Ok, time for an update. I burned again today, and alas, the smell is back just as strong as ever. I have already placed an email to my installer and am hoping to get them out. If burning near 700 for as many hours as I did didn't solve it, then I don't know what will. To say I'm frustrated is an understatement.
On another issue, while I have them out I'm going to ask about the noises the stove makes. I haven't mentioned it to this point because the smell was far more concerning to me. Please take a look at the following video and let me know if these cracking/creaking noises are normal. First, some extra info:
- The noises are there for most of the duration of the burn, so I don't think they're the normal expansion/contraction noises.
- They seem more common and frequent if I have some of the air intakes open
- They seem to be related to airflow. Often when I open the door, close the door, change one of the airflow knobs, etc, that drastically changes the amount of noise.
You can see in the video the huge change in knocking when I sealed the door shut (at the start of the video, the door was slightly open, then I locked it down). Even without the fire getting bigger/smaller in that short time (and thus, this shouldn't just be expansion/contraction), the amount of noise drastically increased.
I'm assuming when they come out, they're going to tell me these noises are perfectly normal and will explain it by saying it's expansion/contraction. So, I guess my main question is, is that true?
Thanks again all.
The noises are normal for a steel stove. When you increase/decrease the air or open the door you are changing the temperature in the firebox. It happens, I also know that the sounds are greatly exaggerated on a video than in real life. I have taken several videos of my stoves over the years, I only noticed the ticking in the video, not so much in real time.