Strange odor from stove

[11ultra103]

Hi all, I just joined after searching through articles and I could not find an answer to my question. I am not entirely new to burning wood, I've been burning wood in my garage for 10 years, my last home i had a wood/coal boiler. The boiler kind of smothered the wood and ended up starting a chimney fire. So now i have purchased a home with a woodstove in the living room as the primary heat source. I'm not ashamed to admit I am kind of nervous burning wood in the house as I haven't since that chimney fire in my old house. My stove is a smaller cfm model from 2006, 3 story 6 inch stack which runs through the living space. Last night I had the fire going good for 3 hours, put 3 new logs in and closed the door, left the air inlet completely open, the logs never burned bright, just kind of a blue flame. About an hour and a half later they had burned to charcoal. I added 3 new logs and left the air inlet completely open for 15 or 20 minutes. This time I had bright flames like normal. I closed the air inlet to between closed and half. I noticed an almost onion like smell in the house both upstairs and downstairs on the first floor where the stove is located. My fiance who was upstairs even commented it smelled like a food like onion smell. Could this be creosote from the low burning logs burning out of the chimney? Or are we just being nervous. I know what creosote normally smells like as I have cleaned my chimneys for the last 6 years by myself, and have never had an onion smell. Any help or input is appreciated

 

[Ludlow]

Does it look like the previous owners may have cooked on the stove?

 

[11ultra103]

No I dont think so. And i have been burning this stove for the past 2 weeks. I've burned it probably 6 or 7 nights in total over 2 weeks

 

[toddnic]

When was the last time the wood stove was cleaned and serviced? There are numerous posts regarding paint smell from a new or refurbished stove but not an "onion" smell. Nothing near or in the stove that you could see? Any critters that could have made a nest somewhere in your system? If the stove hasn't been serviced recently, that may be your best place to start.

 

[11ultra103]

The previous homeowner had the chimney inspected in june. I had the same company come out Saturday and he took a camera and looked up the chimney and said it's good and didnt need a cleaning

 

[yooper08]

Just curious - when you closed the air to half way, what did the fire look like? Still bright and roaring? Follow up question to that, do you have stove top thermometer or an IR gun?

 

[11ultra103]

Fire was still burning bright. Stove top was about 500 degrees

 

[11ultra103]

Here is my stove. Looking into getting a bigger one, I dont think this is going to heat my 1800s farm house very well

 

[begreen]

Normally one never runs the stove with the air wide open. That is just going to burn up the fuel quickly with a good chance of overfiring the stove and stove pipe as heat is wasted up the chimney. What is the make and model of the stove as listed on the UL tag on the rear of the stove?

 

[11ultra103]

It's a 2006 model century FW270029. My chimney sweep instructed me to run the stove wide open the first 3 hours after lighting the stove. After 3 hours cut the air back. I've never done it like that either

 

[kborndale]

3 hours?? Should be more like 30 minutes

 

[11ultra103]

Idk that's what the guy told me. And hes the chimney cleaning company owner

 

[bholler]

Idk that's what the guy told me. And hes the chimney cleaning company owner

He is wrong there is no set time you should be running the stove according to temperature. I prefer pipe temp because it is the fastest reacting temp

 

[11ultra103]

He is wrong there is no set time you should be running the stove according to temperature. I prefer pipe temp because it is the fastest reacting temp

I agree. I need to install my probe thermometer in the pipe. Previous owner only had a stove top thermometer

 

[bholler]

I agree. I need to install my probe thermometer in the pipe. Previous owner only had a stove top thermometer

Stove top can work but it takes longer to react.

 

[firefighterjake]

It's a 2006 model century FW270029. My chimney sweep instructed me to run the stove wide open the first 3 hours after lighting the stove. After 3 hours cut the air back. I've never done it like that either

Chimney sweep is wrong . . . adjust the air by the temp of the stove and/or flue. From a cold start to when I am dialing back my air I figure on 45 minutes to an hour depending on the time of year and quality of the wood. A reload on coals I figure on anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. It really does depend on a variety of factors . . . but in any case . . . 3 hours is way, way too long . . .

 

[11ultra103]

Chimney sweep is wrong . . . adjust the air by the temp of the stove and/or flue. From a cold start to when I am dialing back my air I figure on 45 minutes to an hour depending on the time of year and quality of the wood. A reload on coals I figure on anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour. It really does depend on a variety of factors . . . but in any case . . . 3 hours is way, way too long . . .

That's what I was thinking too. That's a pretty long time to waste wood and heat. I'm heading out to a local stove place tonight to see about options for a new stove. Maybe I'll have better luck with a larger stove. I cant get mine to burn more than 3 hours or so

 

[firefighterjake]

That's what I was thinking too. That's a pretty long time to waste wood and heat. I'm heading out to a local stove place tonight to see about options for a new stove. Maybe I'll have better luck with a larger stove. I cant get mine to burn more than 3 hours or so

While that does seem a bit short, bear in mind that the term "burn time" means a lot of things to a lot of different people. I always pictured the stove putting out heat only when there were active flames . . . after a month or so of burning I quickly realized that heat is still being pumped out by the pile of hot coals long after the last flame is seen.

That said . . . generally bigger = longer burn times due to the ability to pack more fuel into the space.

 

[11ultra103]

While that does seem a bit short, bear in mind that the term "burn time" means a lot of things to a lot of different people. I always pictured the stove putting out heat only when there were active flames . . . after a month or so of burning I quickly realized that heat is still being pumped out by the pile of hot coals long after the last flame is seen.

That said . . . generally bigger = longer burn times due to the ability to pack more fuel into the space.

Well i loaded the stove up at 1am this morning, cut the air back to about 1/4, and when I got up for work at 6 it was completely burnt out. I need it to burn at least until morning so I can put wood in before leaving for work

 

[bholler]

Well i loaded the stove up at 1am this morning, cut the air back to about 1/4, and when I got up for work at 6 it was completely burnt out. I need it to burn at least until morning so I can put wood in before leaving for work

How much did you load?

 

[11ultra103]

How much did you load?

I had it full as full as I could get it, which was 4 logs and they were against the baffle in the top. You can only fit 2 16" logs in and then put 2 on top of those

 

[begreen]

My chimney sweep instructed me to run the stove wide open the first 3 hours after lighting the stove.

That's a quick way to void the warranty and overfire the stove. Hope he knows what he's doing while sweeping.

 

[11ultra103]

That's a quick way to void the warranty and overfire the stove. Hope he knows what he's doing while sweeping.

I agree. I may be looking for a new company.