I installed a brand new pacific energy wood stove last year. However i am getting a strange smell from it sometimes. Example if loading it on a bed of coals with stove top temp under 300. I set a timer for 15 minutes. I'll come down find it between 4 to 500 degrees and turn the draft down to half and set the timer for another 10 or 15 minutes. However I'll sometimes get this strange smell which brings me down stairs to find the stove temp has climb to approx 5 or 600 degrees where i then turn the draft pretty much fully to the right. The stove will cruise there and the smell is gone. However i can not figure out what this smell could be. Any suggestions???
Weird Smell from summit
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The strange smell may be the stove pipe paint overheating. You can't just go by a timer. When the fire is going strong and secondary burning is present, turn the air down. I've seen the flue temp get over 1000º when just going by a timer or the stove top temp.This can be in much less time than 10-15 minutes. Now I go by the flue thermometer for lowering the air supply to the fire.
Osagebndr
Minister of Fire
It normally takes me 15-20 min. On a hot bed of coals to have my summit shut down . Im with begreen on this ,if you break straight into secondaries as soon as your wood fire's up start shutting down from there
Thanks guys any recommendations for a good flue temp gauge? I have a condar stove top temp gauge. I was gonna get the flue gauge but absolutely hated the idea of drilling through the double wall pipe
Get the Condar probe thermometer. Drill the pipe following the instructions. It's painful, but only lasts a minute. 
Having a probe thermometer will change the way you burn.
Having a probe thermometer will change the way you burn.
Condar probe style thermometer.
And yes . . . there is a minute or two of "Geez Louise, I hope I don't screw this up and ruin an expensive piece of doublewall pipe" . . . but if you take your time and follow directions (you'll need a drill and two different sized drill bits -- I forget the exact sizes) you can do this in 5-15 minutes . . . and if you're like me will be very pleased with having a flue thermometer for many, many years to come.
Yes that smell is oh crap, I loaded the stove and got busy doing something else, and now it's raging hot. I've found I really don't leave the stove room when I reload, and time and experience will be your best friend. If I load a stove that has a nice layer of hot coals, I stick around because it will take off in no time. If I've done a partial clean out,and the stove is a little colder, I know I'm safe to take a shower (10 minutes) and leave the stove unattended. I agree with the others pop an 1/8" holes through the pipes and put a stack gauge on it, figuring out where to put it takes the most time.
BigFir
Burning Hunk
Squisher
Minister of Fire
When you drill that hole. Put a piece of masking tape on the pipe and mark the spot. This will help you from skittering all over the place when you start to drill.
I'm in my 3rd year with my Summit and can still get that smell if I over fire it. It doesn't happen very often anymore, but my nose can tell the second it smells the smell.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Yes, for a double pipe, a probe thermometer is nearly essential, IMO. If fact, if I had to choose just one thermometer, it would be a probe type for a double insulated pipe. Although, I must admit I would go right out and buy a stove-top one to supplement, lol.Get the Condar probe thermometer. Drill the pipe following the instructions. It's painful, but only lasts a minute.
Don't sweat the paint smell. That hi-temp paint has to cure with high tempertures. Once you get up to around 550-600F, it should be sufficiently cured. However, you may keep getting that smell from your double wall pipe, as I do sometimes. It seems the outside wall paint is hard to cure, at least in my experience.
Anyway, get the Condar probe. It will help you a lot in managing your fires.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Yeah
Fortunately, no one was around...
Pushes rod and brush into pipe... "hmmm, why is this darn pipe so dirty this year"?
Pushes harder... "Wow, I may need to clean more often to avoid this heavy build-up".
Pushes harder, sweating, cursing, ...scratches head,,, looks inside pipe....
> 
"Who put that there"? oh.
Goes on Amazon, orders new probe.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
LOL Just about right. The probe was unscathed, though. Maybe partly because I was using a SootEater which seems to be somewhat forgiving with certain types of users...Goes on Amazon, orders new probe.
Sprinter
Minister of Fire
Funny. I did mine from the top-down and it wasn't until I was 12' down until I realized something wasn't quite right.
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