Is this normal after a newly installed pellet stove?

[brand603]

Above is a link to show the video of my situation and this is my first stove so I’m unfamiliar.

Pellet stove was freshly installed this week and today I decided to do a test run to see if there were any issues before it gets cold.

Now I understand that there is some “burn off” and I ran it for a bit after install and it smelled bad. Not like smoke, more like a burnt plastic.

It appears there is smoke coming out of the exhaust pipes from the stove to the wall. When I ran it today it’s still the burnt plastic smell, definitely not a smokey smell.

Asking around some people are saying it’s an issue, others are saying it’s normal and the “leaks” will seal themselves after a few runs.

I called the installer and he said the latter. Said it wasn’t uncommon and if it was an issue after a few runs he’s come back out.

One thing I need to disclose is when they came to install they did not bring what we discussed to put underneath the stove. Was discussed and I decided I would slide some tile underneath it post install since it’s sitting on a wood floor. Could that adjustment be causing the leaks because it’s now not the same height as when installed?

And help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m a newbie so I may be overreacting but I don’t want to fill my house with combustible gases and die. Thank you!

 

[tlc1976]

I don’t see an outside air kit installed. Do you have a fairly well sealed house?

When I first installed my stove, it would pull smoke from the pipe seams. After sealing up everything possible, the stove would just quit after a short time. Adding the outside air kit made all the difference in the world.

Try opening a window elsewhere in the house, and see if it still does it, that will relieve negative pressure. If it helps, you should have outside air installed. If it’s still the same, then it could be something burning off, or a bad leak that needs sealed.

 

[johneh]

Run your stove hot for about an hour or more
This will burn off any assembly oils and other contaminants.
Open a window or 2 so your home does not get too hot or smoky.
When the stove cools start it again and check for smoke The smell
may persist for 3 or 4 firings as you are curing the paint
Good luck and welcome to the forum

 

[bogieb]

Yes, the install might have been disturbed when you raised the stove for the tiles. I'm actually surprised that the installer would go ahead and put in the stove without the floor protection in place.

I have never met an elbow joint that did not leak. It may seal itself, but I am not one to take chances and use silcone tape to ensure the joints are sealed.

 

[Talegas]

One thing I need to disclose is when they came to install they did not bring what we discussed to put underneath the stove. Was discussed and I decided I would slide some tile underneath it post install since it’s sitting on a wood floor. Could that adjustment be causing the leaks because it’s now not the same height as when installed?
And help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m a newbie so I may be overreacting but I don’t want to fill my house with combustible gases and die. Thank you!

When I installed my stove ( I did it myself) I was also very concerned about fumes escaping the pipes. I did notice the same thing you called out here and these were my conclusions (5 years into having it installed):
1. Yes, if you moved the stove (raised it up, or just moved it sideways/back/forth it might move a bit the pipes, but unless is a very drastic distance (like a couple of inches) it should not have that much of an effect on the seals of the pipes. Especially with those distances you have (mine is like 4-5 feet up from the stove exhaust to the wall thimble). SO unless you place a 2" thick tile, i don't think it would be that problematic for the pipe.
2. I do believe your pipes have the silicon based o-rings to seal the connections. If that is the case, you have the same situation as I do, as they heat up they sort of seal the connections. The huge difference between your case and mine, is that the smoke i see coming out is the white smoke that fills the burning chamber as the pellets are about to ignite. The smell is definitely wood for me and it happens every time i start it cold (like after every cleaning). I standard recommendation i have seen in this forum is to tape up all joins with foil tape (never did it).
3. To ease up on my concerns, i moved the CO detector near the pipes, in a place where there was not that much air moving around. I left it there for days while the stove was continously running. It never beep once. That is when I was convinced that either the silicon seals adjusted after heating up, or the blower was having an easy time to push all those fumes up the pipe that whatever leak amount to like lighting a match every now and then.

That stated, I would suggest you keep running your stove to burn all that oil (which does seem to be what is burning since is dark smoke) but just have a CO detector close by it just to ensure you are not really getting smoke from the burning chamber. Worst case, tape up the connectors!

 

[brand603]

I don’t see an outside air kit installed. Do you have a fairly well sealed house?

When I first installed my stove, it would pull smoke from the pipe seams. After sealing up everything possible, the stove would just quit after a short time. Adding the outside air kit made all the difference in the world.

Try opening a window elsewhere in the house, and see if it still does it, that will relieve negative pressure. If it helps, you should have outside air installed. If it’s still the same, then it could be something burning off, or a bad leak that needs sealed.

So I burned it again today and there wasn’t any smoke and no smell so I must’ve been overreacting. Thank you for the insight!