Smell won't go away on new stove

[begreen]

There's no doubt that for some reason with this installation there is smoke coming off of the stove. It's clearly evident in the posted video. The likely source is the stove paint, even with the store burning. To eliminate this as a variable, burn with a robust fire and full firebox of wood in it. (But don't get the stove glowing red). Do this with windows and doors open or at least a fan exhausting smoke from the room. Do this with the stove blower off. If after 2 fires at 600F stove top, the smoke persists, there is another issue.

Draft can be check with a magnehelic or manometer if your dealer has one. You might also ask if he has a product called the draw collar. This is a draft booster that gets inserted inline on the smoke pipe. I'm not a fan of them, but if it makes an immediate difference then you at least will be making progress toward pinning down the source of this frustrating problem.

 

[Marshy]

I don't think it's still just burning off.... They burned several cycles at the shop, really hot, and for long periods of time, throughout an entire week. As soon as they put it in, the smell was back. If there was going to be any smell left of curing, it should not be anywhere near this strong. The first stove I had, I burned for many hundreds of hours (easily 400+). The smell never went away and never got any better. This one is shaping up to do the same thing. The smell last night (and still there somewhat tonight) is the same as the smell from July and the same from the smell from the last stove (sort of a "sweet" smell for lack of a better way to describe it). The only thing I could possibly think is that it's a draft issue.

The only two things I could possibly imagine not being ideal is:
1. There is a horizontal section of about three feet where the pipe goes out of the wall. It then goes straight up from there.
2. The top of the stove pipe is well above the roof line, BUT it's not above the second story (which is right about 10 feet away). I was told before install that this wouldn't be an issue (I asked specifically about this since I had done a lot of research, specifically about the 10/2 rule). See pics:
View attachment 201740 View attachment 201741

Is it normal for an outside air kit to suck almost no air into it? Like I mentioned last night, I could barely feel any air being pulled in and the draft wasn't even strong enough to hold up a tissue when the stove was burning like mad.

This weekend when you send the wife and kids shopping and do a hot burn, go outside and see where the smoke is going. You have an outside air kit so your house shouldn't be under negative pressure and draw that smoke into the house even if it is waiting into the atric. I doubt that is the cause but it certainly looks like the prevailing wind could push smoke into your attic. Regardless, with viable smoke rolling off the stove surface it's almost certain where the smell is originating from. You could humor yourself by purchasing a non-contact pyrometer at harbor freight or Lowes and measuring stove top temps during your hot burn and let us know what temps you are seeing. You should easilly be able to reach mid 600F on the top, if not cranking up.

 

[blades]

Mastic + heat = good call, some of that stuff has a scent for quite awhile until it fully cures-

 

[begreen]

What I am not certain about with this stove is whether the cast iron top contact the steel stove body or if there is a slight gap. If there is a gap it may be harder to get the cast top up to 600F. Put a thermometer on it to see.

 

[mincus]

Thanks all for the thoughts. To answer some of the questions:

- The smell isn't coming in through the vent. I can actually smell the "sweet" smell coming off of the top of the stove. This was after it stopped smoking during the last fire and the same smell I smelled coming off of the old stove. That "sweet" smell is what then permeates the house. So, I'm 100% sure it's coming from the stove or pipe itself and not leaking in from outside. I firmly believe it's a draft issue.

- It's not a wood smoke smell, at least from a conventional bonfire. The smell inside is pretty similar to the smell coming from the top of the exhaust pipe outside. I wouldn't identify it as quite the same, but pretty similar. The way I like to describe it to people is like a normal smoke smell, but without the "smoke" part. No idea if that makes sense to anyone else, but the bottom line is what is coming out of the exhaust doesn't smell at all like a typical bonfire smoke to me. I have heard that this is because these stoves burn more completely so much of the "smoky" part of the smell is gone. This smell is very similar to what our house ends up smelling like.

- I don't think it's a pressure issue. We get the exact same smell with or without all the windows open.

- The base is a porcelain tile on top of three layers of a high temperature fiber board (I forget the name, but it was expensive!). I used a conventional mortar, not mastic.

- The first stove I had up to 700-800 degrees quite often, as measured with an IR thermometer on the top. The dealer burned this stove up to that same temp several times as I recall, if not a bit hotter. I don't know how hot it got a few days ago.

 

[mitchell721]

Seems like by the time the stove was up to 400-500 a draft issue would go away especially when the outside temps were lower. I can't help but think something is getting hot that shouldn't. Can't tell what type of siding you have. Maybe there's fan fold under it getting hot? Just trying to throw whatever I can think of at you.

 

[gutlo]

How about stripping the finish off with paint remover? You can start with the top. Do the flashlight-in-the-dark test and if it passes but still smokes, you can strip the rest. There is an odorless water soluble paint remover that won't stink up the house.

 

[blacksmithden]

How about stripping the finish off with paint remover? You can start with the top. Do the flashlight-in-the-dark test and if it passes but still smokes, you can strip the rest. There is an odorless water soluble paint remover that won't stink up the house.

I dont think hes willing to void the warranty just yet.

OP. Show the wood stove store that video you posted and see what they have to say.

 

[blacksmithden]

Hey....what about this. You borrow a few lengths of stove pipe from the store to get a draft going. Pull the stove out into the yard, and burn the living hell out of it over the weekend. Hot as hell....cool down...heat it up again.....No stink in the house....paint gets well cured.....then you'll know.

 

[Heftiger]

Hey....what about this. You borrow a few lengths of stove pipe from the store to get a draft going. Pull the stove out into the yard, and burn the living hell out of it over the weekend. Hot as hell....cool down...heat it up again.....No stink in the house....paint gets well cured.....then you'll know.

Except he said the dealer already did this...
Unless they didn’t; but like the OP said, the dealer has a vested interest in him not having an issue.


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[blacksmithden]

Except he said the dealer already did this...
Unless they didn’t; but like the OP said, the dealer has a vested interest in him not having an issue.


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Yeah...I know....but I still think that smoke is cooking paint...and the thing can't smoke forever. Eventually, whatever is cooking off in the finish has to get used up...I mean, unless its magic finish. I still think he should run it hard and cool it...as many cycles as it takes to burn off whatever is causing that smoke, and then bring it back inside. Now...I know it's easy for me to say that because I have an appliance moving dolly and lots of friends to help out getting it out of the basement. Not just anyone is going to have the luxury/ability to get a woodstove in and out of their house with relative ease even if its on the ground floor.

 

[kennyp2339]

Any chance the installed used some sort of sealer on the flue collar connection and perhaps dripped a little on the stove body?
I remember a few posts a couple years ago were a stove owners kid left a little plastic army guy on the stove and it smelled for weeks and it wasn't until the guy took the blower off that he discovered the half melted army guy, maybe its something like this, or perhaps someone used high temp silicone to seal the smoke pipe *not needed and that's the smell.

 

[Marshy]

Thanks all for the thoughts. To answer some of the questions:

- The smell isn't coming in through the vent. I can actually smell the "sweet" smell coming off of the top of the stove. This was after it stopped smoking during the last fire and the same smell I smelled coming off of the old stove. That "sweet" smell is what then permeates the house. So, I'm 100% sure it's coming from the stove or pipe itself and not leaking in from outside. I firmly believe it's a draft issue.

- It's not a wood smoke smell, at least from a conventional bonfire. The smell inside is pretty similar to the smell coming from the top of the exhaust pipe outside. I wouldn't identify it as quite the same, but pretty similar. The way I like to describe it to people is like a normal smoke smell, but without the "smoke" part. No idea if that makes sense to anyone else, but the bottom line is what is coming out of the exhaust doesn't smell at all like a typical bonfire smoke to me. I have heard that this is because these stoves burn more completely so much of the "smoky" part of the smell is gone. This smell is very similar to what our house ends up smelling like.

- I don't think it's a pressure issue. We get the exact same smell with or without all the windows open.

- The base is a porcelain tile on top of three layers of a high temperature fiber board (I forget the name, but it was expensive!). I used a conventional mortar, not mastic.

- The first stove I had up to 700-800 degrees quite often, as measured with an IR thermometer on the top. The dealer burned this stove up to that same temp several times as I recall, if not a bit hotter. I don't know how hot it got a few days ago.

Hoes the stove working for ya? You get that thing rip'in?

 

[MAD MARK]

Anyone talk to this guy?

Any update??

 

[Mark8]

Anyone talk to this guy?

Any update??

Maybe we should check the obituaries

 

[MAD MARK]

Maybe we should check the obituaries

I've been going back through old posts from last year and it worries me, and also pisses me off that people don't come back and reply something.

Especially the one post that the guy had 4 chimney fires but installed a garden hose so felt he was alright.

 

[Marshy]

Ha! I remember this thread.
I wish the guy would have loaded the stove, went outside and took a video of the smoke from the chimney pipe. It's either blowing into the attic or possibly falling onto the roof and sinking down along side the house and coming in through windows and other areas thst leak air into the house. It would have been worth the effort to have an energy audit done to check the air tighness of the house. Even with an outside air kit if the house is not very tight and is losing a fair amount of heat and air up through the ceiling/attic space the air will be made up through doors/windows/outlets pulling in the smell of the smoke. With all the trees around the house it's possible the smoke outside the home does not dissipated very well. I do believe the last video he showed us was the stove paint curing. I also believe he will be unsatisfied regardless of the stove installed.

 

[MAD MARK]

Well I was interested because I'm getting a bad smell right around 400 sttt everytime I get the stove going. And this is day to day everytime. This was closet thread to what I'm seeing happen to me.

 

[Marshy]

Well I was interested because I'm getting a bad smell right around 400 sttt everytime I get the stove going. And this is day to day everytime. This was closet thread to what I'm seeing happen to me.

The best advice I could give you is start your own thread and state you issue. This may be close to your issue but every install is different and while the symptoms might be the same, the cause could be entirely different.

Also, right out of the gate take pictures of your stove, the pipe arrangement that connects it to the chimney and take pictures of the chimney outside. If you can load the stove and take pictures of the smokes direction it might add value. Tell us when you experience it and how you operate the stove (burn 24/7 or light 2 or 3 fires a day?).

The air tightness (or lack there of) can play a significant part in these issues. Like i mentioned, if the house loses a lot of warm air through the ceiling/attic it will cause the house to be under a lower pressure than outside and smoke smell will get pulled into the house around the windows and doors. The air entering the home will be the coldest and tent to stay low to the floor. Air movement will tend to be towards the stove as the air is heated it will rise.

To check for air leaks you can get a smoke pen. You can also check the differential pressure in the house with a draft gauge. An Entergy audit usually checked those sort of things and tell you how drafty your house is and where you should focus on for improved efficiency. Air tightness of the house is as important as the draft in the chimney.