My room smells like smoke/burning

[PizzaVaccinia]

I bought a Harman P35i for a split-level home where one side of the house is halfway in the ground. I called ion and told them about the smell they said it is "curing" so I left it on the highest temp for longer than 24 hours. I don't think this is the problem. I think the problem is if I close all of my windows and screen door there is a smoke smell being distributed from the distribution fan. My father told me that our second-level pellet stove has an air intake hole that is drilled through the bricks and leads to the outside of the chimney but there isn't one for my bottom level. The fireplace is in the ground since it is a split-level home and I cannot get to the same level as the pellet stove for the air intake compared to the top-level fireplace. Do I need to make the intake for the ground fireplace to be as low as possible? Please look at my crappy picture.

 

[MalcolmH]

Its a little hard to understand your concern, so brand new stove and install right. Intake air goes through the combustion fan so you shouldn't smell it. If the stove has been burned off, and you are smelling pellets burning inside the house which is pretty easy to distinguish, I would suspect the exhaust vent, perhaps they didn't get it sealed up at the back of the stove or one of the interior connections, those 3-4" adapters if used add a few connections and possible leak source, and another possibility depending on vent type chosen, if using screws to secure connections you must be careful they are not to long and penetrate the inner exhaust pipe, that is a easy way to ruin a pipe and smell smoke and very hard to figure out. Perhaps Combustion blower access panel but unlikely being new. The exhaust smoke would be impossible to see being under pressure but the nose doesn't lie. Could also be the location of your exhaust termination and most houses aren't sealed tight and its getting in.?

 

[PizzaVaccinia]

Its a little hard to understand your concern, so brand new stove and install right. Intake air goes through the combustion fan so you shouldn't smell it. If the stove has been burned off, and you are smelling pellets burning inside the house which is pretty easy to distinguish, I would suspect the exhaust vent, perhaps they didn't get it sealed up at the back of the stove or one of the interior connections, those 3-4" adapters if used add a few connections and possible leak source, and another possibility depending on vent type chosen, if using screws to secure connections you must be careful they are not to long and penetrate the inner exhaust pipe, that is a easy way to ruin a pipe and smell smoke and very hard to figure out. Perhaps Combustion blower access panel but unlikely being new. The exhaust smoke would be impossible to see being under pressure but the nose doesn't lie. Could also be the location of your exhaust termination and most houses aren't sealed tight and its getting in.?

the problem is when the pellet stove is burning the distribution fan is distributing some weird smell into my room. When I open the windows in my room and screen door the distribution fan is no longer distributing this weird smell. I do not have an intake hole for air as I do for my envoy pellet stove. Where is the combustion fan getting air from.

 

[Ssyko]

It draws air from Your room. Check your heat exchanger tubes for cracks. Silicone all joints on the exhaust vent pipe.

 

[PizzaVaccinia]

It draws air from Your room. Check your heat exchanger tubes for cracks. Silicone all joints on the exhaust vent pipe.

My room is pretty well sealed so where is the next place that the combustion fan will draw air from? Will it draw air from the chimney at the top?

 

[Ssyko]

If the chimney install was done properly, no. it should be sealed. If not done right it probably is. Does the chimney liner go all the way to the top with a rain cap?

 

[PizzaVaccinia]

If the chimney install was done properly, no. it should be sealed. If not done right it probably is. Does the chimney liner go all the way to the top with a rain cap?

Yes, it goes all the way to the top. and the cap is sealed with silicone with what I saw. Again when I have the windows and screen door open the distribution fan doesn't have the smell it does with everything closed :/

 

[MalcolmH]

is this an insert?, either way any stove can be difficult to seal to a liner I assume, I'm not familiar with that transition to make the connection or that type of installation(sounds difficult at best to seal), if your termination is 2 stories up it us unlikely you are pulling smoke in from the termination, and regardless if the window is open or not the intake draws air in from the path of least resistance and smoke out the exhaust pipe, if you are smelling smoke the stove or exhaust is leaking, now perhaps this is exaggerated by the vacuum effect of the intake and pressure from combustion, and the outside air alleviates it accordingly, but the answer is the same, you have a exhaust leak and a few good suggestions to look into and report back your findings, I'd like to see the interior exhaust connections & transitions to help further and understand how they made this connection to the liner, is it a single layer liner, how did they seal off the chimney cavity to interior.

 

[rickwai]

The connection of the flex liner is about the only thing that could be leaking. There is a connector that gets siliconed and screwed to the end of the liner then that gets siliconed and screwed to the take off on the mounting shell. Pretty easy connections if the right connector is used. Maybe they tried to just silicone seal the flex liner to the exhaust stub?

 

[SidecarFlip]

One of many reasons why I do not like fireplace installs.

 

[fmsm]

Your stove should slide into a cage. The exhaust pipe is connected to the stationary cage and when you slide it in it will seal to the orange gasket in the back right corner. Make sure the gasket is not crimped ect.

 

[gfreek]

New stove with install. Call them back and have them check the install. Sounds like exhaust piping is leaking and you may be drawing exhaust into the room blower... Watch them if they come again and take pics...

 

[tbear853]

I wonder if they just left the inserts cold air to be drawn from the flue?

Not familiar with the Harmon p35i cold air provisions but you can pull cold air from the far side of the room if you use 3 or 4 inch piping to not restrict cold air.

 

[rickwai]

I wonder if they just left the inserts cold air to be drawn from the flue?

Not familiar with the Harmon p35i cold air provisions but you can pull cold air from the far side of the room if you use 3 or 4 inch piping to not restrict cold air.

There is a leak where the flex attaches to the mounting shell. air intake has nothing to do with it. I service probably 50 Harman inserts per year and almost none of them have air hooked up. Usually it is to tough to get a air intake in a standard masonry firebox

 

[warren0127]

I had a brand new p35i insert installed and I have the same issue. I’ve ran the stove 5 times on high burn and still smells like wood burn/smoke inside my house. I called the installer and he said it’s just the curing smell but it doesn’t smell like oil or metal it smells like wood pellets.

I don’t know what else to do or check. The installer claims he sealed everything up right and tight inside and out and doesn’t think it’s a leak and continues to say my harman just may need to be cured longer… anyone else having this issue? I’m a bit frustrated.

 

[joop]

don't no squat about pellet stoves but if it's a weird smell and not burning wood it might still be baking paint

 

[warren0127]

don't no squat about pellet stoves but if it's a weird smell and not burning wood it might still be baking paint

It’s a wood burning smell. I have to put pellets in the hopper for it to ignite and am using soft pine pellets. It’s not super heavy smell, but it def smells up the house and when I put my nose to the distribution blower it def smells like a wood pellet burn. I don’t see any smoke or anything so I have not a clue.

I called the Harman manufacturer and they told me to try switching to a different type of pellet but I don’t see how that would make a difference in the smell coming into the house… and it’s a brand new stove. I’ll give it another day or so again and see.. also forgot to mention it’s 60-75 degrees outside so not sure if that is part of the reason or not.

 

[Prometeo]

the stove needs to take combustion air from outside, (if the house is airtight) otherwise the room goes into depression and starts sucking smoke from any joint of the stove

 

[warren0127]

the stove needs to take combustion air from outside, (if the house is airtight) otherwise the room goes into depression and starts sucking smoke from any joint of the stove

Not sure I’m understanding what your saying. Right now since it’s warm out, I’ve been trying to run it on high burn to break it in. I keep two windows open on the opposite side of the house so the smells can exit. Could this be the reason why bc I have windows open?

Also The wood burning smell is coming from the distribution blower. I also have an OAK installed as well.

Thanks for your help

 

[Prometeo]

with the stove working and hot, and with the window open, Check if bad smell keeps coming out. If yes, stove has a problem, the joints. If with the window open, no problem you have to put a pipe through the wall to the point where the stove draws air for combustion, which must communicate with external therefore, and at that point you can close the window!

 

[warren0127]

with the stove working and hot, and with the window open, Check if bad smell keeps coming out. If yes, stove has a problem, the joints. If with the window open, no problem you have to put a pipe through the wall to the point where the stove draws air for combustion, which must communicate with external therefore, and at that point you can close the window!

Yes the smell continues while windows are open on the opposite side. Since it s warm out I have the ceiling fan running with the windows open. So you’re saying the problem lies within the piping and joints. I do know the installer used black pipe on the inside behind the stove insert and the stainless pipe on the outside (flue and OAK). Perhaps the black piping he used behind the stove is cheap and may be leaking? This is the only conclusion I can think of, unless I’m still smelling the “curing” smell from it being brand new. But again the curing smell from what I understand shouldn’t smell like burning pellets…

 

[Prometeo]

I think a co detector could help better understand if it's smoke or just the smell of new metal, however, a new stove should initially give off some anomalous smell, Could it also be your pellets that smell bad?

 

[johneh]

Black pipe
Did your installer use a regular single-wall smoke pipe?

 

[warren0127]

Black pipe
Did your installer use a regular single-wall smoke pipe?

Double wall black pipe on the inside. He noted it’s just as good as the stainless double wall, doesn’t get hot, and saved me $200. I didn’t really care either way about the savings and he told me afterwards when he was finished.

 

[warren0127]

I think a co detector could help better understand if it's smoke or just the smell of new metal, however, a new stove should initially give off some anomalous smell, Could it also be your pellets that smell bad?

Good idea on the co detector. I had one close by in my laundry room but maybe I’ll move it closer to the stove. As for the pellets, that could also be the case, but IMO wouldn’t make sense because would it matter on the pellet type if I’m getting the burn smell inside? Right now I’m using a bag of soft pine quality pellets.