Help With Older Wood Stove!

[1144earthstove]

Hello, I have this older wood stove I've been using for years, it was my late grandfather and I'm guessings it's from the '70s. It's not perfect, it has seam cracks and the inner bricks are starting to break. I've included some pics. My problem is every time I get a hot fire roaring I start to get a wood smell, it's not smoke but it smells like hot wood if that makes sense. Sometimes it bothers my allergies. I have multiple carbon monoxide detectors around the house that have peak-level options. I've never once had them show anything nor have they ever gone off. I can't figure out what that smell is and where it's coming from. Could it be a small amount of smoke or fumes leaking from the seams? I do notice once in a while my stove can back puff smoke, but it's not too often. Thanks.

 

[begreen]

When was the chimney last given a full and thorough cleaning?

 

[1144earthstove]

When was the chimney last given a full and thorough cleaning?

The Chimney is clean, it was just done a week ago. Seems like the smell is coming from the wood stove itself, but It doesn't smell like smoke and I cannot see any smoke leaking with a flashlight in the dark. I cannot detect any carbon monoxide. I put furnace cement on the seams last season but it could probably use a better repair soon.

 

[kborndale]

Morso 1125, was ahead of it's time in the late 70's and puts out a ton of heat. With a good fire going air would be coming in the seams, not out.

 

[1144earthstove]

This stove puts out allot of heat that’s for sure.. maybe I need to inspect the damper.

 

[blades]

what kind of flue. brick and motor plus the orange flue sections the all the way or lined or? if brick only might want to find some with a camera to take a real good look. Bad mortar seams or cracked flue liner pipes could account for your scent. From experience mortar goes bad from combustion byproducts + condensation in the off seasons creating acids , leaching the lime out. This is a more pronounced problem with solid fuels than with gases/oil but happens to them as well.

 

[1144earthstove]

the flue is metal, the chimney is brick, mortar and ceramic.

 

[fbelec]

if you got cracks say bye bye. yes you can fix cracks but my friend had a stove just like that and the way that his stove controlled the air input was how tight the doors were closed. it might be money better spent on a used stove.

 

[1144earthstove]

if you got cracks say bye bye. yes you can fix cracks but my friend had a stove just like that and the way that his stove controlled the air input was how tight the doors were closed. it might be money better spent on a used stove.

Last night I turned off all the lights and put a lantern inside the woodstove, then shut the doors. The only place light is leaking out is in the doors around the gasket. I'm pretty sure it needs some new gaskets, but that shouldn't create the smell of wood fuel. I don't see any cracks where the light is escaping. I do see black residue around the flue where it attaches to the chimney. I'm starting to think that's where my problem is. I'm going to pull it out today and investigate.

 

[fbelec]

don't forget the cracks that you do have will get bigger when it's hot. expand.