Regency F1500 New Install- Smoke Leak Help

[BG2022]

Hello,

I recently had a Regency Cascades F1500 catalytic wood stove installed. I made a few small fires, with no major issue (besides a weak draft due to cold pipe/warm outside temp, and a minor chemical smell that is normal for the first few burns I hear).

I made a larger fire last night and noticed a haze/stronger smoke smell in the basement and noticed that smoke was leaking out of the flue collar/stove pipe joint at the top of the stove. It wasn't a ton of smoke but enough to sound the smoke alarms a minute later.

The door was fully closed and the bypass and damper were about half open. I closed both as much as possible to get the fire to die down a bit. I didn't add anymore wood and opened the basement door until it aired out. The smoke stopped leaking after a few minutes.

Is this normal? Could it have been a one-time issue with paint smoking/burning?

I'm reluctant to reach out to the installer because they've been really difficult to deal with, but I will if it turns out to be a chronic issue.

I plan to make another medium sized fire later tonight.

Any suggestions or advice would be truly appreciated!

 

[GrumpyDad]

Hello,

I recently had a Regency Cascades F1500 catalytic wood stove installed. I made a few small fires, with no major issue (besides a weak draft due to cold pipe/warm outside temp, and a minor chemical smell that is normal for the first few burns I hear).

I made a larger fire last night and noticed a haze/stronger smoke smell in the basement and noticed that smoke was leaking out of the flue collar/stove pipe joint at the top of the stove. It wasn't a ton of smoke but enough to sound the smoke alarms a minute later.

The door was fully closed and the bypass and damper were about half open. I closed both as much as possible to get the fire to die down a bit. I didn't add anymore wood and opened the basement door until it aired out. The smoke stopped leaking after a few minutes.

Is this normal? Could it have been a one-time issue with paint smoking/burning?

I'm reluctant to reach out to the installer because they've been really difficult to deal with, but I will if it turns out to be a chronic issue.

I plan to make another medium sized fire later tonight.

Any suggestions or advice would be truly appreciated!

That sounds like poor draft. Did you try to open the flue damper if you had one to see if that helped? Im new to all of this, but the only time I had smoke pour into the house was when I started a bottom up fire with the doors closed, and forgot to open the damper from secondary, and had two other burning appliances competing for air. Once the flue warmed up, the draft drastically increased and like a light switch suddenly sucked smoke out.
Your pipe is not airtight. If you have a proper draft, then room air will be sucked in, the smoke wont be pushed out. Unless of course there is a massive restriction due to the chimney being blocked by a birds nest.

 

[begreen]

If this is the first time the stove has actually gotten hot, >400º, then most likely this is the paint baking in. We advise people to open a window and if possible to have a fan in it to exhaust the fumes. This will go away completely after a few hot fires. Next fire, after draft is established, open a nearby window and start a fire with a full load of wood to bake in the paint. Do this when outside temps are below 50º for a stronger draft.

 

[GrumpyDad]

If this is the first time the stove has actually gotten hot, >400º, then most likely this is the paint baking in. We advise people to open a window and if possible to have a fan in it to exhaust the fumes. This will go away completely after a few hot fires. Next fire, after draft is established, open a nearby window and start a fire with a full load of wood to bake in the paint. Do this when outside temps are below 50º for a stronger draft.

^^ this. I had smoking coming out of the back of my stove and thought I had a leak. This was several burns in, including test burns and larger / hotter burns as I was attempted to break in my stove gently due to the hefty investment.
I had a new burn in smell this weekend but Im not going to talk about that.

 

[BG2022]

That sounds like poor draft. Did you try to open the flue damper if you had one to see if that helped? Im new to all of this, but the only time I had smoke pour into the house was when I started a bottom up fire with the doors closed, and forgot to open the damper from secondary, and had two other burning appliances competing for air. Once the flue warmed up, the draft drastically increased and like a light switch suddenly sucked smoke out.
Your pipe is not airtight. If you have a proper draft, then room air will be sucked in, the smoke wont be pushed out. Unless of course there is a massive restriction due to the chimney being blocked by a birds nest.

The damper was opened fully when I noticed it leaking. The chimney was recently installed so I don't think there would be any obstruction, like a nest, in there. The pipe is at an angle before it goes through the wall similar to the pic attached. I just found this pic on the internbet. I would have attached a real pic if I were at home. Maybe there are too many angles on the pipe

 

[begreen]

This promo piece shows a sub-optimal chimney connection. There are three 90º turns for the smoke coming out of the stove within about 6 ft. It may look tidy, but this configuration will be prone to problems unless connected to a 30 ft tall flue. It should have been done with a 45 and 90º elbow. If your stove is connected like this, I would change it. Post a picture when you get home.

 

[BG2022]

If this is the first time the stove has actually gotten hot, >400º, then most likely this is the paint baking in. We advise people to open a window and if possible to have a fan in it to exhaust the fumes. This will go away completely after a few hot fires. Next fire, after draft is established, open a nearby window and start a fire with a full load of wood to bake in the paint. Do this when outside temps are below 50º for a stronger draft.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[BG2022]

This promo piece shows a sub-optimal chimney connection. There are three 90º turns for the smoke coming out of the stove within about 6 ft. It may look tidy, but this configuration will be prone to problems unless connected to a 30 ft tall flue. It should have been done with a 45 and 90º elbow. If your stove is connected like this, I would change it. Post a picture when you get home.

Will do! The first angle is not quite as sharp as in the pic.