When will the horrid paint stink stop?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here

Horsewife

New Member
Jul 3, 2022
14
Minnesota
So I got a Drolet HT-3000 and put in a new Duravent chimney (with single-wall Durablack to the class-a transition) a few months ago, and I've probably burned... Oh, about 10 times in it since I got it. I figured the paint smell would be long gone by now, but alas that has not been the case. Every time I fire it up, without fail, the familiar horrid chemical aroma fills the air, sets off one of the smoke alarms even!

I'm wondering if maybe I could clean the outside of the pipe and stove when it's cold, maybe there's some lingering incompletely combusted paint oils, something...?

The strangest thing to me is that the stink happens, without fail, when the stove reaches about 300 on top, and then it dissipates shortly thereafter. It's like the stove has a hangover and it's puking, and then it gets its crap together and has another drink and it's okay.

Anyone else deal with this?
 
Last edited:
So I got a Drolet HT-3000 and put in a new Duravent chimney (with single-wall Durablack to the class-a transition) a few months ago, and I've probably burned... Oh, about 10 times in it since I got it. I figured the paint smell would be long gone by now, but alas that has not been the case. Every time I fire it up, without fail, the familiar horrid chemical aroma fills the air, sets off one of the smoke alarms even!

I'm wondering if maybe I could clean the outside of the pipe and stove when it's cold, maybe there's some lingering incompletely combusted paint oils, something...?

The strangest thing to me is that the stink happens, without fail, when the stove reaches about 300 on top, and then it dissipates shortly thereafter. It's like the stove has a hangover and it's puking, and then it gets its chit together and has another drink and it's okay.

Anyone else deal with this?
ah the old hair of the dog method of hangover cures. I have to say after having a bloody mary a couple months ago after an all nighter with neighbors, I actually prefer a different method. Eggs for breakfast, then an (ahem) visit to the rest room. Shower, then Im good (with coffee in hand and both eyes open finally).

So, I have a new cast iron vermont castings. It's at a weekend / summer venue. I love it (and hate it). One of the things that bothers me is the smell. It's not a strong chemical smell, it's more of a warm metal smell with a hint of some chemical/paint , something. It is super noticeable after you go outside for awhile in the crisp mountain air, then come into a 75 degree room with this smell.

The first two-three times I ran my stove, I literally could see smoke pouring from every surface of the stove and pipe. My dbl wall duravent stove pipe gets HOT near the stove, then warm, then a bit warmer again as you go up toward the ceiling support or the elbow. I think that stove pipe is going to ooze smell for awhile to be honest because it likely never gets warm enough to really burn stuff off quickly enough. I tried to clean my pipe, ceiling support as much as I could before install, but there are a LOT of manufacturing oils. The ceiling support box had like 1/4" of grease around where they seal the chimney>dbl connector.

My stove gave off alot of smoke as well. It's nothing you can see now at all, but it's still giving off stuff. Ive never gotten it that very hot, into the danger zone as Im trying to learn to manage the stove temps. As one person replied to me, you have to adjust before it gets out of wack. So for example if I see the stove top temps rising quickly and Im already mid level for heat range, I quickly back it off to avoid going above say...600. One time I did this too late, and had too many smaller splits in, had both the damper and air adjustment wide open and the stove reached just shy of above 650. That's when I found the smell even more noticeable.

To combat this somewhat, I put an air purifier with a high level hepa filter w/ ionizer and UVC light (non ozone creating) into this area. It is made to automatically ramp up the air speed when it detects more particulates. It doesnt really ramp up too high unless I let smoke pour into the place. Then it ramps up to super turbo mode and cleans the air within 30 minutes. You should look into something like this, then put it in your bedroom there after. I really feel like it has helped our air quality while sleeping and feel slightly better in the morning than I used to.
 
First few fires are best done in warmer fall weather (now is ideal), with windows open and a fan in one close to the stove, exhausting that smell outside. Essentially, turn your home into a wind tunnel, with windows farthest from stove allowing fresh air in, and the window closest to the stove exhausting with a box fan.

That said, the stove should only release smell each time it hits a new high temperature. So, after your first few small test and break-in fires, you should be able to just let it rip and be done with it. Mine have each been mostly smell-free after the first three fires, at least until any accidental over-fire incidents later in the year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NickW and Dix
It will get better. But it takes a while. About 20 loads for my Drolet. Stove top was running about 500-600 for the last 10.
 
That should never happen on a correctly designed/implemented vent system. Describe your vent setup with pics.
I have a top loader and if I dont open the stove damper smoke will pour into the place. It's part of the RTFM process that I have forgotten a couple of times. Even if I open the damper, if I just whip open the top door immediately afterwards smoke pours in. I have to crack it a bit, then slowly open it about 3/4 way to load, then I get little to no smoke coming in.
 
Smaller fires will not bake in the paint fully. Get the stove top up to 650º with the stove blower off so that the paint actually bakes in. Open windows and put a fan exhausting the fumes out one window if possible.
 
We used to have a VC top-loader, I know exactly what you mean about making sure that bypass damper is open lol.

Sounds to me like I've just gotta' load this sucker full and blow some cold air in here! It's already gettin' fairly chilly at night around here, we'll be sleeping without the covers tonight. Gotta' say, stink notwithstanding, I'm really happy with the new Drolet; a full firebox in this thing is gonna be intense.
 
Once the fire gets going well and the stovetop is around 400º start turning down the air. That will promote secondary combustion for a hotter firebox. Depending on the draft strength and wood you may be able to turn down the air all the way or at least close to it.
 
Well I got it up to about 650, and the stink shifted from a nasty chemical to a toasty brown kind of smell, I hope that means I reached some threshold where it won't emit every time I start the thing anyhow. If that didn't do it I'll just have to stuff it completely full next time and try again I guess
 
The smell should definitely taper off now with each burn. Usually, after 2-4 hot fires it goes away.
 
650 F should be enough to bake in the paint, unless someone had a really heavy hand when painting it. I will parrot what Ashful and Begreen told you. Get the stove good and hot 650-700 on low burn, open the windows and go rake leaves or cut the grass, it will stink. After that you should only get the last smell you had. I've only had two smells that I associated with my stoves, one was when breaking it in, which is the chemical smell you were getting, which I've always attributed to the mineral spirits that keep the paint flowable, and oils from the steel processing. The other smell is the "too hot" smell, that will alert you to the fact that you forgot to turn the air down, and your stove is now at 850 F._g
 
Haha thanks, I'm hoping it'll start to go down now. What I've found weird about the stink I've been having is that it seems like it always starts at the same time, once the stove gets up to about 300, then it tends to taper off. I think that's gotta just be because I hadn't gotten it to that critical mass temp where the paint can fully bake in... At least, I hope that's the case.

We got it real hot last night and started it again this morning with the coals, and sure enough it stank again when it hit 300. We really let it roll today though, with any luck that did the trick, at least the majority of the trick. Thanks for the advice thusfar, it kinda sucks to deal with the stink
 
Was anything used to seal the flue collar or pipe joints?
 
Was anything used to seal the flue collar or pipe joints?
Nope! I completely redid our chimney because the old one was degraded and not giving us sufficient draft. It's just pounded into the stove (with the lips oriented up as they should be) and screwed into the transition piece at the support box.
 
  • Like
Reactions: begreen
In a week the stink will be just a memory. Enjoy the warmth!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Horsewife
Haha, and here I am again! That stink has been rearing its ugly head again lately now that we've got a constant fire going. I'm thinking that some of the stove pipe paint is still getting cooked off every so often. It really makes itself known if I crack the stove door to get a new fire going, then it pretty much subsides once it gets going. Guessing all that air rapidly increases the pipe temp.

I might consider a double-wall switchout if it doesn't stop, but I do really like the radiant heat from the pipe. Probably should have gotten the pipe red hot outside before installing lol.

The stove itself performs beautifully. Heats our house without a problem and it's been getting single digits at night. So nice to have a stove that can burn all night and a chimney with enough draw that we don't smoke ourselves out.
 
I was panicking about 1-2mo ago when the last of my break in fires set off smoke alarm on/off for hours. Someone on here told me, every time you hit a new high temperature you will experience some of the smell. I feel like that has been the case because I have not had any smell since that worst day and I have had the stove pretty hot and CAT has hit temps in the 1400's and haven't smelled it since
 
We used the smell to know we were over firing, the smell will only come with rising temperature eventually. I replaced the single wall with double this year and first firing we got the smell but it was from where I painted the flue collar when I cleaned it and replaced the gasket. It was a familiar smell but that small amount at the collar went away quickly. The single stovepipe I just removed had the stink at high temps even after years of use.
 
The stovepipe should never get red hot.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ashful
It's still early, once you burn hotter for a while it should go away for good.