# Pellet stove blowing smoke into house



## jayrm14 (Jan 10, 2011)

I have been having an issue with my newly installed Harman P35I insert, it is blowing smoke into the house at times.  I have had the dealer come out and they replaced the gasket that attaches the exhaust from the stove to the mounting frame thing.  Just recently, I noticed that when the distribution fan was on high, it was blowing smoke into the house yet again, but this time I noticed that it had just started blowing smoke AFTER I had started a wood stove that I use to heat the basement on cold days.  The wood stove uses a separate flu.  My only guess is that the pellet stove is pulling air from the top of the chimney, including smoke from the wood stove.

Does anyone have any advice or similar experiences?

Thanks


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## FordMastertech (Jan 10, 2011)

Time for a OAK on that pellet stove and think about one for the wood stove too.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 10, 2011)

jayrm14 said:
			
		

> I have been having an issue with my newly installed Harman P35I insert, it is blowing smoke into the house at times.  I have had the dealer come out and they replaced the gasket that attaches the exhaust from the stove to the mounting frame thing.  Just recently, I noticed that when the distribution fan was on high, it was blowing smoke into the house yet again, but this time I noticed that it had just started blowing smoke AFTER I had started a wood stove that I use to heat the basement on cold days.  The wood stove uses a separate flu.  My only guess is that the pellet stove is pulling air from the top of the chimney, including smoke from the wood stove.
> 
> Does anyone have any advice or similar experiences?
> 
> Thanks



How is the vent for the pellet stove installed?


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## ChrisWNY (Jan 10, 2011)

Is the smoke visible, or just a noticeable odor? As Smokey is implying, most smoke/exhaust leaks from a pellet burner come from the PL vent for one reason or another. I had the same issue with my PL vent when my Fahrenheit furnace was first installed, I sealed it up tight with high temp RTV silicone, sealed the Tee cap as well as the 45Â° elbows, which are known to leak. After applying generous amounts of RTV silicone around joints and such on the PL vent, problem solved.


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## jayrm14 (Jan 10, 2011)

It is deffinately noticeable.  I could visibly see smoke coming from the distribution blower slots.


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## FordMastertech (Jan 10, 2011)

jayrm14 said:
			
		

> It is deffinately noticeable.  I could visibly see smoke coming from the distribution blower slots.


The convection blower gets it's air from behind the stove so a leaking exhaust vent will allow the smoke to build up behind the insert and cause it to be blown out in the room by the convection blower. Also if the top plate is not sealed on the chimney the stoves combustion air could be coming down the existing chimney flue. 
Did the installer install a flue damper block off plate? 
Does the pellet exhaust vent run to the top off the chimney or is it just vented into the existing chimney flue?


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## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 10, 2011)

Actually I'm implying nothing.

It is possible that the flue the pellet stove is venting into is the source for the smoke from the wood stove.

There are several ways this can happen.  If the vent isn't sealed to the flue both the convection air blower and the combustion blower may be sucking smoke coming down the cold sides of the flue and into both of the pellet stoves intakes.

It is also possible that there is a leak between the two flues.

The question is to get some idea of how things are actually installed.


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## jayrm14 (Jan 10, 2011)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> jayrm14 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I will do my best to answer this, please keep in mind, I am a pellet stove newbie and I did not install the stove myself, so my lingo may be a bit off.  My explanation is purely from memory of watching them install the stove, and my own visual inspections.  The stove is vented through the chimney, I live in a split entry, and the stove is on the main floor, so the run is about 15-20 feet to the top of the chimney.  Attached to the surround of the pellet stove is what looks to be a 4 inch pipe that runs to the top of the chimney.  At the top of the chimney there is a small rain cap, as for the rest I do not know, as I have not been up there to inspect it after it was installed.  I apologize in advance for a poor response, I probably didn't even answer what you were asking =P.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 10, 2011)

That's pretty good description.

I was interested in if the vent went all the way up or not.

Did they seal the top cap so that nothing can get between the vent and the flue and did they also place a block where the vent went through the fireplace damper?

What I'm trying to do is see if there is a possibility that those lovely blowers are sucking smoke back down the flue past the old damper area and into the both the convection and combustion air intakes.

This smoke can be from either the pellet device or the wood stove in the next flue over.

Multi flue chimneys can be tricky what goes up one can come down another under certain conditions.  This is especially true if one of the flues has a good sucking device running in it when the other flue is aiding in sucking the air.


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## jayrm14 (Jan 16, 2011)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> That's pretty good description.
> 
> I was interested in if the vent when all the way up or not.
> 
> ...



Just an update if anyones interested, I called the installer and they told me they do not normally put insulation around the fireplace damper and instructed me that if I wanted I could use some pink insulation to fill the holes to try and block any smoke from coming down the chimney and blowing into the house.  I finally had a chance to pull the stove out today and lo and behold, the damper was wide open.  I stuffed a bunch of insulation in and it seemed to be doing the trick, although its hard to tell as it didnt happen all the time.  What kind of insulation do people normally put inside the fire place damper?  I know that pink insulation will be fine with the heat from the exhaust, but I'm worried that it could fall down and possible get pulled into the blowers in the back of the stove.

Thanks again for the advice.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 16, 2011)

I give up, any bets on if the top cap is sealed to the chimney?

There shouldn't be any smoke entering that chimney.

But at least we know there is a path for smoke to follow.

Use what you are for now and talk to a person who specializes in venting, tell them what is going on.   I'm sure there are block off plates that you can seal to the chimney and pass the vent through.

Now what I'd be wondering about is if any water is also getting into the flue as well.

You need to determine if that top cap is sealed, if it isn't sealed we don't know if the smoke is coming from the next vent or the pellet vent in other words if the smoke is coming in from outside or inside of the chimney.

If the cap is sealed then the smoke is coming from your pellet stoves venting or a breach between the two flues.


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