Woodstove "plastic" smell?

I use a high temperature chimney sealant every year because I have to take my chimney apart from downstairs to clean the chimney (top too high to reach).

Anyway each year when I burn my first few fires, this stuff burns off and gives a nasty smell. Also smokes a bit. But after this it no longer smells.

I would suggest opening all your doors and windows, then letting the fire burn at a higher temperature a few times. Then I bet the smell will go away.

(My stove also had a bad smell when new with the first few very hot fires. Perhaps the paint?)

I use a high temp silicone on my chimney pipe (recommended by the woodstove company), but it's only above the roof line and not in our living space. Also, it has been there since I installed the stove, and the smell only started last year.

I previously took the lower part of my chimney apart after cleaning so I could clean out the top of the woodstove. This usually meant it got a few scratches and had to be repainted. Thinking the paint might be the cause of the smell, I cleaned the stove out from the inside this year so I wouldn't have to paint. But the smell is still there.

I'll give it a try, but I've had lots of hot fires and the smell always seems to return.

Thanks,

Anthony

Anthony,

If you have attic space I'd go up there and look around. Something may be too close to your chimney or stove pipe. Are you sure about the trash? There's a lot of plactic in junk mail.

Dave M.

The stove's made of plastic?

It's the paint. It will always do that when you get 'em extra hot.

steve

May not be your problem but if you have small children could they have parked a toy in a blower vent on the unit?

Mine did and took a long time for it to burn away. -:)

Dave,

Nope, no attic. We have vaulted ceilings. I boxed in the chimney pipe where it passes through the 2x12 rafter bays (with about 3" of air space between the pipe and wood). It's capped by flashing on top and a trim ring on the bottom. Nothing can get in there.

In addition, the smell is noticeable long before the chimney pipe is even warm to the touch.

Nope, I never burn paper, junk mail, or any other kind of trash. Only dry wood (Logs, woodworking cutoffs, NO pressure treated, NO plywood). I use a couple of "fatwood" sticks to start the fires.

Anthony

The new Fisher Price woodstove?

When you called the manufacturer about this problem, what did they say?

Steve,

That's what I thought, but it seems to smell long before the woodstove or chimney pipe has gotten hot enough to cause the paint to release vapors.

Anthony

Have you used a cleaner of any sort or a touchup paint?

Are the firebricks loose in the bottom/sides or are they cemented in? Neighbor had one (forget the maker) where it broke down after some time whereas the Fisher I had just had loose brick mechanically restrained.

Does it come at the beginning of a fire and then lessen? If so, perhaps it's a moisture accumulation related problem?

We've had our woodstove for about four years now. Late last year, we started noticing a "plastic" smell when we are using the woodstove. It seems to be most noticeable when we have a hot fire going. If I damper down the fire, the smell goes away.

so i thought that it was only when it was extra hot.

steve

The only cleaner I use is a glass cleaner for the inside of the door. "Red Devil" I think. It works really well for cleaning the glass, and I've been using it longer than the smell has been occurring. I've never noticed any smell or residue from the cleaner.

I have used touchup paint on the chimney in previous years where it got scratched during cleaning. But I tried to avoid that this year by cleaning the woodstove from the inside instead of from the top.

Ours are loose laid, held in place by brackets. I checked them when I cleaned the woodstove, and they all look in good condition.

It does seem to occur more at the start of the fire, but we have noticed it later in the evening too.

The only repeatable thing I have been able to determine is when the damper is fully open and the fire is burning hot. It's not necessarily when the woodstove is hot, just the fire is burning strong.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Anthony

Steve,

I notice it most when the "fire" is burning strong and hot. This can occur when we first start the fire and the stove is still cold, or it can occur later in the evening if I open the damper and get the fire going strong again.

Thanks for your thoughts and input.

Anthony

When you called the stove manufacturer, what insights did they offer, if any?

What's the wood supply and how is it stored?

--

pacificenergy had written this in response to

: Hi,

Just wondering if you've solved the mystery of your woodstove smell yet. I have a very similar problem and have taken the same steps you have. I have yet to try a fire with the insulation pad removed from my Pacific Energy stove. This was a suggestion as the pad could have become contaminated by something, although it looks and smells fine to me. I have spoken to three different dealers for this stove and none can offer any suggestions or solutions. Very frustrating. Hope you can help. Thanks in advance.

Andre Levesque

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Andre,

Unfortunately, no. We fired up the woodstove last night, for the first time this season, and noticed the chemical smell again. It was very faint, but still there.

I just cleaned the chimney and woodstove out last week, including vacuuming all the ashes and everything out so nothing would be left in there to create a smell. We don't have any kind of pad in our stove.

Like you said, it's frustrating... :)

Anthony

My pacific energy woodstove insert does that each year for the first few fires. I thought it might have been the crap atop the stove that makes it's way in each summer (dust etc) but that was not the case. I am convinced it is the paint. I think that the owner of the home before me who installed the stove did not follow the directions for the first fires that would properly bake in the paint job.