Stove - smell of fumes

[Ardent]

Hey all,

Looking some advice on the following -

We have a wood burning stove in our main room and the flue pipe has an 45 bend piece:

Ever since we moved into this property there was always been a smell of fumes from this stove when running a fire.

Today, I decided to run a camera up the flue liner to see if there's anything wrong with it and I can see the following screws entering the liner:

I'm a little concerned about the one I've marked here, which seems to have caused a protruding lip in the liner:

Just looking for opinions here as to what the likely cause of the fumes might be and how best to fix the problem.

Also, would something like this work as a temporary fix?

3M High Temperature Flue Tape

Thanks!

 

[CountryFan]

If it's a gas stove I recommend stop using it immediately and contact a gas safe registered engineer with the qualification to work on that appliance. If it's solid fuel or Oil you need Hetas or similar and Oftec or similar retrospectively

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

I'd clean the joint up and force a bit of fire cement in to fill the gaps. Its an open flued appliance so some slight odour is to be expected, however is smoke starts issuing anywhere from the Stove or Flue, do not use until checked. Has the Flue been swept this year? If not, get it swept before using the fire.

Make sure you have a working CO Detector in the room sited in an appropriate position.

 

[Ardent]

No smoke whatsoever, just a smell of fumes - sometimes faint, sometimes strong.

I had the flue swept a few days ago so it's not due to any blockage.

I have a spinning chimney cowl that doesn't spin as well as it used to - and often not at all - so I'll look to replace that with a windkat cowl.

I'll try packing in fire cement and maybe double up with that 3M tape and see how I get on. Really don't want to have to down the route of replacing the flue liner if it's not necessary.

 

[Nige F]

Heatproof silicone might get in better than fire cement

 

[Ardent]

Agreed. But I need something paintable, otherwise it's going to look like crap.

 

[oilhead]

There is a specialist sealing compound, FJC , available from most merchants. It never sets solid like fire cement, and is developed for the job. Also, I always like to have the male spigot pointing upwards into the female socket; with a clear flue, hot gases will never travel downwards, and it is easy to seal for any potential tar/condensation leaks as you can see them.

 

[Deluks]

I doubt it anything nasty is leaking from that joint, if you've got a decent draw then all the heat and gases will take the path of least resistance and it will probably be drawing in air at any tiny gaps or holes.
The fact that the smell of fumes is variable could mean that it's caused by wind/downdraught.
Maybe get your sweep back to assess your cowl situation.
The smell of burning wood is not unusual in the room that you're burning wood.

 

[DP]

I doubt it anything nasty is leaking from that joint, if you've got a decent draw then all the heat and gases will take the path of least resistance and it will probably be drawing in air at any tiny gaps or holes.
The fact that the smell of fumes is variable could mean that it's caused by wind/downdraught.
Maybe get your sweep back to assess your cowl situation.
The smell of burning wood is not unusual in the room that you're burning wood.

If there is a gap where the picture suggests, then the draw on the appliance will be reduced leading to higher levels of CO.
Full chimney test and spillage test needs to be undertaken

 

[Stuart981]

Fluctuating airflow over the roof can cause the chimney draft to become unstable in some weather conditions. In my experience a properly functioning spinning chimney cowl sorts it out.

 

[Deluks]

If there is a gap where the picture suggests, then the draw on the appliance will be reduced leading to higher levels of CO.
Full chimney test and spillage test needs to be undertaken

Yes, if, but I can't see any gap in the picture. I'm not sure ST's are even necessary on these, they are usually quite snug and not going to magically undo themselves.
In any case that screw is too big for the application.

 

[gas112]

get a few of these lit and in and see if there is any seepage .

Arctic Hayes Smoke Pellets

Encapsulated pellets easier and cleaner to use.NOTE: Dye may stain.Smoke pellets are encapsulated in a polycarbonate sheath and supplied in a re-sealable plastic tub. Perfect for testing air filters, fume hoods, air balancing and fans. White smoke can also be used for photography, special...

www.toolstation.com

 

[simplesteve]

My neighbour had a perfectly functioning flue, until last year when he fitted a spinning cowl. He could tell it wasn’t clearing as well as before with the old one, so after a week he changed it. He’s much happier with it now.

 

[Ardent]

I bought this stuff yesterday:
Vitcas Heat Resistant Sealant

It has the texture of fire cement but was very easy to apply (I used masking tape and a Fugi profiling tool):

Happy to report that it has seemingly solved the problem. There was no smell of fumes when I put on a fire last night.

I might still try those smoke pellets gas112 linked to, for the avoidance of all doubt.

Thanks everyone for your input, much appreciated.

 

[Ardent]

Fluctuating airflow over the roof can cause the chimney draft to become unstable in some weather conditions. In my experience a properly functioning spinning chimney cowl sorts it out.

Agreed, I'm going to eliminate that variable as well by replacing my old and tired spinning cowl with one of these:

Windkat Cowl for Chimney Pots

Windkat is available in a variety of popular sizes to fit most flue pipes, chimney pots and chimney stacks. Windkat for Chimney Pots comes in 6 popular sizes from 125-296mm and is installed by slotting into the top of the pot. Simply choose the Windkat size that is 1mm to 10mm smaller than the...

www.windkatcowls.co.uk