New England pellets terrible odor and dirty!

[Shane and Jessica]

We just bought our Harman P68 earlier this year so we are very new to pellets and how to determine what is best. We started with 2 tons of NEWP each batch burned differently but ok. We picked up 2 more tons of NEWP locally. The guy told us they came from the NH plant which he preferred and thought were better. The stove actually feels like it is blowing hotter heat but they are making the stove black inside. Before we could clean the glass and it would get covered with a brownish tint, you could still see inside the glass. This time, we clean the glass and its black the next day! The worst part is, the smell!! It's terrible!! Before it smelled like wood. Outside smelled like a wood stove and inside as well. This time it smells chemically. Just awful!! I feel like we are inhaling god knows what! Is or has anyone had this problem? Any recommendations?

 

[Mr. Spock]

Well, I have not heard many good reviews about newp's on this forum. They are considered by most to be the worst. With that said you do have a Harman and they burn most anything. When was the last time the stoves exhaust path was cleaned? Venting, combustion fan, ESP probe etc.

I am also concerned that you can smell smoke. This is my first year with a pellet stove also and I never smell smoke in the house.

 

[sheetmetaldan]

I`m new to pellet stoves myself and I have bought 1/2 a ton of NEWP on 2 separate occasions from different local suppliers and I will NEVER buy them again! They should change their name to Clinkerton`s,Clinkertown Pellets or Clinker City Pellet Co something catchy like that to best describe what they have for a product. I can`t say I have an odor problem with mine though, to me they at least smell like wood! I have an old Whitfield profile stove for what it`s worth. A friend of mine swears by Barefoot brand pellets I will be trying those next.

 

[imacman]

Asides from giving the the stove a really good deep cleaning, I suggest that you get 3-4 bags of another brand of pellets and try burning those. If the problems go away, you'll know it was the pellets.

 

[Brokenwing]

Double check the stove pipe with a flashlight on startup, you should see smoke if you have leaks. Trust me I have been through a battle, but with a pellet stove you should not have a wood smoke smell in the home. Do you have a co detector, if not I strongly suggest one.

 

[Shane and Jessica]

I`m new to pellet stoves myself and I have bought 1/2 a ton of NEWP on 2 separate occasions from different local suppliers and I will NEVER buy them again! They should change their name to Clinkerton`s,Clinkertown Pellets or Clinker City Pellet Co something catchy like that to best describe what they have for a product. I can`t say I have an odor problem with mine though, to me they at least smell like wood! I have an old Whitfield profile stove for what it`s worth. A friend of mine swears by Barefoot brand pellets I will be trying those next.

like the names! our first 2 tons smelled like wood too. it was nice! not sure what happened

 

[Shane and Jessica]

Asides from giving the the stove a really good deep cleaning, I suggest that you get 3-4 bags of another brand of pellets and try burning those. If the problems go away, you'll know it was the pellets.

Thanks, we will take your suggestions and do both. we clean it (vacuum everything every other weekend), but we didn't think we would have to worry about cleaning the insides (stoves exhaust path, Venting, combustion fan, ESP probe etc.) so soon. we have only been running it since late November. we planned on hiring the company that installed it to do a yearly cleaning and maintenance call on it this summer. And we will def pick some other bags so test the smell. just sucks because we still have 1.5 tons of the newp left!! we do have a CO detector but told Shane he better be putting in another one!

 

[imacman]

Thanks, we will take your suggestions and do both. we clean it (vacuum everything every other weekend), but we didn't think we would have to worry about cleaning the insides (stoves exhaust path, Venting, combustion fan, ESP probe etc.) so soon. we have only been running it since late November......

Most forum members do a complete stove & exhaust pipe cleaning after every 1 or 1 1/2 tons. I would not go any longer, especially after burning those nasty NEWP's.

This is right from your Harman owners manual:

"The stove should be shut-down and thoroughly cleaned
after each ton of pellets consumed."

 

[subsailor]

I've burned my share of bad pellets, but never NEWP. However, I have never seen my glass covered in black after one day. Are you seeing any smoke out of the exhaust pipe? It sounds like you might be having an airflow problem. I would try pulling the plate and vacuuming under the burn pot every week. And if those pellets ar ashy, I would clean the ESP probe more often than after every ton. I've gotten into a routine of cleaning mine every week.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

Sounds like the stove may be partially plugged up from using trash pellets. Clean it and the vent and trash the NEWPS. Recommend for a big box store pellets go with Somersets, burn clean and hot

 

[john193]

I'm probably the only one but I've never had a bad experience with NEWP. Burnt 3 tons last year and they provided good heat and average ash. Though it could be that this years batch isn't as good. As everyone else suggested a clean stove is a happy stove.

 

[MikeNH]

Hi Shane & Jessica, welcome to the forum. Just for comparison's sake so you have something to go on regarding the pellets, I've been burning mostly NEWP from the Jaffrey plant since Dec and haven't noticed any odd smells. Like john193, I've had good luck with them. Exhaust outside smells like wood burning. No smells inside (from the stove anyway), no clinkers. I had a carbon "speed bump" in the burnpot until I switched to Room Temp manual mode which significantly reduced that. I let my glass go a week before cleaning and it's mainly clear on cleaning day.

I can't say I would buy NEWP again, but for me it's because of the price. I've tried other brands that cost less and performed the same. I didn't research pellets before I bought them, but I've learned enough on the forum from our venerated pellet pig brethren to know what to do for next season.

Good luck and let us know how things go after the cleaning.

 

[mascoma]

If the pellets smell fine but the stove stinks when you burn them may have 2 things going on.

If the new batch is making more heat than you have previously you may still be baking off some of the "new stove smell", this can happen each time you reach a new highest temp for the unit.

The other thing is your stove needs to be cleaned, including intake under the burn pot and venting. If it's real dirty, as it probably is after 2 tons of a dirty pellets your not getting enough air for the amount of fuel and you can get a kind of creosote smell, though this tends to get noticed more with stove off and the door open.

You can clean your stove, all you need is a shop vac and a brush and about and hour. There are not really any tricky spots to find and clean on a harman, the shop is going to charge you a few hundred bucks to do the same exact thing you would do.

By the way, did the dealer install the venting or did you install it yourself? Either way if you think there is a venting issue after cleaning it is worth the dealer come out to make sure all is well.

Good luck.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

I'm probably the only one but I've never had a bad experience with NEWP. Burnt 3 tons last year and they provided good heat and average ash. Though it could be that this years batch isn't as good. As everyone else suggested a clean stove is a happy stove.

I didn't have a problem burning NEWPS in all 3 of my stoves, it was the lack of convection temp. and the excessive ash that kept the door of the stove swinging to keep the stove clean

 

[jfoxxy]

I have been burning NEWP from the deposit plant and have to say they are the worst burning pellets I have ever used in my lopi leyden. High ash, low temp, lots of clinkers. I gave up on them and will only use them in the fall/spring.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

I will stick with the Somersets from Lowes, I clean my burn pot once every three days and convection temp is 25 degrees higher than the NEWPS and 20 degrees higher than the HD CHOWS

 

[CT Pellet]

Any time that you think that a pellet is causeing a weird smell INSIDE your house when it burns, then make a list of allof the possible causes for the smell. Then, look at your list, and if "different pellet" is on your list for a possible cause of the smell, simply eliminate that from your list and then move on to the next items......
Even the worst pellets, regardless of brand, will not be responsible for weird smells insie the house from burning.

 

[hooter04]

I'm like John193 I've never had a problem with newp,even when they had quality issues a few years back. I don't care what type pellet you burn,your gonna get some sort of color on the glass,be it a white or brownish or black,after a few bags.I think it all comes down to the stove on how it burns.I think the MT Vernon with all the different type settings makes a little bit of difference on how the heat output is. Just my opinion.