Hello, I've been in this house I bought since February and this week is the first time I've really ran this stove hard and it is emitting a tolerable but noticeable acrid, chemical smell.  It definitely looks like a newer stove to me with regards to age.

I understand that new stoves need a break in time and that this could be normal but I would appreciate it if folks more knowledgeable than I took a look at what I have. I see no smoke in the house when I smell this odor.  I am not burning green wood nor trash in here.  I do not see much in the way with regards to adjusting air flow other than two internal slats (terminology?) on the top that I may move forward and back.  Currently, I am adjusting air flow by slightly cracking the door.  I appreciate any and all advice.

If someone used "Stove Black", and didn't burn it off, it will stink up your house. It looks like it was refinished.

You need to take the stove and pipes outside   and make a softwood fire  and keep placing news papers tell  the pipes glow red......

open the windows and get that sucker HOT then it should no longer be an issue. if it was repainted or stove blacked then it can stick for awhile.

Thanks for the responses so far, gents.  I'm going to run it hard today, just fed it some seasoned black cherry.

So the smell seems to emanate from the inside of the stove.  I just had the door cracked a bit and the odor was strong.  I had to close the door.  I'm going to continue stoking it today, going to try seasoned white oak next.

This is exactly what the interior of the stove looks like, how should the horizontal slats be adjusted up top; forward or back?

Looks like a new stove.  It'll stink for a short time till the paint is cured.  

What's the white stuff on the pipe joints?

The location where the stove pipe enters the wall also looks a little suspicious.  I would check that over VERY carefully before using it any more.

That looks like an England Stove Works NC-30.  Good stove.

That is a high effieciecy stove and is designed to be ran closed up.  You should not have the door open. Air leaks mess with its operation.  Who is the maker?  There is probably a plate on the back with the company.

How does it toast marshmellows?

that's an Englander, I have one next to me.

Takes a bit to learn to run it.

First couple times it gets really hot it will smell. it goes away.

Its smelling only when really hot right?

ohh also, there is a draft control under the shelf on the front above the useless ash pan.

here is the manual for home depost version of the stove


that is installed on a slab right? this model is supposed to have a bit of an insulated hearth if not

Smell is going away as I really keep it fed with oak and the air control wide open.  Interestingly, the heat burned off the soot from the front glass better than I could clean it.

running wide open thoughts a ton of wasted heat up the chimney

You say your wood is seasoned... what is the moisture content... "seasoned" is not an accurate definition, it's very subjective. If you don't have a moisture meter they can be purcahsed from harbor freight for ~$15

The door MUST be kept closed, figure out the model, get the manual, and figure out the air control. New stoves have 2 different sources of air, the primary air controls the amount of air that gets to the wood itself should be the only air you can regulate. The secondary air is "free-flowing", you can't restrict it, it preheats to a very high temperature then exits out those perforated tubes in the top. That super-heated air combusts all of the smoke and volatile gasses very efficiently (hot). Those tubes should look like small gas burner tubes when they are burning. Though they look like gas burners they function the opposite of gas burners. Gas burners emit a pure fuel-gas into an oxygen rich environment where it can combust. Those tubes emit hot air into a fuel-rich environment and it causes the fuel (smoke) to combust when it gets up to temp.

Generalized burning procedure is to light stove w/ primary air open, wait until stove it hot and you start to see signs of secondary combustion, then start gradually closing down the primary air until the secondary combustion process is going strong. I will re-iterate, if you aren't seeing this happen your wood is very likely not truly seasoned. Many people think "seasoned" means their wood has been cut for at least a few months. Wood needs to be cut, split and stacked for a minimum of a year to be seasoned in most climates, some species may require 3 years of being split and stacked before it's truly seasoned (oak & hickory are 2 that take a LONG time). Your Cherry will likely need at least a year to be "marginal", a year and a half or 2 is best.

That stove was made here in my town.  It's a good one.

All it takes to clean the glass is a wet paper towel dipped in ashes. Wipe clean and then use a clean damp paper towel to wipe everything away. Dry with a rag or paper towel.

I see the ashes glass cleaner propagated far and wide; I'm not a fan and here is why.

Firewood is drug through dirt, then cut up and burned, that dirt/rock/grit that was on your wood in trace amounts doesn't burn up, therefore it's in your ashes. Rubbing that on your glass, while unlikely, could potentially cause fine scratches over time (depending on the hardness of the grit in your area). I recommend a cheap $5 bottle of the fireplace glass cleaner; it works great and lasts a LONG time if you aren't anal about cleaning the glass every day etc...

newspaper cleans the glass fine....

OP, been burning wood 25 years.                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

You really should replace those flue pipes.      Less than $20.     Replace mine every couple years.                                                                                                                    

And get a solid elbow. The one you are using sucks.

Cracking open the front door is a bad idea.  It is fine when you are trying to start a fire but not as a means of controlling air flow.

Sooner or later you are either going to overheat the stove causing the door to warp (or the stove to crack), or embers are going to spill out the front onto the floor.

I don't know that model of stove, but there has to be some external means of controlling air flow.  

There are probably dampers (usually two) on the stove.  Is there some mechanism below the door?  

If you can identify the model name you should be in business.

check with the manufacture of that stove it probably calls for flue pipe either double or triple wall pipe, that looks like it was hooked up with single wall snap lock pipe with an adjustable elbow, that could cause carbon monoxide to fill your house and kill you and your family.

get at least 2 carbon monoxide sensors

The vast majority of stoves permit single wall pipe up to the first wall/ceiling penetration then it must be whatever is specified in the manual (typically class A or masonry flue). With the exception of the white garbage all over the OP's install looks good; it even includes the 3-screw at each joint (required by NFPA code).

That does bring up a good question though. What is the gunk on the pipe? I assume some sort of sealant which leads me to believe this isn't a new issue. It's like related to the install, quite possibly the chimney. OP, give us details on the chimney. Masonry? Liner inside? total height from top of stove? Does it follow the 3-2-10 rule? Does it meet the minimum spec from the stove manufacturer? IIRC Englander NC-30 is 15 feet minimum...

3-2-10 rule is the chimney must extend at minimum 3 feet above the point at which it penetrates the roof and must also extend at least 2 feet above ALL parts of the dwelling or other buildings that are located within 10 feet. Typically the 2-10 means your chimney will be well above 3 feet over the penetration point unless you have a flat or very low pitched roof. IE, my chimney sticks out the roof 8 feet to meet the 2-10 part of the rule.

Thank you, you saved me a lot of typing.


I'd like to see more pics of the stove itself, especially the front.  If it's an Englander 30-NC where is the air adjustment rod?  It could be hidden by the shelf due to the angle of the first pic.  That is your primary (and only) air control.  All the way out for full air, all the way in for minimum air.

But the bigger issue is that whole install looks flaky as hell.  As someone mentioned, what is it sitting on?  The 30-NC takes a high R-value hearth; can't tell what this thing is sitting on and the carpet just to the right is disturbing as well.  Whoever installed the chimney pipe should be fired and then horsewhipped.

Just my .02.

It will go away. Its normal. If you wanna mask the smell get a cast iron tea kettle, fill it with water, put in some apple slices and cinnamon sticks and toss in on top... Your house will smell awesome everytime you burn..

Unless the smell is indicative of greater problems, and then it could go away when the OP dies of CO poisoning or in a house fire...

As messed up as that setup is, it's not terrible, just needs a little cleanup, user education, and advice. It wasn't but a few months ago we saw a guy post a "How to install a woodstove thread" that was easily the most dangerous, most half-arsed install I had ever seen; we haven't heard from him in quite some time, I hope it's just because he got offended and took his ball home with all the criticism. The other option was death by fire (because his poorly installed stove was right beside his only egress route).

Agreed, but, new stoves will smell bad the first couple of burns, its normal..The paint, dust, needs to burn off.. Anyone who burns is an idiot if they don't have a smoke/co detector, and a fire extinguisher...