# Excessive smoke in stove, filled the house - HELP!!



## KarynLyn27 (Feb 23, 2015)

King stove 5502M- I vacuumed out the burn pot and small chamber area on either side -loaded it up with a bag of hardwood pellets and turned the unit back on. It had run out of fuel prior to me doing all of this. I turned it on, went out to empty the ashes out, came in and smoke was swirling all inside the stove and coming out where the blower is and pouring outside the smoke stack outside...first time user - help pls.


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## TimfromMA (Feb 23, 2015)

sounds like your vent is clogged.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 23, 2015)

TimfromMA said:


> sounds like your vent is clogged.


I went outside and looked at the vent, I took off the end cap where the "T" is and it only has some ash in there not a lot and I could see light thru the pipe when I looked up the vertical using my pen light - but- it could be clogged I suppose. Clean it out with a wire brush??

Do you think that because it had run out of fuel, that it dropped way to many pellets in the burn pot so when it was started again, that it had to many and started smoldering?

Also- I had used pine pellets  - the first 5 bags and then found hardwood pellets - so when I went to switch to all hardwood, it was mixed pine&hardwood to finish out that pine - you think the pine is messier - makes a creosote layer in the burn pot  -- does pine make it gummy in there??


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## Bioburner (Feb 23, 2015)

Pellet stoves running properly usually burn softwood with more heat and less ash. Most of us wish we had a cheap source of softwood pellets. Temps in a pellet stove are far more controlled and hotter than the up and down temps of wood stove so all the ideas of softwood being bad for stoves goes out the vent. Well maybe not right now in your stove. I would get a  venting brush and rods and clean the venting. You had no issue till the stove cooled down and the natural thermal rise probably was not there to help the cold start thru the partly plugged pipe.
Welcome to the site.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 23, 2015)

before I start it up again, going to clean out the vent pipe, vacuum out the burn pot, the ledges inside, not sure if there's more to clean in that section or not - does the burn pot lift out on this King 5502M model, the user manual doesn't give instruction nor helpful pictures.


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## LordmetalZ28 (Feb 23, 2015)

How long did this take to elapse. One time I let my auger run out of pellets then I restarted it. Because there is no way to prime the auger it took over 10mins to prime and light. At this time the stove sensed the start up cycle had ended and the proof of fire switch didnt have enough temp to close. So at this point the stove turned off the combustion motor as I had a fire going burning off a pot of start up cycle pellets. Luckily I have natural draft so I justed restarted the cycle with no problem


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## LordmetalZ28 (Feb 23, 2015)

KarynLyn27 said:


> before I start it up again, going to clean out the vent pipe, vacuum out the burn pot, the ledges inside, not sure if there's more to clean in that section or not - does the burn pot lift out on this King 5502M model, the user manual doesn't give instruction nor helpful pictures.


The back of the stove has flu passages that need to be cleaned


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 23, 2015)

vacuumed out the ash area, pulled burn pot out, cleaned it and vacuumed out where it sits, vacuumed the ledges inside the burn chamber, removed all of the pellets, inspected the augar area, vacuumed that area out, put pellets back in started the stove and could hear a whistling sound on the vent that's inside the house , could see smoke starting to come into the room. Turned off stove, raised hopper lid - smoke seemed to die down and turned on house fan at a window to suck out the remainder smoke. This is brand new stove, I've been running it 16/7 - I don't run it while I'm away at work during the day -only during the weekend did I run it 24 hr.
Not liking this vent issue - do I need a whole new vent system? I bought the kit from TS - Duravent. - it's a corner arrangement so it comes off the back bends some and then goes out the wall thimble to the outside with a T and a vertical 3 foot with the end cap.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 23, 2015)

the stove ran out of fuel say at 2pm, so it sat for probably more than 2 hours - it shut itself off and must of been off for 2 plus hours because it had no codes - it was all dark, not sure if that's normal or not.


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## jeremygrimm (Feb 23, 2015)

Did you silicone the joints Of the flue?


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 23, 2015)

they were siliconed - I guess not very well - will inspect them again in the am - reapply again especially at the joint where the stove pipe meets the vent  and see if that helps.  after I did the above cleaning and restarted, the pellets dropped , burned, flame, then I saw swirling smoke along with flames and the whistle and smoke in the back - leaning towards a poor vent situation as opposed to the stove mechanisms not working correctly.

Q- silicone all joints inside which has a 90 bend since I have it in the corner to then go straight out - silicone at the wall thimble - silicone all outside joints?? and can I tape around the clean-out T , which is outside also??


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## jeremygrimm (Feb 24, 2015)

You don't need to silicone anything outside. Just inside where your getting smoke. I sedan amerivent and the connection to the stove I was able to tape and use a hose clamp to keep it on there. It seemed to help a lot. I was getting some smoke also.


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## Johnny_Fiv3 (Feb 24, 2015)

The whistling on startup is normal. It's the smoke going through the combustion (draft) fan on it's what out of the stove. Mine does it too. The smoke in the house is not normal. All internal vent pipe connections need to be sealed. It is normal for the pellets to smoke like a bear (especially hardwoods, they start harder). No smoke is supposed to enter the house however. 

It seems like the unit is not drafting properly if after it lights you are getting more smoke. Make sure the vent is clear and clean and that the draft fan housing isn't filled with ash. You can peek in the back with a light before you reseal everything to see.


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## bogieb (Feb 24, 2015)

KarynLyn27 said:


> they were siliconed - I guess not very well - will inspect them again in the am - reapply again especially at the joint where the stove pipe meets the vent  and see if that helps.  after I did the above cleaning and restarted, the pellets dropped , burned, flame, then I saw swirling smoke along with flames and the whistle and smoke in the back - leaning towards a poor vent situation as opposed to the stove mechanisms not working correctly.
> 
> Q- silicone all joints inside which has a 90 bend since I have it in the corner to then go straight out - silicone at the wall thimble - silicone all outside joints?? and can I tape around the clean-out T , which is outside also??



Use high-temp silicone tape (it comes in different colors, so easier to blend in) - it's easier to get in place, and remove when/if needed. Also, tape up around the creases in that 90 degree elbow - mine leaked until I sealed it up. Sometimes even the end of the T will leak - tape that up too.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 24, 2015)

day 2- checked the vent pipe, all is clear, no clog. Ran initial set up to test the draft exhaust sensor and pressure - the fan seems to come on and off and the DRAFT fan led is blinking and not solid and the ON button is blinking - could this be the problem?? the fuse or sensor or draft fan not be in good working order?

Disregard - manual says, if that sensor was NOT detected or functioning improperly - then it would error code -  Err 7 -

I do not have any error codes at all.  I believe I need to seal the joints.

Q- how long does the sealant have to cure? label didn't say how many hrs.

Q- the draft fan DID ramp up and then down, like it was trying to work but didn't - it didn't come to a normal fan speed - is that normal?  I had no errors when I did that test.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 24, 2015)

Q - can I use this NASHUA tape to tape the joints/creases? it's like a foil tape.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 24, 2015)

Use the silicone tape. The foil tape adhesive cooks to the pipe.


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## Bioburner (Feb 24, 2015)

BrotherBart said:


> Use the silicone tape. The foil tape adhesive cooks to the pipe.


And will leak at every crease. The self bonding silicone is a far superior product and who wants to keep chasing the leaks? Not me with this cold.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 27, 2015)

talked with tech from US stove;, did the test to ensure the exhaust blower was working correctly - he said to hit OFF and AUGER DELAY button together, hold for 3 se then release - DRFT is displayed for the draft fan - it started to ramp up then ramps down never at full speed , he said to open the front door, which I did, and it then went to full speed. He said that's a good test, it's working.
started the stove - not sure if I can post video and audio but I still don't think it's working correctly.
I have a flame  that kicks up and down and pellets are blowing up out of the burn pot at times. Going to lower the draft fan setting to a 3 and Hopper setting at 1 to see if that helps any.

I sealed all the inside joints and creases in the 90 elbow, that cured for like 4 days.


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 27, 2015)

this is the initial flame and the recording of the draft fan - however - it's not a good flame now and seems like fireworks in there and if you listen hard enough the fan seems to work not work - any ideas  -  hr-1 - been fluctuating the draft fan - any ideas?


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## KarynLyn27 (Feb 27, 2015)

leaving heat range at 1, draft fan on auto and it seems to be a well enough flame -

solution - to no smoke filled room - ensure all joints and creases inside are silicone and\or taped, ensure you have just enough pellets when starting - don't have a lot in the burn pot, and read the owners manual - have the vertical outside at a minimum of 3 foot and routinely vacuumed up ashes and keep vent system clear. tnx for everyone's inputs- 1st time user. One other point - the draft fan will ramp up and down, that is normal for this unit, per the US Stove tech.


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## KarynLyn27 (Jan 5, 2018)

1/5/2018 -  put a 40 lb bad of hardwood pellets in the hopper at 0630am. the heat range at H1 Draft fan at 5, room fan at 9, I think. Went to work.
Got home at 3:00pm - Err 2- meaning ran out of fuel - and - the house is full of smoke. Opened the lid, most of the pellets were used but there were some left up on the side edges of the v-shape hopper. Felt the side of the stove and it felt warm so i'm thinking it was recent that it shutdown.

I hate that it runs out of fuel and shutdowns but it won't evacuate any smoke out of the unit to the outside - it dumps it into the house. what the heck is going on? 

a 40 lb. bag gone in 8.5 to 9 hrs.....i don't think that's right at heat range 1 which is the lowest.  I think i'm outta my league with this :-(


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## Pelleting In NJ (Jan 5, 2018)

Is it windy? could be a backdraft down the flue, pushing smoke into the house? Do you have a proper flue termination cap?
Do you have an outside air intake?


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## tlc1976 (Jan 5, 2018)

Pelleting In NJ said:


> Do you have an outside air intake?



That's what I was thinking.  Is your house tightly sealed and well insulated?  If so you probably need outside air.  I needed to with a 30 year old house.  Before that, the stove would run for awhile, suck smoke through all the pipe seams, then after I sealed those it would just choke and die and fill the house with smoke.  Ran beautiful afterwards.


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## chken (Jan 6, 2018)

KarynLyn27 said:


> 1/5/2018 -  put a 40 lb bad of hardwood pellets in the hopper at 0630am. the heat range at H1 Draft fan at 5, room fan at 9, I think. Went to work.
> Got home at 3:00pm - Err 2- meaning ran out of fuel - and - the house is full of smoke. Opened the lid, most of the pellets were used but there were some left up on the side edges of the v-shape hopper. Felt the side of the stove and it felt warm so i'm thinking it was recent that it shutdown.
> 
> I hate that it runs out of fuel and shutdowns but it won't evacuate any smoke out of the unit to the outside - it dumps it into the house. what the heck is going on?
> ...


Clearly not right. A bag in 8.5 hrs on a low setting is the opposite of what you'd expect. That's what you'd get on almost the highest heat setting. You should be able to go ~24hrs on the lowest setting. Check that you are using the correct settings, because the stove is auguring pellets way too fast.


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## Johnny_Fiv3 (Jan 6, 2018)

chken said:


> Clearly not right. A bag in 8.5 hrs on a low setting is the opposite of what you'd expect. That's what you'd get on almost the highest heat setting. You should be able to go ~24hrs on the lowest setting. Check that you are using the correct settings, because the stove is auguring pellets way too fast.



This.

On HR4 I go thru about 2 bags in around 16-18 hours or 1 bag every 8-9 hours.

If that thing has been factory reset already, then you may need to manually set the feed rates and such.

I did on my stove because I like to tinker and have it tuned in nicely for my home. When it's 0°F outside with a 40MPH wind, HR4 keeps my house at 80°F while using the above mentioned amount of pellets.

Yours is feeding wayyyy too much for HR1. HR1 should get damn near 24-26 hours on 1 40lb bag.


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