This is the second season for this stove. It's a Lopi and we have a double flue pipe. Last night we woke up to the smell of paint and the temp gauge was still midway in the green so at the time of smelling it, the fire was not out of control. We noticed that the outer flue pipe is starting to fade and was wondering if we may have gotten the pipe too hot that would cause paint fade and a chemical smell from the flue pipe.
Help with odor
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vwmike
Feeling the Heat
Get a probe thermometer for the pipe. If it discolored the outside of double wall it is possible you had a fire in the pipe
Is it possible to have had a fire in the pipe when the temps were around 500? I thought in order to have a flue fire the temps and flames needed to reach a certain degree or height?
It is absolutely possible. What is going on in the stove may or may not have anything to do with a chimney fire. If it is an intense fire the draft will increase allot causing the stove temps to go up considerably. But if it is a less intense slow burning chimney fire you may see little difference in stove temps. I don't know if you had a flue fire or not but it is a possibility.
We called the company that installed the stove and flue to have them come out and take a look. They kept saying that the discoloration was normal but I am having a hard time believing that the outer pipe should reach temps to discolor it and it be considered normal. With that and the strong smell if paint last night, something is off.
It does sound like the flue pipe got a lot hotter than expected. Flue temps and stove top temps are not the same. The flue can get too hot sometimes when the stove's air is not turned down enough for the particular load of fuel. This can be due to unusually high draft (cold night) or more flammable fuel (smaller pieces, extra dry wood, high oil content wood, etc.).
How far closed was the air control? How long after reloading the stove was this?
Another possibility can be the way the stove connects to the chimney. Installations with a 90º going into a longish horiz. run and then a tee can tend to accumulate creosote due to sluggish flue gases cooling in that section.
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blacktail
Minister of Fire
The pipe goes straight up and through the roof. No bends. We loaded the box about 10 PM and woke up around 3 with the issue.
That's several hours into the burn cycle and less common. Does this Lopi have a bypass control and if so could it have possibly not been closed all the way?
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