Neighbor complaining.

[Barry C]

My neighbor is complaining about smoke in his house,,,maybe just the smell of it. My chimney is up at 30', his home is 100' away. Big old house, not sure of the state of his windows. Long story short, he recently had a job that he says damaged his lungs, some chemical they were using, so he has asthma. (so do I) Rarely last year, did he complain. It is almost every other day now. The stove, a 2 year old F500 V3, super dry wood, oak, maple, cherry.
My wife seems to want to just follow his request and stop whenever he sends a text. Open it and let it burn faster is all we can do.
I plan to go talk with him about this and am looking for any ideas on how to help him fix his problem. We seem to be the only people in the neighborhood burning wood. I do not know If he sees smoke or he just smells it. I believe that he keeps his windows closed and I never see him enter my side of his house. (3 summers ago, I was burning a stump in the summertime, well away from his house, and he complained that it was making his dog sick on his porch on the far side of his house,,,,) We can safely say he is a bit quirky.
Now in the spirit of trying to help him fix his problem, if his house is relatively well sealed, windows closed, is there any obvious explanation as to how this smell/smoke is getting into his house. Is there a way to put a positive pressure in the house to keep smoke out? Perhaps sealing windows, fixing storm windows, replacing them? Not sure what (how much) he will do to fix his problem.
If there is a source of things one might try, please send me there.
Sorry for the long post.
Barry

 

[Brawndo71]

I have a leaky sunroom, and can sometimes smell smoke when a neighbor two houses over is burning. No one else burns, I am waiting on updating to a new high-efficiency ZC, and am not burning right now. Some neighbors have converted to gas, or don't use their fireplace. This gives me pause whether it will affect anyone, but it should burn very clean, and not release lots of particulates/smoke. I am hoping to burn for the next 20 years with this fireplace. Someday I will have the sunroom rebuilt, maybe that will help.

 

[EbS-P]

Couple thoughts…. I can barely smell my fire around my own house. we live in the city. I use lots of kindling top down fete 1/3 of a stove full if I want a fast light. Reloads always get 3-5 1” pieces.

You have a cat stove. I’m really surprised he can smell it. Make me think something might not be right with your venting setup.

Describe how it it vented. Do you have a damper? Have you check the condition of the cat this year?

 

[stoveliker]

Cat stoves can smell even when there is only "heat waves" at the cap. Mine does.

Is there smoke?

 

[Todd]

I suppose he’s mostly smelling the smoke on cold starts and reloads before the cat and secondary burn kicks in. I’d explain that to him and I’d just be more careful when the wind is blowing his way.

 

[Barry C]

Couple thoughts…. I can barely smell my fire around my own house. we live in the city. I use lots of kindling top down fete 1/3 of a stove full if I want a fast light. Reloads always get 3-5 1” pieces.

You have a cat stove. I’m really surprised he can smell it. Make me think something might not be right with your venting setup.

Describe how it it vented. Do you have a damper? Have you check the condition of the cat this year?

I do not have a damper on the stove, with an 8" flex SS pipe going up the chimney.
I do see smoke most of the time. I have not used a cat stove before (have used a PE non-cat for 30 years, a different house). The condition of the cat, looks clean and open.
I rarely restart and the stove gets rolling rather quickly when I do.
Last year's day he complained at 5 pm, we saw the text at 8, we opened primary air, by 9 it was very hot and almost out. At 9, he said the smoke was getting stronger, so.
Maybe I need to do some reading up on using a cat stove.

 

[stoveliker]

If you see smoke most of the time, something is off.

To get this issue off the table: super dry wood. How long has it been stacked off the ground?

 

[Sono]

I smell my neighbors fireplace all the time as well as surrounding neighbors and I am 6 acres surrounded by hundreds of acres horse and cattle farms, you basically have to drive to the next neighbor, youll smell smoke regardless how far you are from the sources. Sounds like a Karen/Carl just making excuses ( is there a Vet confirming the dogs issue, probly not ) It wouldnt matter as maybe the next neighbor is thinking to install one for next year? My family has asthma and I have chronic bronchitis, other respiratory issues and the only smoke that bothers us is cigarette smoke. I dont think anything you do will change his mind, sounds like it will become another case of you trying to enjoy you while dealing with a neighbor from Hades.

 

[Barry C]

If you see smoke most of the time, something is off.

To get this issue off the table: super dry wood. How long has it been stacked off the ground?

Super dry wood, 2-3" splits, on stickers above the ground, seasoned 9 months. Meters at 8,9 and 10 on my Delmhorst.
I will have to start paying attention to smoke but there is usually some smoke. So a cat is to make for NO smoke?

 

[stoveliker]

Oak seasoned 9 months is not superdry. It may in fact be too wet, even if it's split small.
Measuring should be done *after bringing a split up to room temperature, THEN resplitting it, and immediately measuring on the freshly exposed surface* so you measure the inside rather than the outside, given that wood dries from the outside inwards.

(I reach 14-16% on oak after 3 years in an open-sided shed)

No stove is to make NO smoke at all. Starts, and reloads will likely always have some smoke. My cat stove has intermittent tiny amounts of smoke.
But continuous smoke means something is not working the way it should imo.

 

[GrumpyDad]

I have very seasoned wood and I still have smoke while the stove is going. After it's about halfway through the burn it's very little but being in a valley, with certain weather conditions that smoke can get trapped down low. Taller buildings WILL get smacked with it, and due to the pressure differences I would imagine the smoke would get sucked into those homes.
I feel bad for your neighbor. Having breathing issues SUCKS. I've watched people in my family suffer from that, and there is just no joy.

Do you live in a valley? Are there certain weather patterns that seem to lock in the smoke? Maybe try to avoid your OAK for awhile and see if that helps on certain days.

 

[EbS-P]

You have new cat stove on a tall 8” liner. I see issues here. Wood less wood than a year old.

 

[kborndale]

9 months seasoned is not super dry. Hardwoods depending on variety take 1-3 years to fully season after being split.

 

[stoveliker]

You have new cat stove on a tall 8” liner. I see issues here. Wood less wood than a year old.

Yes, it could be that the residence time in the cat is too short (because draft too strong) for it to combust all smoke.

 

[Barry C]

I have very seasoned wood and I still have smoke while the stove is going. After it's about halfway through the burn it's very little but being in a valley, with certain weather conditions that smoke can get trapped down low. Taller buildings WILL get smacked with it, and due to the pressure differences I would imagine the smoke would get sucked into those homes.
I feel bad for your neighbor. Having breathing issues SUCKS. I've watched people in my family suffer from that, and there is just no joy.

Do you live in a valley? Are there certain weather patterns that seem to lock in the smoke? Maybe try to avoid your OAK for awhile and see if that helps on certain days.

We are on a hillside well above the river and below the upper mountain top. There is not a smoke trap issue that I have ever seen.

 

[Barry C]

Yes, it could be that the residence time in the cat is too short (because draft too strong) for it to combust all smoke.

OK, my mistake, it is a 6" pipe.

 

[Barry C]

9 months seasoned is not super dry. Hardwoods depending on variety take 1-3 years to fully season after being split.

I have had the luxury of living near the top of a mountain, constant until breeze, near no one. This house with the much better stove is in town, on a hillside with neighbors around me. Well seasoned wood for me has been a spring cut and split and burn that or the next year. No wood that I have ever bought has been well seasoned, though they all say it is. I use a meter and never burn anything above 18%. But using the warm wood to room temp and re-split before reading is not not what I have done.
Apparently I have to up my game.
I have a call into the stove seller (did not install due to scheduling) to see what he suggests. Last season when it was new, he came to redo the lower hopper/ash drawer door to reseal it. It is a sloppy hinge and needs to be lifted up to get it to seal properly. He approved of the install.
We will see what he says.

 

[stoveliker]

A 30 ft chimney is surely a problem.
If you can you may need to install a key damper or two to decrease the draft. The gases need to be in the cat for sufficient time to fully combust. Too much draft makes the residence time shorter.
Also you're likely pushing a lot of heat up the flue. Decreasing the draft you may be able to get a lot more heat out of your wood than now

High draft can make wood that's on the wet side burn okay, and the heat will keep your flue cleaner. So not much indication that thing are not optimal.

Do you have a flue probe thermometer?

 

[Barry C]

A 30 ft chimney is surely a problem.
If you can you may need to install a key damper or two to decrease the draft. The gases need to be in the cat for sufficient time to fully combust. Too much draft makes the residence time shorter.
Also you're likely pushing a lot of heat up the flue. Decreasing the draft you may be able to get a lot more heat out of your wood than now

High draft can make wood that's on the wet side burn okay, and the heat will keep your flue cleaner. So not much indication that thing are not optimal.

Do you have a flue probe thermometer?

There is a magnetic one on top of the exit flange of the stove. There was one in the pipe behind the stove but we used it to monitor the cat. Putting a damper in, not sure how as the flange goes directly into an elbow then into the SS liner pipe.

 

[stoveliker]

I see.
Regarding the samper, this almost looks like an insert; it's likely possible, but a pain.
The temperatuer is hard to gauge with a magnetic one (that, on thin wall single wall pipe 12-18" above the stove gives about half the temperature of the internal gases), but yours is on a cast iron piece (I think), close to the stove.

 

[EbS-P]

You possibly could install a damper in the stainless adapter that has the hose clamp. But it would not be adjustable during your burn.

I wonder if some restriction on the OAK inlet would be the best course of action. And OAK adapters then 3” to a blast gate.

If you start feeding sub 20% mc wood I would expect that cat to be damaged.

 

[GrumpyDad]

You possibly could install a damper in the stainless adapter that has the hose clamp. But it would not be adjustable during your burn.

I wonder if some restriction on the OAK inlet would be the best course of action. And OAK adapters then 3” to a blast gate.

If you start feeding sub 20% mc wood I would expect that cat to be damaged.

Do pellet stoves burn with less smoke?

 

[stoveliker]

Yes

 

[Barry C]

Do pellet stoves burn with less smoke?

Had an insert pellet stove in and hated it. I am a firewood guy. Neighbor never complained however.

 

[Barry C]

You possibly could install a damper in the stainless adapter that has the hose clamp. But it would not be adjustable during your burn.

I wonder if some restriction on the OAK inlet would be the best course of action. And OAK adapters then 3” to a blast gate.

If you start feeding sub 20% mc wood I would expect that cat to be damaged.

OAK, blast gates,,,huh?