Strong smoke smell filling the room - bad install?

[sinnian]

If you think you smell smoke now, wait until a power failure!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It is on the stationary side of the door so that part is ok.

I'm sorry, I figured that there would be ash or soot coming from a stove exhaust so I didn't think the black stuff was a huge deal. I didn't like the fact that it was staining the ground but I figured that was more an issue of distance from the ground rather than an issue with the stove...

Your damper is likely not set correctly as well and that will cause a lot of black crud (although you will get some anyway on start up and shutdown).

While you are here getting a lesson on what not to do would you please provide some outside pictures because there may be other things to look for as well.

Also we need to know if that vent is into the prevailing wind where you are.

BTW, welcome to the forum.

 

[subsailor]

FWIW, if it seems to you that everyone on here is a royal jerk, that really isn't the case. It just a bunch of knowledgeable people that recognize a bad install and the inherent dangers it presents to you and your family. So don't be insulted.

 

[P38X2]

Try not to take the tone of some of these posts in a personal way. I don't think anyone on here wishes ill will on anyone else. If the tone seems terse it's because you have a very dangerous situation, apparently more dangerous than you're aware of.

 

[IowaMaineiac]

No worries, I have a thick skin so the comments don't offend me. I don't plan to use it until things are fixed. My wife is the one pushing to use it. LOL

 

[bbfarm]

I second the welcome to the forums.

Here are the photos of our straight out vent install. (yes we still have to kill the grass around it)

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

No worries, I have a thick skin so the comments don't offend me. I don't plan to use it until things are fixed. My wife is the one pushing to use it. LOL

Ask her what happens when carbon monoxide gets inside a house.

Smoke smells need to be hunted down and exterminated they always point to a problem. The saving grace is that wood smoke is detectable by the human nose in very small amounts and that provides a warning.

Not just an installation problem either, because stuff gets jostled seals can break and joints work loose.

You need a working CO detector as well as a working smoke detector and a dry chemical fire extinguisher.

 

[IowaMaineiac]

I have separate CO and smoke detectors in that room already. I also purchased a fire extinguisher when I bought the stove. The CO and smoke alarms never have gone off. I did test them to make sure they do work also.

Here's the pictures that you asked for.

As a side note, what SHOULD I be smelling? I assume a wood burning stove or pellet stove will give off some of that sweet wood smell right?

 

[subsailor]

Pellet stove shouldn't unless you have a leak. You shouldn't see any exhaust smoke either, only on startup.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

The only smoke smell should be outside the house and it is possible that areas around windows and doors are not sealed and the smell can come in that way, that is another reason I wanted to see the outside.

You need to check the sealing for that patio door, sliding doors are hard to keep sealed and that one is just close enough to allow enough of the smell (and a bit of smoke) to find its way in if the seals aren't working.

I can't see the underneath portion of that thimble on the outside to see if it is sealed to the house.

If that was a straight out jet cap end I think you'd just clear the ground to vent distance, but you need to measure it to be certain.

As Eric said it is a sloppy vent installation and while stove adapters cause problems for some installers a regular pipe usually is trouble for more folks than it is worth reducing the installation expense.

 

[ByCo]

I hope that install was free. The re-install better be!

 

[IowaMaineiac]

I double checked and the thimble is sealed on all four sides the same.

I need to check the door seal and also use a flashlight to check the vent pipe inside for leaks.

 

[P38X2]

I agree, you shouldn't smell anything inside the house unless you recently opened the stove door to do a maintenance scraping or something. In that case, sweet, wouldn't be a word I'd use to describe the smell.

 

[WoodPorn]

You gotta get rid of those shrubberies too, if that's what those are. Perhaps that's what Joe Hack was trying to preserve with that silly termination.

Bring me a Shrubbery....

Here in Nova Scotia Canada, a 5' vertical rise is required due to concerns about draft and smoke, particularly in the event of a power outage. I installed a stove myself and had it certified by both a WETT inspector and the local building inspector - 2' of rise inside the house, 3' on the outside.

Really??

 

[DexterDay]

I have that same termination cap. The connection for it, is inside the thimble, another NO NO.

The installer needs to come back and fix this. Show them that the venting does not meet clearance to combustibles!! Something that an installer should be fully aware of. How dare this person endanger your life.

I'm sorry. But I would be RAMPANT!! Vent needs raised, extended out more (no joints on the inside of thimble) and the stove adapter needs High Temp Silicone applied around the collar.

 

[P38X2]

Bring me a Shrubbery....

Ni!!

 

[IowaMaineiac]

I did some more investigating and inspecting the stove last night. I'm wondering about the rope gasket. Most of the pictures I've seen show them to be a lighter color but mine is darker - almost like it has been stained. Is that normal? There's some tape on the ends of the rope where the two ends meet together that is coming off but no other snags or tears that I can see.

So I used a dollar bill to check for a tight seal. All four corners on the sides of the glass sealed perfect but the top and bottom center of the glass did not. I could easily remove the dollar bill with no resistance at all. Could this also be causing the smell I am having? If so, would replacing the gasket help? I can't see a way to really adjust the door...

 

[WoodPorn]

I would not worry about the gasket color, diameter is the key.
I would replace it...especially while the stove is down....cause you are NOT using it right?????
Have you spoken to the dealer/installer yet?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

While under some conditions it is possible for smoke to exit there I wouldn't expect that to be what you'd notice, if the door gasket is out of adjustment the usual symptom is a bad burn.

If you place the bill in there at the top center and press against the door near the door latch does the bill present resistance, if so I'd look for a means to tighten the latch, it isn't uncommon to have things work loose in shipping. You want to add that to the list for the installers.

That gasket you have has graphite in the material it is made of and that is why it is a different color and it makes no difference as far as functioning goes.

 

[IowaMaineiac]

I am NOT using it ;-)

The dealer will be out in a week to fix the install. They are booked solid until then. I'll test the door gasket again tonight putting pressure on the latch. I'll add that to the list if I find that it helps.

The prevailing wind blows from west to east here and my exhaust faces south. So the exhaust direction is perpendicular to the wind but its also exposed with nothing to block the wind either.

 

[Eatonpcat]

You are a patient man my friend...Booked solid is not an acceptable answer (IMHO) when you paid for an install and this is what you received! Good luck, hope all gets fixed and you can provide wifey with the heat she wants!

 

[P38X2]

+1

They need to do what they gotta do and get this done for you.

 

[3jfk]

I am NOT using it ;-)

The dealer will be out in a week to fix the install. They are booked solid until then.

It makes you wonder how good the other installs are???

 

[ironpony]

come on guys tell him what you really think, you are getting soft

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It makes you wonder how good the other installs are???

That may be why they are booked solid (re booked that is).