Year 2 - Break-in fires necessary?

[chutes]

Hope everyone had a nice summer.

Got my first fire of the season going. Second year with this insert and I've got a nice fire going but also notice some noxious, metallic type smell - somewhat like the smell from the first break-in fires a year ago. Is that pretty typical for the first fire of the year? And, there's no need for me to bring the fire down, do another break-in later, etc., is there? It is crisp today, and going to get down to 40 tonight so want to keep it going.

 

[pen]

Every notice how the A/C smells the first time it's fired up in the spring? The heater in the car in the fall? Baseboard radiators heating up the first time in the fall?

My bet is that it's just the dust and "stuff" that has gotten in and on the stove that you are smelling. There is no strength or chemical reason I can think of to have to re-do the breakin.

good luck

pen

 

[PunKid8888]

Yup probably just some dust, you will live

 

[efoyt]

If your woodstove is made from soapstone then yes you do. If not then you don't.

 

[chutes]

Every notice how the A/C smells the first time it's fired up in the spring? The heater in the car in the fall? Baseboard radiators heating up the first time in the fall?

Actually, yeah. Great point. Smell is exactly like my baseboard heat first time I turn them on each year.

I can afford to open some windows and let the smell out. It's already coming up on 80 degrees in here

 

[fredarm]

I had the same smell on the first burn this year. Second burn--no smell.

 

[jmhpsu93]

I'm on my 3rd break-in fire in the last 48 hours on my Hearthstone Phoenix (2nd year). Nasty smell first time, a little smell the second time, almost nothing the third. Keeping the stove temps pretty low for now, since it's in the 60s during the day and mid-40s in the morning. I probably won't need to crank her up for a couple of weeks yet.

 

[firefighterjake]

You're probably smelling the dust burning off . . .unless a helpful gnome snuck into your house one night this past summer and repainted or polished your stove without you knowing . . . in which case it would be the paint burning off again . . . personally I think it's just dust, not gnomes.

As for break-in fires . . . I believe the consensus is no, unless you have a soapstone . . . although it certainly can't hurt to start out with a small fire or two . . . and I would suspect that for most folks the early season fires will not be rip-roarers, but rather smaller fires to just take the chill out of the autumn air.

 

[Corey]

Ahhh...'first burn of the year' smell. If you can get a vacuum, dust cloth or rag into the stove vents to remove the summer dust build-up that will help with the smell, otherwise it will burn out on it's own after a few fires. Some have said break in fires are necessary every season due to moisture absorbing in firebricks, soapstone, etc. I have never worried with them too much - early season fires are by nature smaller for me, so it is almost like a 'built in' break in mechanism.

 

[Hurricane]

I have never worried with them too much - early season fires are by nature smaller for me, so it is almost like a 'built in' break in mechanism.

+1

 

[Backwoods Savage]

If your woodstove is made from soapstone then yes you do. If not then you don't.

Not necessarily so! If your stove is a Woodstock soapstone stove, then there is no need to do this. Hearthstone, yes, you should do it.

 

[LLigetfa]

The firebrick/soapstone/masonry chimney can all absorb moisture over time so the first fire should be gradual but aside from that, let her roar.