I Am Now a Proud Hitzer 55 Owner!

Welcome to the forum ReneeC. You should not have a smell. However, as already mentioned, it could be the new pipe burning off the "new" smell which the earlier fires may not have been hot enough to burn off. I am assuming by 'new chimney pipe' you mean the single wall pipe going from the stove to the thimble through the wall to a chimney? Or do you mean a chimney of Stainless Steel double wall pipe?

Good job having the CO monitors. Check them periodically and look at the 'peak' reading to see if they registered anything.

But I would also check the chimney again since a smell in the house is nothing to ignore. You mentioned it came with the house and as WH said the previous owner may have burned wood. A coal fire and exhaust can dry out the leftover creosote from the wood burning to drop off the chimney liner. You want to make sure that didn't happen.

That I’m not sure. From what I see it looks brick and we have a new black metal pipe running from the unit to it. The house was built in 1989. Not sure if that helps. My question is, if I’m understanding how these furnaces work, technically no smoke should be able to get into the actual house venting system, correct? So either I’m smelling the new pipe burning off, or there is a leak and the smell is rising and catching in the 2nd floor perhaps? But on that note, wouldn’t a leak smell more like sulfur? Not wood smoke? Im hoping they were burning wood or it’s the new pipe I smell. We did have the chimney cleaned before we moved in as well. Maybe I’ll just give it another day or two and see if the smell dissipates.

If we had the chimney cleaned, would that have cleaned the creosite out of the chimney, had they burned wood? I'm not sure they did, but have no way to know. As for the pipe, its a black pipe running from the side of the Hitzer 55 to the chimney. We also have the silver metal pipes running from the top of the furnace to our house ventilation. The black pipe is the only thing that is new. It was broken when we did our house inspection so we had them put on a new one before we bought the house. Could it be bad coal? I hear mixed things on Tractor Supply Nut coal. Also, I see these shreds in it that don't look like nut coal, but again. This is my first couple weeks doing coal so what do I know about what it all looks like. Wish I actually knew people out here who burned coal so I could have someone else come here and tell me if they recognize the smell....

Just a thought. Could it be the wood that was used to start the fire? Could it be so new that the smell hasn't dissipated yet? I just restarted the furnace last night. I didn't use a ton of wood, but I used enough to get it going.

ReneeC wrote: ↑

Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 11:13 am

Just a thought. Could it be the wood that was used to start the fire? Could it be so new that the smell hasn't dissipated yet? I just restarted the furnace last night. I didn't use a ton of wood, but I used enough to get it going.

That is a possibility .

How close to your furnace is the wood pile ?

The wood is about 5 feet away. And the area it’s stacked is pretty cool. Just thought maybe I was smelling the wood that was burned when starting the furnace. Although figured that would’ve gone away by now.

ReneeC wrote: ↑

Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 10:52 am

If we had the chimney cleaned, would that have cleaned the creosite out of the chimney, had they burned wood? I'm not sure they did, but have no way to know. As for the pipe, its a black pipe running from the side of the Hitzer 55 to the chimney. We also have the silver metal pipes running from the top of the furnace to our house ventilation. The black pipe is the only thing that is new. It was broken when we did our house inspection so we had them put on a new one before we bought the house. Could it be bad coal? I hear mixed things on Tractor Supply Nut coal. Also, I see these shreds in it that don't look like nut coal, but again. This is my first couple weeks doing coal so what do I know about what it all looks like. Wish I actually knew people out here who burned coal so I could have someone else come here and tell me if they recognize the smell....

Maybe they got it all and maybe not......and maybe the previous owners never burned wood. Without knowing the history its best to check all possibilities when dealing with the smell issue. Is there a cleanout door on the chimney? It would be a small door on the chimney block below where your black pipe enters the chimney. If so open it briefly and check for debris.

You should not be getting any combustion smell in the house, wood or coal. Other than the new pipe 'curing' smell from the heat or if you open the loading door and some smoke escapes but that should dissipate quickly.

It is weird that it is worse on the second floor rather than where the new black pipe is on the stove.
Do you have a CO monitor in that room....right by the heat vent to see if it registers anything?

You are right, it would be great if somebody used to burning coal could smell it firsthand to help identify it since smell doesn't translate to a video or pic's.

You posted earlier that you just started the fire last nite.... with wood..... & then you smelled wood smoke overnite...

It is very likely that while starting the fire, you had the loading door open several times & had wood smoke escape. It is also very likely that the clothing you were wearing at the time soaked up some of that smoke & later the smell slowly released into the warm air.

Some possibilities that should cause no worries..... But,it would not hurt to check several possibilities until you are satisfied that no danger exists.

Any update ReneeC? Still getting the burning smell or did it dissipate?

Smell went away today. I assume it was due to extremely strong winds (up to 75 mike gusts) that was perhaps pushing the smell through our fireplace, or, it was the smell of the wood from starting it circulating through the house before it finally dissipated. Thank goodness. It’s a bit anxiety ridden doing this all on my own while my husband is gone and I’m literally learning from coal forums what I’m doing...

Whoa, Wait, You got a fireplace...

Was the chimney only cleaned and not video inspected for integrity?...cracked flue tile and/or broken or missing pieces of tile?
Is there a second flue out the top of this chimney?...fireplace?
Sometimes a second flue (cold) will reverse draft and outside air gets drawn down due to negative house pressure.
A not in use fireplace is an example of second flue and a fireplace may of been used w/ wood burning.

Yea. We have a 2nd flue then. And I know they burned wood in the fireplace.

So I've burned wood my whole life, I'm seriously considering going coal and right now I have the opportunity to purchase a used model 55 for $300 , i want to go coal in spite of the fact I get my wood for free. Wood just doesn't burn long enough.what kind of advise can you give me?

Make sure grates work--no cracks in body--doors aren't warped--ash pan's there---stove or furnace?? check HITZER site--$300.00????BUY IT before ya lose it!!!!!!!!!!!! Lot's of knowledge on here after ya get it.

You will be able to tell if it was overheated cuz if it was, the steel sides will be paintless and warped. But even if it was overheated and needs parts, the parts are available and cheap.... You just need to look it over better before buying it, the parts Fred mentioned. $300 is a very good price, especially if in good condition.

Look at the pics of the new 55's on hitzers website. They made an older model that looks different and maybe the parts would not be available for that one.... you'd have to call Hitzer and ask if thats the case.