strange wood stove smell

[mike033089]

second year in our home with a wood stove.  the stove is hearthstone and not a newer one.  today i lighted it up for the first time in a week.  it has a strange smell almost like a permanent marker  but yet kinda sweet soot smell coming from it, but mostly outside.   i cleaned the stove about a 1/8 cord ago and maybe have a whole 1/2 cord through the chimney so far this year.  cleaned the chimney this fall.  when i did clean the stove pipe i looked up with a mirror and didnt see any crazy build up.  last years build up was extremely minimal.  and the wood im burning is well seasoned. anyone ever experience this? 

Edited January 18, 2020 by mike033089

[Tuck]

could just be something on or in the wood you are burning.  Keep an eye on it and enjoy the warmth!!!  I love my stove, especially on days like today.

[Rusty]

24 minutes ago, mike033089 said:

 the wood im burning is well seasoned. 

Define well seasoned.  And what kind is it?  

[mike033089]

3 minutes ago, Rusty said:

Define well seasoned.  And what kind is it?  

oak, it was here when we moved in 2 years ago and burned easily then.  splinters apart into nice kindling.  also some ash about 1.5 years old.  but now thinking back i only cleaned the stove pipe and didnt scrap the inside of the stove down and it does have some black build up on the fire brick.  not getting any smoke out of chimney now that its been going about 45 mins, just seeing heat waves.  smell is still slightly in air outside.  got the single wall stove pipe at about 400 degrees 18" up from the stove before it turns into the chimney.  

[Tarhunt]

28 minutes ago, mike033089 said:

oak, it was here when we moved in 2 years ago and burned easily then.  splinters apart into nice kindling.  also some ash about 1.5 years old.  but now thinking back i only cleaned the stove pipe and didnt scrap the inside of the stove down and it does have some black build up on the fire brick.  not getting any smoke out of chimney now that its been going about 45 mins, just seeing heat waves.  smell is still slightly in air outside.  got the single wall stove pipe at about 400 degrees 18" up from the stove before it turns into the chimney.  

Red Oak has a distinct smell like you have mentioned. 

[midwestxpress]

When I let my stove get too hot for my liking it gives off a smell similar to what you describe..  I have a burn indicator and 400 degrees is way out of the comfort zone. You may be too hot. The comfort zone on this thing is 200 to 300 degrees. This is on a single wall pipe about 18 inches above the stove.

[midwestxpress]

Actually 200 to 300 for me was on the Celsius side so 400 F wouldn't  be too terrible.

[Kype]

as far as stove temp goes, every house is different. ranch, bi-level, colonial, etc... 400 on my stove is no problem and makes my 3rd floor comfortable. i  crack a window in the basement and makes the basement comfortable while the cold air sinks and pushes the hot air up the stairs. 

[mike033089]

the smell has stopped.  i do believe that most the kindling and the initial log or 2 was red oak, so perhaps that had something to do with it.  regardless better safe than sorry ill give the stove a good cleaning soon and once the the snow melts get on the roof and clean the chimney just to be safe.  thanks all.  

[Bigsquirrel]

Sounds like you got the stove to a temperature that it had not previously reached.  That smell is usually a result of new equipment or recently "rehabbed" equipment.  When I bought my last stove I set it up outside with pipe, ran a series of 5 or 6 burns that started small and eventually reached high temps.  The smell was similar.  You could see the smoke from the finish curing as it burned.   I wouldn't be worried, other than to watch your stove temps.  You should have a thermometer on the stove top as well as the pipe.  My stove top routinely reaches 7-800 when I am pushing it.

[Rusty]

12 minutes ago, Bigsquirrel said:

Sounds like you got the stove to a temperature that it had not previously reached.  That smell is usually a result of new equipment or recently "rehabbed" equipment.  When I bought my last stove I set it up outside with pipe, ran a series of 5 or 6 burns that started small and eventually reached high temps.  The smell was similar.  You could see the smoke from the finish curing as it burned.   I wouldn't be worried, other than to watch your stove temps.  You should have a thermometer on the stove top as well as the pipe.  My stove top routinely reaches 7-800 when I am pushing it.

[mike033089]

I’ve had it much higher previously as it ran away from me a couple times and I believe the stove is about 20 years old.  I have a gauge on the top for soapstone and that gauge and the one on the pipe we’re both at where they are normally.  The smell started right after the kindling burned down and opened the door to throw some larger size logs on

[gregtpal]

I wouldn't bother with another cleaning yet based on usage described since last cleaning...enjoy the warmth

[Bigsquirrel]

Kindling may have had some finish on it??  I wouldn't be worried at this point.  If the fire is running well than the pipes are fairly clear.  Nothing new around the stove;  construction?

[mike033089]

4 minutes ago, Bigsquirrel said:

Kindling may have had some finish on it??  I wouldn't be worried at this point.  If the fire is running well than the pipes are fairly clear.  Nothing new around the stove;  construction?

Nothing different from the previous times.  I’ll have to light another one later and see if the results are different. Thanks for all the advice