New Lopi Medium Flush- odor in room

[Steve1129]

Hello- I am new here and to wood stoves in general.

We put a lopi medium flush insert into our room with cathedral ceiling. We have begun to notice a smell similar to wood/insulation but it also smells strongly of urine; the smell is not there all day long, but seems to get stronger when the sun comes out and heats up the roof. We traced the smell to the ceiling where there is a large wooden beam across the room built into the ceiling. I went up on the roof and that same smell is coming from the ridge vent. This smell has only started since we started using the wood stove in the last few months.

Has anyone experienced something like this? I am looking at options on where to start to eliminate this.

My observations so far are that the room has a ridge vent but no soffit vents. Perhaps this is a ventilation issue/condensation issue from the newly installed heat source?

Looking forward to any feedback.

Thanks
Steve

 

[begreen]

I could be wrong, but this doesn't sounds related to the wood stove insert installation. It might just be coincidental. Depending on the installation, maybe there is a rodent nest in the chimney?

 

[Steve1129]

I feel like it's heating the beam at the top of the room to the point that it smells; or, the heat may be causing a moisture problem in the ceiling.

 

[begreen]

OK, we need to catch up on what exists there.

Was the fireplace frequently used prior to the installation of this insert? And if so, did the odor ever show up then? One would think that would have heated up the chimney more.

Is the insert connected to a stainless steel liner? Was the chimney cleaned thoroughly before installing the liner? Is the liner insulated? What does the top of the chimney look like, how is the chimney capped and how is the liner capped?