Wood heater smells

[Smurf]

I have a Saxon wood heater and it's making a smell. I don't mean smoke coming out of the flue, I mean a burning / smoke smell coming out of the heater itself. It's not enough to see, but I can smell it.

The flue has been cleaned and the door seal replaced earlier this year. Now that it's getting cold and I've started using the heater, I've encountered the smell problem.

Any ideas what is wrong and how to fix it? The fire box isn't burnt through or anything like that - it all looks to be in good condition. And yes I do remember to shut the door.

I am wondering if there's a proper way to be adjusting the air controls that is the cause of the problem? It has two air inlets, top and bottom, and I'm not really sure how they should be adjusted relative to each other. For a slower fire, should one be open and one closed? Both half open? The bottom ones are a lot smaller than the top one.

[RufflyRustic]

Any chance it could be the dust on the outside of the flue? HWMNBO and I have this discussion every year when we first light the fire. It's always just the dust though.

cheers
Wendy

[Rattrap]

I was thinking along the same lines as RR, we get quite a smell for a cpl hrs from our heaters when they've been dormant for a fair while, also put it down to dust. If it is dust then it should be gone after the first time u light up.

[DJ’s Timber]

I reckon

[HappyHammer]

Dead possom....or maybe a rat...if not then most likely the Camphor Laurel you're burning

HH.

[Border boy]

I am wondering if there's a proper way to be adjusting the air controls that is the cause of the problem? It has two air inlets, top and bottom, and I'm not really sure how they should be adjusted relative to each other. For a slower fire, should one be open and one closed? Both half open? The bottom ones are a lot smaller than the top one.

Hi Smurf,
We don't have a Saxon heater. On ours, the bottom vents are opened fully to light & get the fire going. The top vent is left shut.. Once the fire is going well, close the bottom vents & use the top vents to control the intensity of the fire. Overnight you can close the top vents almost completely & the fire should be still going in the morning - you may have to play with this on your heater.
Hope this helps.

[oreheht]

could be a chemical reaction to recent painting in the same room i know natural gas flueless heating can react to new paintwork and smell like a old kerosene heater fumes. '" thats my two cents worth ''

[Rattrap]

Sorry Smurf, i should have read all of your post i'd have seen your question bout the 2 air controls on the saxon.
We're got a saxon with the same 2 controls in our lounge.
When i light our saxon up i keep both control fully to the right - open position.
Once its burning well i shut off the bottom vent altogether & control the burn using the top control.
The bottom control acts like a supercharger, allowing a lot more air directly into the fire source but is best used when u first light the fire only.
Now i'm guessing that your saxon is designed same as mine, in which case u prob have a cpl of 1/2" - 3/4" holes drilled in the back wall of your fire box. This is where the air from the top control feeds into the fire. This is the better control for controling the fires air needs because the air that comes in thru these holes has been superheated by the fire while the bottom control lets in air at room temps.
I used to think that the top control worked a gate in the flu varing the amount of heat that went up the flu & the bottom control was for air. But the local Saxon man set me straight on the subject & since then my fires burn much better. As Border boy said if u shut the top control almost all the way off when u go to bed it'll burn slowly thru the night while u sleep leaving u hot coals in the morning - depending on what wood u're burning.
I hope all this helps. Stay warm

[Smurf]

Thanks everyone.

I've been closing the top vent and leaving the bottom one open so it sounds like I've got it completely the wrong way around. I'm guessing this might have something to do with the smell problem as it's happened more than once.

I should have added that I only moved into this house earlier this year so haven't really used the wood heater until now. I think I've lit it probably 5 - 10 times in total.

Last night was the first time with no smell. It was colder than the other times I've lit it so I didn't turn it down as much. So I'll try again tonight, this time closing the bottom vent instead of the top and see (smell) what happens.

[Rattrap]

I started off doing exactly the same as u smurf when we first moved into a house with a wood fire. I really don't think the smell will have anything to do with how u operate the controls. If its dust then normally u only get the smell the first time u fire up after a long break.

[SilentButDeadly]

If the previous owners repainted the heater to tidy it up then they may have used something like Stove Bright. And the user guide for this product says that it visibly (and smellily) outgases for some time after application as getting it hot is part of the curing process. Perhaps that is part of the smell?