Hi, I’m new here. I have a new blaze king princess. We had it installed last year around may but didn’t start using it till November. We had some issues with the house filling up with smoke so we had a fresh air intake installed. I’ve noticed though that I will still occasionally get a smoke smell in my home. We have a 2300 sqft home and it’s all on one floor. The smell isn’t enough to set the smoke detectors off or enough to smell in any of the other rooms. It usually happens right after we shut the stove down and set the thermostat. The stove also has a fan on it. I can tell the smell is coming from the left side of the stove. I was curious if anyone had any ideas what it might be. The smell doesn’t happen all the time and will usually stop after the stove cools down to temp. Any ideas on what it might be?
Occasional smoke smell
- Thread starter Mburlingame1
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We should probably rule out the common issues first.
How tall is the chimney and what diameter is the flue? And have you checked the moisture content of your wood?
How tall is the chimney and what diameter is the flue? And have you checked the moisture content of your wood?
if I recall correctly the chimney is 14-15 ft tall, the wood has been seasoned for 5 years in a shed so I know it has a low moisture content. Also I think the flue is 9” and it’s double walled pipe. We had it professionally installed. If it helps we also cannot let the stove drop to inactive because this will also cause it to leak smoke into the house. This happened today when I left to go over to a friends house. Got home about 8 hours after leaving (left at noon and got home around 8) and my whole house smelt like smoke but no visible sign of it.
Ok, check that they sold you the right size double wall. You need 6” ID. 9” might indicate that you have 8” pipe, or might be a simple mis measurement. Too large of a flue diameter will slow down the velocity of the gasses.
BK states in their manual a need for a 15’ minimum, so you may be working on a marginal step. That’d be straight up off the stove, out the roof. Any bends will make it work as if it’s a shorter chimney. Elevation will work against you too. Is the chimney straight up and do you know your elevation?
BK states in their manual a need for a 15’ minimum, so you may be working on a marginal step. That’d be straight up off the stove, out the roof. Any bends will make it work as if it’s a shorter chimney. Elevation will work against you too. Is the chimney straight up and do you know your elevation?
Our chimney is 14’- 15’ I think. It’s straight up and down. Our elevation is around 2400 ft. My husband has to take our dampener apart tonight as it wasn’t shutting or opening properly. We found that the housing was filling with smoke and mostly on the left hand side (where I was smelling smoke). Should the housing be doing that? Here’s a picture of it.
![[Hearth.com] Occasional smoke smell](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/324/324298-781189ad78cc82ee4adca46169761cc8.jpg?hash=qwiTnvgt3A "[Hearth.com] Occasional smoke smell")
![[Hearth.com] Occasional smoke smell](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/324/324299-4ac7df8694483dbac5bcdb1cf89cb655.jpg?hash=oRFJ7ZhzYB "[Hearth.com] Occasional smoke smell")
![[Hearth.com] Occasional smoke smell](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/324/324300-eeb4822f0293c0f5d0339d14e47b0abb.jpg?hash=AmQFtlj5xM "[Hearth.com] Occasional smoke smell")
Blaze kings are meant to run low and slow. This means smoke. Your cat takes care of this by reburning it.
Assuming you have the correct ID pipe, your chimney isn’t tall enough for your elevation. The chimney is the engine that powers your stove. Right now you’re riding a small bicycle up a tall mountain.
Assuming you have the correct ID pipe, your chimney isn’t tall enough for your elevation. The chimney is the engine that powers your stove. Right now you’re riding a small bicycle up a tall mountain.
Is that the thermostat cover? I would not expect to see smoke stains there. The flue is on the short side. If it is also oversized, then draft will be further compromised. That may be the issue.
Another possibility is that the stove is starving from air. This could be due to tight house construction or negative pressure in the room. Does the stove have an outside air connection? If not, try opening a close by window 1/2" and see if that make a notable improvement. If it does, add an outside air connection to the stove.
Is access to the roof and chimney pipe fairly safe and easy? If so, take off the chimney cap and stick in a 3-4' piece of inexpensive stove pipe or warm air duct into the chimney top to make a temporary extension. See if that makes a notable improvement. If so, the chimney will need an additional length of chimney pipe and a brace at 5 ft above the roof exit.
Another possibility is back puffing.
My understanding is the thermostat is in the air stream coming into the stove. So my theory is you would have to have a reverse draft (obviously not all the time, but strong when it happens) for that cover to look the way it does.
Yes, or some frequent back puffing. The dealer should send a knowledgeable tech out to see what is happening.
Ish! Thats a new one. Be interesting to know the operating technique being used.
One thing that seems plausible is the op turning down the stat far below its happy low set point.
Possibly this would cause such a plume of unburnt smoldering crap that draft is lost and the gunk seeps out the intake?
Just a theory.
One thing that seems plausible is the op turning down the stat far below its happy low set point.
Possibly this would cause such a plume of unburnt smoldering crap that draft is lost and the gunk seeps out the intake?
Just a theory.
Yes. Weak draft or turning down too much on partly seasoned wood can do this. From the manual:
Inadequate draft may cause back puffing (spillage) into the room and plugging of the chimney, chimney cap or spark arrestor screen. Inadequate draft may cause smoke to leak into the room through appliance or chimney connector joints. Poor draft can also lead to poor heat production and the inability for the combustor to remain active in lower burn rate settings.
I’d be interested to know about their burning habits. From starting the fire until reload. Whether the cat stays in the active zone. If they have wood left over after a burn cycle. Etc
I have had reason to take my cover off, many times, and it is perfectly clean if not a little dusty. And I'm using just a 12 foot chimney!
That's a lot of backflow. Not a puff puff. The reason there are two lobes to the tar pattern is that the center of the butterfly valve is in the center of the thermostat cover. The stat must have had the intake valve quite open during this backflow. Again leading me to think about a cold firebox.
Turn it up.
BKVP
Minister of Fire
My best guess is obstruction in the cap. The smoke is backing up in the system. Run it hotter..BUT after a thorough inspection of the chimney and cap is performed. I'm not talking from the ground, but up close. After you verify no obstructions in the stack, look at the combustor and flame shield. Something is not correct. And yes you should be at 7' with proper diameter chimney system.
Spark arrestor screens can develop a light film or accumulation which hurts draft.
BKVP
Spark arrestor screens can develop a light film or accumulation which hurts draft.
BKVP
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