# Horrible, sweet chemical smell from woodstove



## ebh3 (Nov 1, 2010)

We got a new Vermont Castings catalytic wood stove (Encore) installed last year.  All last winter it emitted a strong smell, not like wood smoke at all but sweeter and more like exhaust.  It is not as acrid as the burn-in smell.  We followed all the breaking in instructions very carefully, but have had to replace a couple gaskets, and the griddle on the top cracked at a very low temperature.  I have no idea if this is related, but the stove does seem to have some issues.  The chimney seems to draft pretty well and we rarely get a smokey smell, just this weird exhaust.  It makes me feel slightly ill and gives me a cough, but does not affect my husband at all.  

We just had the chimney cleaned and fired it up again, and it still gives off the same smell.  Sometimes it doesn't smell right by the stove, which is in a very open room, but gathers elsewhere.


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## r_d_gard (Nov 1, 2010)

I have the same setup as you, minus the odor.  I wonder if the actual CAT is defective.  Anyone else like to chime in?


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## Jags (Nov 1, 2010)

Hmmm... do you have a dealer or any type of pro that you could call in?  It doesn't sound right.  It happens rarely, but I have heard of stoves that NEVER get the paint to truly set, with an off smell during each burn.

It does sound like something ain't kosher.


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## DanCorcoran (Nov 1, 2010)

Absolutely: kosher stoves emit no odors!


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## firefighterjake (Nov 2, 2010)

Was it the SwedishChef or someone from Canada that had a similar problem with an acrid/sweet smell that just wouldn't go away . . . I don't think the stove was a VC, but I remember he tried a lot of things and finally the company took the stove back.


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## bren582 (Nov 3, 2010)

I would rule out the use of silicone in areas it does not belong like around the stove collar or pipe sections. Temps approaching 500 deg or so will cause silicone to burn off with a smell like that..


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## savageactor7 (Nov 3, 2010)

Is the wood seasoned properly? I was in a home 2 weeks ago they were smoldering unseasoned wood...had a very astringent smell to it.

Then again it could be a CAT deal ...and I dunno anything about them.


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## Rockey (Nov 3, 2010)

Are the kids hiding Holloween candy in the hollow logs? Husband maybe?

Seriously, maybe there is something like a candle or something too close to the stove that is emmiting the aroma when it gets warm.


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## ebh3 (Nov 3, 2010)

Thanks for the replies.  The wood stove dealer installed the stove and chimney liner last year, so I don't think there is any silicone there that shouldn't be.  They also cleaned the stove and replaced a gasket when they swept the chimney this fall.  My husband has an idea that it might be the combo of having the cat engaged with the throttle way down at night.  Does that sound plausible?

We need to experiment and collect some more data...


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## Jags (Nov 4, 2010)

ebh3 said:
			
		

> My husband has an idea that it might be the combo of having the cat engaged with the throttle way down at night.  Does that sound plausible?



Assuming that you are maintaining proper operating temps, that is how they are supposed to be run.  That should not cause a smell.  Is it possible that you are getting an exhaust loop coming back into the home.  Meaning - the exhaust from your stack, filtering back into the house from the outside??  This could cause an acrid smell.

I only mention this because just yesterday, right after a cold startup I could smell smoke (you typically wont smell smoke with a hot stove, but it could have an "industrial" smell),  went outside with a big light, and low and behold, the smoke was settling towards the corner of my house where I was.  Probably filtered in through the sliding glass door in that area.

Note to Jags: Pack sliding glass door this weekend.


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## stacks-a-wood (Nov 23, 2010)

To firestarter,  I bought my wood stove last fall (09).  The first time we used it we noticed a strong exhaust smell, it seemed to fade over the next week or so, but anytime it gets hot the smell always comes back, sometimes stronger then others, it always irritates my throat when the smell is strong. If I don't let it get too hot it never smells, but I live in a very old house with little insulation, in a cold climate, which is why I have a wood stove. Since we are well into the second season of use I'm starting to suspect that the problem is not going to go away. Normally,  I would have no problem making the sacrifice of having a funny smell for free heat, but we have an infant in the house now. I'm increasingly hesitant to let my 6 month old son breathe whatever is causing that smell. I'm anxious to find some answers.

To Inferno, I'm interested to hear more about operating temperatures. I grew up with a wood stove. Again, it was a cold house in a cold climate, but we would get that thing blazing to dangerous levels at times....which while stupid and risky, never smelled like exhaust.

The only difference is that the wood stove i have now has a glass front.


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## shawneyboy (Nov 23, 2010)

stacks-a-wood said:
			
		

> The only difference is that the wood stove i have now has a glass front.



So the 2009 stove has no secondary tubes or Cat ???


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## spirilis (Nov 23, 2010)

FWIW, whenever I try to run my (very old) VC Defiant in downdraft mode, I smell something vaguely similar coming from the griddle--I am certain my griddle gasket isn't sealing 100% properly.  It's not quite an acrid wood smoke smell, it's like wood smoke with some of the chemicals "missing" I guess, more like car exhaust.  It's like wood smoke with some of the fine particulates filtered out (as if the gasket was sealing and filtering out most of the smoke particles, but some of the gases were still escaping).  I never notice it in updraft mode with a vigorous fire because it drafts hard enough to avoid any outward leakage, but in downdraft mode the firebox naturally floods with smoke so it has the opportunity to leak.  With this in mind I am going to make a guess and say your stove has a leak somewhere, either a gasket isn't sealing right, or you have either a crack in the castings or a failed segment of furnace cement somewhere along the joints.


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## ebh3 (Nov 29, 2010)

spirilis said:
			
		

> FWIW, whenever I try to run my (very old) VC Defiant in downdraft mode, I smell something vaguely similar coming from the griddle--I am certain my griddle gasket isn't sealing 100% properly.  It's not quite an acrid wood smoke smell, it's like wood smoke with some of the chemicals "missing" I guess, more like car exhaust.  .



That is exactly how I describe the smell to myself. Like it is just some of the component gases, with the acrid, smokey part gone.


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