new stove smell to much for winter install??

[ckarotka]

I'm working on a deal for a new ESW nc13 and would love to pick it up next week. I will replace my current stove and meet all clearances with my current set-up. It will be a simple switch.

How bad is the paint curing smell on the 13 and steel stoves? Is it worth doing the driveway burn? I will need to call in some help to get it into position and didn't want to leave it out overnight to get wet when it snows. I know I can cover it after is cools but during the burn it could get really wet if it storms the day I bring it home.

I also thought I read a thread about steel stoves not needing a break in fire, is that true?

Oh one more thing, anything special need done before firing her up the first time?

 

[begreen]

It will stink for the first 2-3 fires. Make a small first fire, let it go out. Then make a nice hot fire 550-600 stovetop and let it bake. By the 3d fire, the smell should start going away. If you do it indoors, put a fan in a nearby window blowing out the smoke and open another one nearby a couple inches to bring in some fresh air.

 

[cycloxer]

I put in a Jotul in December. It smelled for about a week. Not the end of the world. It gets progressively less stinky w/ each fire.

 

[nojo]

My stove was used so it didnt smell at all, but the first time my burn hit 500-600 my stove pipe smoked like a SOB freeked me and the fiancee out. It smelled awful. Do the driveway burn.

 

[MeLikeUmFire]

Even on my driveway burn could smell the paint fumes pretty good. Had a very slight smell on 1st inside burn...only lasted 15-20 min though. Rec doing the driveway burn.

 

[WayneB]

Just so happens bought your exact stove, burned it at 650 the first night(stovetop temp checked with infrared gun), opened a window(it was winter!) and it's been fine since. Yep the house filled with a light smoke, it didn't smell very nice but nowhere near what I remembered from years ago. Still alive, still breathing normally. You'll probably live too. Great little stoves, put out more heat than I imagined, and when feeding non beetle eaten pine holds coals and heats for quite awhile. Up to four or five hours on a moderately packed firebox.

 

[Valhalla]

Burn it hot a few times. Then, enjoy it for years to come!

Do not sweat the small stuff.

 

[ckarotka]

Thanks guys. The reason I worry is I have a toddler at home with me during the day when I will be breaking in this stove
if the deal goes through. If it were just me I would burn and open a window and forget about it. Maybe I should just take the little one to the baby sitters
for the day and getter done. I'm really getting anxious. Hoping to get at least 6 hours between loads. I define a load as: from reload. Stove top 250-300 load stove, climbs to cruising 600-650 then reload at 250-300 again in 6 hours is this possible with the 13?

 

[argus66]

its really no big deal i put mine in in jan. only 1st too burns was it really noticeable.

 

[SteveKG]

Open some windows and a door or two. Fire it up. After the first burn, the odor will diminish steadily and it will be over in no time. Just do it.

If you are concerned about a toddler or dog or family member with respiratory issues or anything else, send them away for a few hours and let the fire burn down before they get home. Do this a few times. I seriously doubt it will be a big deal. A little odor for some wood-fire heat is worth it. If it bothers you, find something to do outdoors while those first few burns are happening.

 

[dispatcher101]

Lit off my T5 the night before thanksgiving. Put some box fans in the windows and got a good draft going through the house. It wasn't bad at all, by the third burn or so it was only slightly noticeable. No one complained at thanksgiving dinner, just marveled at the awesome heat

 

[Jfk4th]

Thanks guys. The reason I worry is I have a toddler at home with me during the day when I will be breaking in this stove
if the deal goes through. If it were just me I would burn and open a window and forget about it. Maybe I should just take the little one to the baby sitters
for the day and getter done. I'm really getting anxious. Hoping to get at least 6 hours between loads. I define a load as: from reload. Stove top 250-300 load stove, climbs to cruising 600-650 then reload at 250-300 again in 6 hours is this possible with the 13?

It is a big deal for toddlers and pregnant women so get those kids out of the house or do a driveway burn :smirk: . Travis Industries has a little tag that warns about this, I guess people should be "thankful" Travis Industries even cares about this curing (a.k.a. breathing in paint fumes) smell at all >:-( . Do a Google search and see all the problems that could happen and have happened because of this. Don't even take the risk, not worth it for the little ones as I am sure this will be an issue in the future when more problems come about

 

[Wet1]

Even on my driveway burn could smell the paint fumes pretty good. Had a very slight smell on 1st inside burn...only lasted 15-20 min though. Rec doing the driveway burn.

+1!

 

[WayneB]

I’m really getting anxious. Hoping to get at least 6 hours between loads. I define a load as: from reload. Stove top 250-300 load stove, climbs to cruising 600-650 then reload at 250-300 again in 6 hours is this possible with the 13?

Not with pine, but I bet oak would do it, or any other dense hardwood. I get three to a long four hours with pine using big splits, once I have a good bed of coals to relite them.

 

[ckarotka]

I’m really getting anxious. Hoping to get at least 6 hours between loads. I define a load as: from reload. Stove top 250-300 load stove, climbs to cruising 600-650 then reload at 250-300 again in 6 hours is this possible with the 13?

Not with pine, but I bet oak would do it, or any other dense hardwood. I get three to a long four hours with pine using big splits, once I have a good bed of coals to relite them.

I was really hoping for six after all the posts and reviews I read about the 13. Right now I can get a solid three hours. I measured both fire boxes the same way (all measurements were fire brick to fire brick and to the top of the brick on the sides on both stoves just to be consistent) and found that the 13 was twice the size as what I have now so I figured that 6 hours would be a reasonable burn time for the 13. Chimney straight up, good draft and dry wood, even better wood for next year.

 

[ckarotka]

JFK,

Thanks for input, common sense made my tail start to tingle about the fumes and kids. If and when the time comes
the kids will be gone for the day and I will spend the afternoon at the wood pile finishing up next years supply.

 

[John_M]

Re: Curing paint on your new stove. Add my identical recommendation to that of BeGreen.

Best wishes,
John_M

 

[Troutchaser]

I've been posting on the leyden thread. As it turns out, I'm not halfway on it. Anyway, just last night I had this new install hotter than I've ever had it. Before that, I would have said the break in smell was nothing much. But whoa, at 700deg. stovetop the house filled with a stinking, hazy smoke.
I thought I had a problem, but now I'm thinking I finally cured the last (i hope) of the paint on stove and pipe. Send everybody out and open up the house and get it high on the temp.

 

[cycloxer]

The key is the temp. You won't get all of the paint to bake out until you get to the 600-700 degree range and stay there for awhile. If you burn your stove at a lower temperature it will take more days before the paint fully cures and stop off-gasing. The 1200°F paints need the high temps to cure properly. It smells, but it is not toxic. Just crack open a window or slider and you'll be fine.

 

[Valhalla]

So how is that new stove burning?

The odor of the paint is just a memory.

 

[ckarotka]

Still learning but when I get her going this beauty can actually heat my house! I needed two small stoves before.
I started another thread with what Im sure is operator error called touchy primary check it out and see if you guys
have any ideas as what I'm doing wrong. To complaints here great stove. Thanks for all the input.

 

[DBoon]

Even on my driveway burn could smell the paint fumes pretty good. Had a very slight smell on 1st inside burn…only lasted 15-20 min though. Rec doing the driveway burn.

Whew, if that avatar photo shows the driveway burn of your wood stove, I could see why you could smell the paint fumes pretty good

Seriously, if it was just me and I installed a wood stove in the winter and it smelled for a week, I'd get over it. But I have a snoopy sniffer wife who forms early opinions and then locks them in. If I had broken in a stove in the wintertime, the life of the stove would have been less than a week before it was deemed "not usable". So I broke mine in in the fall when I could open the windows and air everything out.