Wood insert questions

[ChrisCT]

Hey everyone, I've been lurking on the forum for a couple weeks now and let me say I can't believe how much information is on here! A brief overview, I currently have a brick fireplace and I am looking into installing a wood insert. I plan on stocking up on wood this fall/winter and installing in the spring. My wife has her apprehensions because she hates the smell the day after we have a fire. I've never had smoke in the house and the draft seems fine. I had the chimney cleaned and inspected last year and probably burned a dozen times since. It appears to be the cold air just dropping down the chimney, and it's more prevalent on rainy days (no cover/cap on flu). Because of that we dont have fires often, so I'm hoping an insert could change that.

My question is for people with wood burning inserts, do you ever get a smell in the house with the SS liner and block off plate? Does the seal on the door keep the smell down on rainy days etc? I'm looking at osburn 2000/2400 right now but need to see them in person. Insert would be supplementing oil heat with baseboard.

 

[begreen]

Your assumption is probably correct. It sounds like draft is reversing and allowing the odor to get pulled into the house. One possible cause may be due to the location. Basement fireplaces can be worse. When was the chimney and fireplace cleaned and was it very thorough including the smoke shelf? How tall is the chimney? Another possibility is rain leaking in through the top or through the brick. Is there a cap on the top of the flue?

An insert can improve the situation, but it may not if the negative pressure is strong or there are other issues like water leakage.

 

[ChrisCT]

Your assumption is probably correct. It sounds like draft is reversing and allowing the odor to get pulled into the house. One possible cause may be due to the location. Basement fireplaces can be worse. When was the chimney and fireplace cleaned and was it very thorough including the smoke shelf? How tall is the chimney? Another possibility is rain leaking in through the top or through the brick. Is there a cap on the top of the flue?

An insert can improve the situation, but it may not if the negative pressure is strong or there are other issues like water leakage.

The chimney was cleaned when we bought the house, do I don't know about the smoke shelf. We've only burned a dozen times or so this will be our second winter in the house. It's on an outside wall and the fireplace is on the first floor of a 2 story cape so I imagine no more than 25' tall. There's not a physical cap on top of the flue which probably contributes to the rain making the smell worse. Another thing to note is a week or two after burning, the smell is not present anymore just seems to be prevalent for the first few days after a fire and subsides shortly after.

 

[begreen]

I think the first thing to try is a cap on the chimney, but an insert install with a full liner will have a top cap. If properly installed it could very well put this issue to rest.

 

[Bushels20]

I do not get any “old fire” smell in our house after burning. Every now and then you may open the door and a smoke puff or two will come out. But that smell is not unpleasant nor abnormal, in my opinion. Just happens when loading the insert.

The logistics of your chimney is something I know little about and i can’t make any suggestions but I have been on here long enough to knows it’s important. Draft being a big one.

Lots of good folks on here who will chime in later, im sure.

 

[Bushels20]

I think the first thing to try is a cap on the chimney, but an insert install with a full liner will have a top cap. If properly installed it could very well put this issue to rest.

And make that old fireplace useful from a heating standpoint.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Hey everyone, I've been lurking on the forum for a couple weeks now and let me say I can't believe how much information is on here! A brief overview, I currently have a brick fireplace and I am looking into installing a wood insert. I plan on stocking up on wood this fall/winter and installing in the spring. My wife has her apprehensions because she hates the smell the day after we have a fire. I've never had smoke in the house and the draft seems fine. I had the chimney cleaned and inspected last year and probably burned a dozen times since. It appears to be the cold air just dropping down the chimney, and it's more prevalent on rainy days (no cover/cap on flu). Because of that we dont have fires often, so I'm hoping an insert could change that.

My question is for people with wood burning inserts, do you ever get a smell in the house with the SS liner and block off plate? Does the seal on the door keep the smell down on rainy days etc? I'm looking at osburn 2000/2400 right now but need to see them in person. Insert would be supplementing oil heat with baseboard.

We get no smell in the house, with an insert and chimney cap. We like our close-cousin to the osburn insrts you are looking at.

 

[ChrisCT]

And make that old fireplace useful from a heating standpoint.

That's exactly my thought. I'd love to get one this year seeing oil went up $.60 from last season but I want to get some seasoned wood piled up before getting the insert installed. I didnt think that you'd get much smell from the SS liner with a cap but wanted to see what others thought and hear their experiences.

 

[DuaeGuttae]

In our former raised ranch home, we installed an insert in our mostly finished basement just to provide heat to that area. The fireplace was old and had been used, and despite thorough cleaning, there could be an odor on wet days. It did have a cap, and we didn’t have leaks so I think it was more of an air pressure or humidity issue. We did not have any dank fireplace smell after installing the insert except one time when we removed the surround to look at possibly installing a block-off plate. I think it was spring or summer, and we left it off for a while until the weather was just right, and I smelled a slight odor. We put the surround back on, and that was that. Our smell was slight and not the reason we installed the insert. Our basement was just cold, and we fixed that problem and the occasional slight odor as well.

 

[Dix]

That smell has been gone for a long time in my house, you are correct !

Every once in a while I get smoke into the house, usually on a damp, not so good draft day on start up. Disappates quickly.