P43 installed about three weeks ago. It smells like smoke when it is being run. We had the company that installed it come out last week and they put silicone around some joints in the back but it still smells. What am I wondering is if it is safe to run the stove even when it smells like smoke? The company is kind of giving us the run around and they said they can't come back to our house until next Tuesday but it is supposed to be pretty cold this weekend. Can we run the stove in the meantime? My wife and I don't know much about pellet stoves and we are at the mercy of the store we got it from. Any help would be appreciated.

Joel

 

[tsmith]

Is it actually smoke you are smelling or the new paint burning off the stove? When it was installed did the dealer run the stove on high for an hour or two to burn off the paint and get rid of the smell? If it was not test burned, I would open windows and run her on max output to burn the new paint smell out. If this is not the case, you can run the stove and shine a flashlight around all the pipe joints and see if smoke is actually seeping through the joints. If it is, make them come back and seal the joints properly.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Get a CO detector if you don't have one already. Can you see the smoke? As stated above, a new stove needs to be "burned off".

 

[Harmanizer]

Check all connections with a flashlight at startup.Sometimes it helps to turn off the lights.If you smell smoke you should be able to see it.As Harman Lover stated the paint needs to cure and any oil on the exhaust pipe needs to burn off.

 

[joeljjk11]

It is definitely smoke smell. I just took a flashlight and looked under the stove and I could see air coming from the bottom with particles occasionally shooting out. I am not sure if this is normal or not? Also we have a CO detector.

 

[joeljjk11]

One more thing my wife and I noticed is that the vent outside is not completely sealed around the bottom. It looks like they just didn't put silicone along the bottom. There is a small space between the house and the square portion of the outside vent. Could this mean the smoke from outside is coming into the house from this space?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Sounds like your appliance adapter isn't sealing against the exhaust outlet. Any idea as to the brand name of the venting? As far as I'm concerned rope seal gasket pipe is a complete waste of money....

 

[joeljjk11]

Hi again -we are wondering if it is safe to run while it smells? We have a carbon monoxide detector and it hasn't gone off. Is it risky to run it? It is really cold today and the company is coming out tomorrow to fix the stove.

 

[bogieb]

Not sure you would find anyone here that would recommend running it. Only you can decide what kind of risks you are willing to take with your family.

 

[Cory S]

Is it only during start-up or all the time??? Seems like you don't have much of a draft, if any at all for that to happen....

I get a little start-up smell that goes away within 30 minutes or so, only when my pipe/chimney is cold. As soon as some heat gets forced up, its all good. CO detector stays at 0ppm.

 

[bogieb]

Is it only during start-up or all the time??? Seems like you don't have much of a draft, if any at all for that to happen....

I get a little start-up smell that goes away within 30 minutes or so, only when my pipe/chimney is cold. As soon as some heat gets forced up, its all good. CO detector stays at 0ppm.

I was going by posts 5&6 as he seems to have other issues as well. Really don't like that #6. #5 can be deceiving and may just be room air getting kicked around back there.

 

[joeljjk11]

Is it only during start-up or all the time??? Seems like you don't have much of a draft, if any at all for that to happen....

I get a little start-up smell that goes away within 30 minutes or so, only when my pipe/chimney is cold. As soon as some heat gets forced up, its all good. CO detector stays at 0ppm.

It is the worst at start up and shut down. When it is going it is not as bad and we will only occasionally get a faint smell of smoke.

 

[Cory S]

It is the worst at start up and shut down. When it is going it is not as bad and we will only occasionally get a faint smell of smoke.

I actually don't mind a little smell of it once and awhile. Reminds me of the wood stove .

 

[F4jock]

Sounds like once you establish a draft the smell becomes less. What does your outside chimney setup look like? Are you above the roof line?

Also, if you have some sort of leak underneath you've got to trace it and seal it.