Novice seeking experienced help PLEASE!!!!

[Blowin smoke]

That smell you are noticing is something that many of us would call an industrial smell. Its a normal by product of clean burning, I would be more concerned if I constantly smelled a smokey smell. If you look at your chimney and see only heat vapors and notice that smell it means you are burning clean.... at least at that moment. Smokey smells or grey smoke should only be noticed during start ups or reloads.

So it shouldn't smell like smoke outside at all other than soon after a startup or reload?

 

[DanCorcoran]

I only smell smoke after startup or reload, particularly on a humid/rainy day. The rest of the time there is a smell that I find unpleasant...kind of like burning garbage, but not real strong. When the stove is running normally, there is no visible emission from the chimney, just heat waves.

 

[Blowin smoke]

My big Jotul F600 sits right in front of my fireplace opening with the back six inches of the stove inside the firebox. I just shot the bottom rows of bricks on my chimney above the stove and got a 188 degree reading. Three rows up it's reading 160F. I used to have an insert similar to yours in this fireplace before I replaced it with this stove last February. I used to keep my magnetic thermometer on front of the insert in the area about where your little hood is sitting. On your insert I would put it just above the hood. I used to get readings sometimes as high as 800F, but that was hot and I tried to burn it more in the 400F - 500F range.

Ok I bought 2 magnetic thermometers and both say 200 degrease and it's hotter than yesterday. Ugh What's wrong??