Slight smokey smell

[AccentraRRT]

hey all,
Since weather has been warmer, I've been running the pellet stove "low." Mainly room temp around 70 degrees. I've noticed when running at this level, there is s slight smoke smell in the main room the pellet stove is in (approx 300sqft wih an open stair well and a door that occasionally opened to an additional 400 sqft).
If put back on stove temp smell seems to eventually go away.
I have smoke alarms and CO detectors in the room and have never made a peep.
Stove is a Accentra FS with OAK
Running room temp 70, manual combustion fan half to 3/4.

The smell isn't horribly potent burnt smell.. Just noticeable wood smoke smell.
More concerning to the wife than me

 

[jackman]

I have the same situation this time of year. The smokey smell is nearly always because a window was opened somewhere else in the house.

 

[ChrisWNY]

hey all,
Since weather has been warmer, I've been running the pellet stove "low." Mainly room temp around 70 degrees. I've noticed when running at this level, there is s slight smoke smell in the main room the pellet stove is in (approx 300sqft wih an open stair well and a door that occasionally opened to an additional 400 sqft).
If put back on stove temp smell seems to eventually go away.
I have smoke alarms and CO detectors in the room and have never made a peep.
Stove is a Accentra FS with OAK
Running room temp 70, manual combustion fan half to 3/4.

The smell isn't horribly potent burnt smell.. Just noticeable wood smoke smell.
More concerning to the wife than me

The exhaust PL vent doesn't heat up as much when you burn at low feed rates, so there's not as much natural draw for the exhaust escaping out the flue. Wood pellets also combust more completely at higher feed rates...higher heat = more complete combustion.

I always smell a slight wood smoke odor while my pellet furnace first ignites (when the flue is cold), but after it has been running for a few minutes and the exhaust vent warms up, no odor at all. Some obvious things to consider...if the winds are blowing toward your vent, or you have a window cracked open nearby the exhaust, that could be the source of the odor as well.

 

[alternativeheat]

The window behind my chair in the living room isn't the tightest in the world, additionally this time of year in certain light wind directions I get a down draft at this end of the house. I believe that exhaust can downdraft outdoors to this window and I'll get a whiff now and then, especially on stove shut down in room temp mode.

Last year I found a leak on start up by leaving the lights off at night and searching with a flashlight all along the indoor venting. Sure enough, I had two, one in a seam at the T and one right at the collar on the back of the stove, just a little swirl of smoke coming off that you couldn't see in daylight.

 

[FirepotPete]

Last year I found a leak on start up by leaving the lights off at night and searching with a flashlight all along the indoor venting.

That is how I check for small leaks, works great.

I was at a friends house years ago, he was running a wood stove and now and then could smell smoke. I told him to turn off the lights and sure enough even without a flashlight you could see the fire through little pin holes near the bottom of his exhaust pipe. Turn the lights back on and you couldn't see them even though we knew where they were.

 

[Don2222]

Is the smell only when the stove starts up?
It is more smokey at start up.

 

[AccentraRRT]

Is the smell only when the stove starts up?
It is more smokey at start up.

No, I've always noticed the smell when it first starts up but goes away after a few minutes.. I usually start on high run for an hour or so then will switch to room temp if it's "warmer" out

 

[BrotherBart]

I would never be able to find the thread, but Mike from ESW explained a few years ago that a little smoke escapes around the shaft of the exhaust blower on pellet stoves on cold startups. I know it does on mine. The first year it drove me nuts trying to find the leak before he said that.

 

[Don2222]

Hi BB
Here is a good pic under the fan blade of the hole around the shaft you are talking about. I just pulled the blade on this exhaust blower from an old Travis Pioneer Bay Insert. It is the standard Fasco 1.0 amp closed frame pellet stove blower.
Due to the centrifugal force and the wind current created by the blades very little smoke can escape.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I suggest taping all the seams in the venting with high temperature foil tape.
Home Depot has some
(broken link removed)

 

[Heatsource]

I've had luck finding tiny exhaust leaks with a sensitive combustible gas detector

 

[AccentraRRT]

Thanks for all the replies. I forgot to mention that all the seams are are sealed with high temp calk.. All except the T peice at the back where I supposed lower temp exhaust/smoke could be leaking.

 

[alternativeheat]

My Duravent T was leaking within it's own construction seams, not the connector seams. And not till the second year of operation.

 

[AccentraRRT]

My Duravent T was leaking within it's own construction seams, not the connector seams. And not till the second year of operation.

Thanks for the help.. I'll have to double check it