Smoky in house

[nate379]

Getting backdraft smoke smell in house.

Not burning, haven't in several months.

Cleaned chimney, stove is empty as well. Stuffed insulation in chimney, seems to not have helped. What else?

 

[firefighterjake]

Box of baking soda in the stove . . . or even better yet . . . take a candle, place in the stove and light it . . . smell will disappear and it's almost like having a fire in your stove . . . think Woodstove Lite.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I'll agree with Jake. Then after the candle burns out, stuff that insulation back in and put the baking soda in the stove.

 

[North of 60]

Is your combustion air from inside or outside/OAK? Could be getting the smell from there if not piped from outside.

 

[Beetle-Kill]

Nate, this is the payback for heating a house in Alaska, with a BK set on neg. .07. I haven't noticed any odor, but I'm still burning 3 splits a night. Open a friggin' window already.

 

[nate379]

Window near stove is opened a bit.

Yes have OAK.

Burning still? Huh? I have had no need to heat for a while now. Gets in the high 40s at night but it's in the high 60s during the day.

 

[Fsappo]

There was a product made by Rutland called fireplace deoderant that I used to sell on Long Island. It was a small glass jar with a wick. Place it in the fireplace, pull out the wick. Absorbed the odors. With the damp air along the LI shores in those big fancy houses, folks wouldnt mind shelling out the few bucks for it.

http://shop.fireplacevillage.net/pr...ve-deodorant?utm_source=google-product-search

A little pricey but I never had a customer complain they didnt work.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

Smell is coming from air coming down the chimney, picking up the odor and cycling it into the house. I would put the baking soda into the stove, put the insulation into the chimney and you could also put p lactic over the cap to keep air from getting in and coming into the house, as long as you make sure to put a big sign inside the stove to remind you to take it off before you burn next time.

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

Burning still? Huh? I have had no need to heat for a while now. Gets in the high 40s at night but it's in the high 60s during the day.

I too am still burning... just had a fire last night... it's currently hovering near freezing & snowing. Our highs won't get out of the mid-50's during the day, & regularly dip below freezing at night...
what's up with that Alaska weather? Isn't it supposed to be colder than Montana? lol

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Nate, one more thing you might try along with the baking soda is to place a small bowl of white vinegar in the stove. The vinegar has a good reputation of removing odors from various things and even placed in a car that has been driven by a smoker will get rid of the smoke smell.

 

[soupy1957]

I dunno..........I keep the door shut on my stove, for starters. Beyond that, I LIKE the smell that comes from any residuals.

During the summers when we went camping, (haven't "camped" in a number of years now, darn it), I used to park my truck facing the fire at our campsite, because when we got home, the smoke that had wafted over to my radiator, would give me that "campfire smell" long after we got back home. I liked that.

-Soupy1957

 

[firefighterjake]

I dunno..........I keep the door shut on my stove, for starters. Beyond that, I LIKE the smell that comes from any residuals.

During the summers when we went camping, (haven't "camped" in a number of years now, darn it), I used to park my truck facing the fire at our campsite, because when we got home, the smoke that had wafted over to my radiator, would give me that "campfire smell" long after we got back home. I liked that.

-Soupy1957

Sometimes I drive by the Amish homes in the Summer . . . just to get that smell of smoke in the air.

 

[greythorn3]

Getting backdraft smoke smell in house.

Not burning, haven't in several months.

Cleaned chimney, stove is empty as well. Stuffed insulation in chimney, seems to not have helped. What else?

thanks allot for the spacers, not!

guess kids nowadays dont appreciate when you lend them your chainsaw when they need one.

 

[madison]

Is backdraft via the stove chimney liner or existing/old chimney? In our old home, the humidity seemed exacerbate the smell from a masonry chimney. A dehumidfier, and one of the dehumidifiying pouch things in the firebox, and more frequent chimney cleaning helped, but never cured the issue.

 

[nate379]

Yeah, I put a sign in the stove when I stuffed the insulation in the pipe.

Would cover the cap but I have about 10ft of pipe from the roof level and a ladder isn't going to happen easily on a 6/12 pitch.

Smell is coming from air coming down the chimney, picking up the odor and cycling it into the house. I would put the baking soda into the stove, put the insulation into the chimney and you could also put p lactic over the cap to keep air from getting in and coming into the house, as long as you make sure to put a big sign inside the stove to remind you to take it off before you burn next time.

 

[nate379]

Ok I put the box of baking soda and it didn't do a damn bit of good.

Next idea?

If I plug the OAK would that help maybe?

Thinking of getting this as well: http://www.stoveking.com/damper-kit-p-10448.html

Been wanting to just in case of needing to shut down the stove (chim fire, too much draft, etc)

 

[branchburner]

You need a chimney balloon, or chimney pillow, or the equivalent. Without a plug, that reverse chimney effect is going to suck the odors right through the fiberglass - even when compacted it is porous enough for air to flow through.

Instead of bunching up fiberglass insulation, use the balloon or pillow, or try making a plug out of rigid insulation for a fully airtight seal. I fashioned plugs plugs this way and put them in the top of the flues of my unused chimney flues (mainly to prevent heat loss, but will prevent downdraft too).

 

[firefighterjake]

Ok I put the box of baking soda and it didn't do a damn bit of good.

Next idea?

If I plug the OAK would that help maybe?

Thinking of getting this as well: http://www.stoveking.com/damper-kit-p-10448.html

Been wanting to just in case of needing to shut down the stove (chim fire, too much draft, etc)

Light a candle . . . enjoy the itsy bitsy flame.

 

[nate379]

The insulation is in a trash bag which I then stuffed in the pipe.

You need a chimney balloon, or chimney pillow, or the equivalent. Without a plug, that reverse chimney effect is going to suck the odors right through the fiberglass - even when compacted it is porous enough for air to flow through.

Instead of bunching up fiberglass insulation, use the balloon or pillow, or try making a plug out of rigid insulation for a fully airtight seal. I fashioned plugs plugs this way and put them in the top of the flues of my unused chimney flues (mainly to prevent heat loss, but will prevent downdraft too).

 

[nate379]

How many hours does a candle last? Not going to burn till around October... over 2000hrs.

Ok I put the box of baking soda and it didn't do a damn bit of good.

Next idea?

If I plug the OAK would that help maybe?

Thinking of getting this as well: http://www.stoveking.com/damper-kit-p-10448.html

Been wanting to just in case of needing to shut down the stove (chim fire, too much draft, etc)

Light a candle . . . enjoy the itsy bitsy flame.

 

[firefighterjake]

Often times you only need to light the candle for an hour or so . . . and it will reverse the stack effect.

Earlier this year I noticed a slight smoky smell . . . burned the candle for a couple of hours and it reversed the effect . . . even with the candle extinguished.

If you continue to have the problem and get tired of lighting the candle you may want to try blocking the chimney.

 

[nate379]

The chimney is blocked!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

could look at "smokers candles" though ive never tried em, candle wouldnt have to burn more than a couple hours all you need to do is get the stack temp a couple degrees warmer than outside and that should do it, a more permanent solution may be to allow passive air in , disconnect the oak, block the oak opening on the stove but leave the pipe open to outside to help releave negative pressure in the house. while negative pressure in houses usually isnt quite as strong in the summer many homes especially newer ones can still develop it. cracking a window, installing a free air vent like the condar asv-90 (broken link removed to http://www.condar.com/asv.html) or similar could be a more permanent solution

one question , do you have an "AC" return in the room with the stove? this could be pulling the odor out

 

[branchburner]

The chimney is blocked!

Might need to block at the top? Unless that is done, air will come down, and it must be getting through somewhere.

 

[nate379]

No neg pressure in house, window by stove is about about 6". I leave it open mostly year round, just only 1/2"-1" when it's cold out.