Bought avalon astoria wood smell

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So if it's backing up into there what kind of a problem is there? Just so when I speak to him I know a little of what I am talking about.
 
slickplant35 said:
So if it's backing up into there what kind of a problem is there? Just so when I speak to him I know a little of what I am talking about.
I expect it's either a problem with the draft of the main exhaust - which is why I inquired as to how that was setup; or you've got a problem with either a door seal leak or a leak in the internals of the stove between the exhaust and combustion piping.

Typically it's a problem with the chimney draft (too many changes in direction, too long a pipe for the size), next would be the door seal (although you should see that in poor flame characterisitcs) which you can test with the "dollar bill test" outlined in your user manual, and then least likely the internal plumbing of the stove because they'd have had to mess that up at the factory while building it -- could be a missing gasket, inappropriately sealed connections inside, etc.
 
It's straight out my wall several feet out with a cap facing down. Dont' know if I am explaining it right but that's what it is.
I wanted to test it again last night to see if I still smell an odor but for some reason I had it on auto and it wasn't feeding pellets.
i know that is where the odor was coming from because when my husband was looking behind the stove he saw it was loose and you couldn't put your head behind the stove and when he tightened it you had no odor.
 
slickplant35 said:
It's straight out my wall several feet out with a cap facing down. Dont' know if I am explaining it right but that's what it is.
I wanted to test it again last night to see if I still smell an odor but for some reason I had it on auto and it wasn't feeding pellets.
i know that is where the odor was coming from because when my husband was looking behind the stove he saw it was loose and you couldn't put your head behind the stove and when he tightened it you had no odor.
Yep, straight thru exhaust. Pretty common. I expect you're not getting a good draft. Putting a cleanout Tee and then a vertical section of about 5' of pipe on the outside would probably make it all better. The dealer could even just do a quick temporary install of a section of pipe like that to prove that's the problem. Depending on the prevailing winds, you may be getting wind, etc. coming back into the stove's exhaust and forcing it back thru the stove. The vertical section will stop that. Your manual probably has a comment in it somewhere that the straight thru is acceptable but a straight up option is preferred.
 
When I tell him that the stove stunk but we tightened it he will probably say okay and be on his way because I don't smell anything. I am confused. I hired a professional not to have problems
 
slickplant35 said:
..... but for some reason I had it on auto and it wasn't feeding pellets.

Do you have it connected to a thermostat? If not, it will not work on Auto (Auto is for when you connect a thermostat)....you have to use "Manual"
 
slickplant35 said:
When I tell him that the stove stunk but we tightened it he will probably say okay and be on his way because I don't smell anything. I am confused. I hired a professional not to have problems
You're right. Problem is lots of "professionals" aren't.

At the very least buy yourself a CO monitor and install it in the same room (by the floor) - Kidde makes one you can actually plug into an outlet so it's at the right height, has a readout so you can see the PPM of CO it detects.
 
I have a co detector by the basement door. Should I make him come out and check things out. Now I am very nervous. I don't know a thing about these stoves and if what your saying is that you shouldn't smell anything from the fresh air pipe than something is wrong
 
slickplant35 said:
I have a co detector by the basement door. Should I make him come out and check things out. Now I am very nervous. I don't know a thing about these stoves and if what your saying is that you shouldn't smell anything from the fresh air pipe than something is wrong
The fresh air inlet is meant to Draw air into the stove to provide combustion air for the fire. Like Digger says it should not be PUSHING air or smells out of the stove.
 
So what your saying is even if it was loose I shouldn't have smelled anything? When it was loose and you put your head by the stove to look in the back you would choke. Once tightened you don't smell anything.
Well last night I wanted to start the stove up to make sure and for some reason when I pushed the auto on the thermostat the stove come on but won't feed pellets I read somewhere in the book about heat output but you know what I paid him for the stove I am not going to make myself nuts. Just hope the stove works thats all.
 
macman said:
BTW Shane, I was going to go your route w/ the "T" right off the pipe w/ silicone, but it isn't a tight enough fit....would end up using a ton of silicone, plus rope gasket to try to make it work.....that's just not my style ( I help build race cars, and am anal about things fitting correctly...LOL), so will use the appliance adapter.....I'll just feel better about it, it will be a tighter fit, plus if i have to remove the "T", I won't have to deal w/ the silicone....just twist and remove. Besides, it was only $18.

That's fine, but leading someone to believe lack of an appliance adapter is a code violation is misleading. As for tightness and amount of silicone never had an issue. Guess I did a bunch of crappy subpar installs for almost a decade. :-)
 
slickplant35 said:
So what your saying is even if it was loose I shouldn't have smelled anything? When it was loose and you put your head by the stove to look in the back you would choke. Once tightened you don't smell anything.
Well last night I wanted to start the stove up to make sure and for some reason when I pushed the auto on the thermostat the stove come on but won't feed pellets I read somewhere in the book about heat output but you know what I paid him for the stove I am not going to make myself nuts. Just hope the stove works thats all.

I was assuming this is a new stove....or is it used??? If used, did you get the owners manual w/ it?

Most all the questions you've been asking can be answered there, w/ the exception of the smoke from the fresh air pipe...that's weird....almost like you have a negative draft in the stove.
 
With the horizontal termination depending on walls, wind etc. it is entirely possible to "draw" the smoke or atleast the smell in through the OAK. Going vertical with the pipe like Digger mentioned would be the easiest solution to your issue.

On to your feeding issue, does the feed light come on on the control board? Have you run your stove completely out of pellets?
 
The stove is full of pellets. the auger light was a slow blink like the book says when the auger is turning. It says something about the heat output. I don't have a clue. Is all I know is that the fire never started. I saw red glow in the little hole in the fire pot but no pellets.
 
Shane said:
That's fine, but leading someone to believe lack of an appliance adapter is a code violation is misleading. As for tightness and amount of silicone never had an issue. Guess I did a bunch of crappy subpar installs for almost a decade. :-)
It can be a code violation. My inspector uses the stove manufacturer's installation instructions to decide whether or not to approve an install. My manual says to use an appliance adapter so it would be a violation to go without.

You might not have needed on 10 years ago, but the DuraVent Pro installation guide specifically calls for the adapter between the appliance and chimney sections (pgs 12, 13, 15, 18, & 20). Heck I remember back in the 80s when I was thinking about starting a corn stove business here in the northeast, couldn't find any venting pipe that was specific to these critters up here - we were using single wall woodstove pipe. (Couldn't find corn up here for that matter either.) :-)
 
Shane said:
macman said:
BTW Shane, I was going to go your route w/ the "T" right off the pipe w/ silicone, but it isn't a tight enough fit....would end up using a ton of silicone, plus rope gasket to try to make it work.....that's just not my style ( I help build race cars, and am anal about things fitting correctly...LOL), so will use the appliance adapter.....I'll just feel better about it, it will be a tighter fit, plus if I have to remove the "T", I won't have to deal w/ the silicone....just twist and remove. Besides, it was only $18.

That's fine, but leading someone to believe lack of an appliance adapter is a code violation is misleading. As for tightness and amount of silicone never had an issue. Guess I did a bunch of crappy subpar installs for almost a decade. :-)

Shane, just when did I say, or even intimate, that the install was a code violation???? You have me mixed up with someone else. All I said was it wasn't the way to do it for ME!
 
macman said:
Shane said:
macman said:
BTW Shane, I was going to go your route w/ the "T" right off the pipe w/ silicone, but it isn't a tight enough fit....would end up using a ton of silicone, plus rope gasket to try to make it work.....that's just not my style ( I help build race cars, and am anal about things fitting correctly...LOL), so will use the appliance adapter.....I'll just feel better about it, it will be a tighter fit, plus if I have to remove the "T", I won't have to deal w/ the silicone....just twist and remove. Besides, it was only $18.

That's fine, but leading someone to believe lack of an appliance adapter is a code violation is misleading. As for tightness and amount of silicone never had an issue. Guess I did a bunch of crappy subpar installs for almost a decade. :-)

Shane, just when did I say, or even intimate, that the install was a code violation???? You have me mixed up with someone else. All I said was it wasn't the way to do it for ME!

You didn't a guy a couple threads above you did and you agreed that it was a code violation. You are right that if the manual states an adapter is needed an inspector could call you on it. I'll crawl back in my hole and keep my mouth shut. If there's one thing I'm good at it's deciphering where my input is no longer needed.

Out of pure curiosity where does it say in the Astoria manual you have to use an appliance adapter? I don't recall that part and most of the install diagrams show either tee's, straight sections of pipe or 45's coming off the stove.

Also for the boston guy, screws are not required by either duravent or Avalon. They're optional in the duravent manual and not mentioned in the avalon manual.
 
Shane said:
You didn't a guy a couple threads above you did and you agreed that it was a code violation. You are right that if the manual states an adapter is needed an inspector could call you on it......
.....Out of pure curiosity where does it say in the Astoria manual you have to use an appliance adapter? I don't recall that part and most of the install diagrams show either tee's, straight sections of pipe or 45's coming off the stove.

Shane,

I never wrote anything "agreeing" that it was a code violation. I simply agreed w/ BostonBaked that I thought the proper way to attach the pipe to the stove was w/ an appliance adapter.....you read too much into what I said.

And just FYI, the outlet pipe on the stove is 4 1/4" OD, the inner pipe on the Dura Vent pipe is 4" OD and 4 9/16" ID on the outer pipe. When you try to put them together, there is a LOT of slop.....it is NOT a smooth sliding fit that a little silicone will make up. Even the stove shop I bought it from tried it your way, and ended up trying to stuff rope gasket AND silicone into the pipe to make it work...it didn't.
 
Shane, For the record the boston guy never said it was a code violation either. You should go back and read the whole thread. In my town they will go by the manual and gobs of goop and hose clamps won't cut it. In my opinion the adapter and screws are a wise addition and a first class way of installing something that could kill me if done half a@@ed. I learned that here, BTW I'll also point out that the so called pro's I've been reading about on this site don't seem to "pro "to me. Most of the questions I see here are because these "pro's" did shabby work in the first place, or did not take the time to properly explain the stove to their customer. Please notice I say most, not all.
 
Baked,

just for the record, I sent Shane an excerpt from the Simpson Dura Vent instruction manual:

3. If the flue exits on back of stove and an
interior installation is desired (Figure 3):
A. Place the appliance according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
B. Connect a Pipe Adapter to the back
of the stove and attach a Tee to
Pipe Adapter
, align, push
together and twist to lock.
Fig 3

I think this should take care of whether the adapter is necessary or not.
 
slickplant35 said:
When the inspector was there he showed him what he was going to do and he said it was fine.
One final thought. In my town the building inspector did not know very much at all about pellet stoves. He wanted to see the manual to verify that what I proposed to do was safe and by the book. He was not ashamed to admit he had not even seen many pellet stoves. I have friends in different towns around me that found the same thing when they went to the building dept. I'm not putting the knock on these folks. They were at least honest enough to admit that. Our inspector was happy to learn a thing or two from me. Point is, in view of this can the inspector be completely trusted, in this case ? I say no, and that's why I became a member here. I've learned much here and spent considerable time doing so. I don't do anything halfa@@ed. The old saying goes " If it's worth doing. It's worth doing it right" In this case wrong can kill you and your family while you soundly sleep . I'm not saying it to alarm you. It's just a fact. Don't cut corners, MAKE sure it's right your ultimately responsible.
 
Baked, I agree w/ you 100%. I want to do it right and be able to sleep at night knowing my family is safe, not wondering IF their safe.

As for the town inspector, I haven't finished the install yet (still waiting for the appliance adapter and a couple of other parts....should be here tomorrow or Thurs), but the application for the install at town hall specifically asked for the page from the manual showing the install I was going to use.

So who knows....the inspector might know a lot about pellet stoves, or he might not.....in any event, I want it done right so he has NO issues and will pass it the first time.

Hey, it'll start getting colder soon, and I want to burn some pellets SAFELY!! And if the wooly bear caterpillars are any indication, it's going to be a cold winter.....squirrels are starting very early stashing food too.
 
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