Weird smell??

[Bubbas Boys]

I have noticed sometimes that when I heat our stove up really hot for the fist burn in the morning there is a weird smell outside. I go out feed livestock and it kind of smells like snakes, you know those little black things kids burn for 4th of July. I just swept the chimney the 1st of December and got pretty much nothing out of it. We are burning dry wood and burning hot fires once a day. Stove is a Kitchen Queen 480 cookstove. Anyone have this before? Anything to worry about? Thanks

 

[Jags]

Some types of wood will give off that smell. It is the smell of completely combusted wood. No smoke "left" to smell like smoke, just the other stuff that wood contains. If I remember correctly, I have noticed this more with elm than other types of fuel.

 

[DougA]

Newer stoves, esp. cat stoves burn off more of the wood and the smell is not the old time 'sweet' wood smell. Never heard it compared to snakes ....

 

[tcassavaugh]

i thought locust used to smell a little rank.....but worth the trade off in the heat

 

[Diabel]

Stop burning black snakes!

Have you tried burning box elder?

 

[DougA]

Have you tried burning box elder?

Box Elder stinks even before you burn it.

 

[coaly]

This is not a cat, or secondary burn stove folks. It gets air through the door admitted to bottom of fire on a grate as well as to the top through hollow door.

We burn a Kitchen Queen 480 as our only heat source as well.
They always circulate a certain amount around the oven, so maybe you're smelling that burn off after an overnight burn? Do you keep the oven door open for more heat all night? I find that cools it extracting more heat and needs more frequent cleaning around oven circulating passage.

Is the smell only with the bypass open? That really increases heat to the outlet box and pipe.
I added a thermostat on the back and open it in the morning that lights most anything we put on the coals instantly. Very little smoke and no strange smell.

Mostly standing dead oak.

 

[NinjaTech]

My cat stove has a 'odd' smell like that too with my cat stove. I agree with the above posters, just smells different due to the cleaner combustion.

 

[coaly]

My cat stove has a 'odd' smell like that too with my cat stove. I agree with the above posters, just smells different due to the cleaner combustion.

It's not a cat or secondary combustion stove, nor EPA certified. Cook stoves are exempt.
The bypass is only opened at the beginning of a burn, so I'm thinking that's when they smell it? This allows firebox to vent directly into flue.

 

[DougA]

If it's a non-cat, non secondary, then it's just smelly because you are burning hot and getting complete combustion. I wouldn't worry about it as long as your stove temps are within safety range.

 

[coaly]

I should add, when that happens, see if the lid over fire box removes like it should. When we push ours or overfire, it gets tight and will not remove until stove top temperatures equalize. The lid will run about 100* hotter than stove top until the heat evens out. Mine wants to run 600 to 650 stove top with 325 to 350 stack.

 

[Bubbas Boys]

Thanks guy. I figured t was just because I make it so hot.