wood smell on lined chimney running coal

To me it sounds like the chimney has a buildup of creosote inside it, one could brush it a hundred times and some residue will remain, especially if it's a thick built up coating. Liners radiate heat, when the EFM runs the liner heats up. It doesn't take much to get creosote to start stinking.

so something like that there is really nothing I can do correct? I have a DOUBLE liner? what are options?

All I can suggest is make sure the flue is well sealed where the smoke pipe from the boiler enters the chimney and connects to the liner. Also any source that can cause "negative pressure" inside a closed up house (such as the EFM running, exhaust fans, clothes dryer) will draw air in anywhere it can. So make up air needs to be available, be it a window open a few inches, etc.
Also hot and humid days cause all kinds of odors to show up. My Harman stove is hibernating for the summer but the chimney likes to reverse draft on hot summer days and I get a whiff of "chimney smell" from time to time.

not sure I understand your response. My furnace man said they did a nice job where the efm pipe goes to the pipe then up to the chimney. I have a window opened just a gap in the room I smell it the most in. It does not smell like tar more like wood as I said I burn coal and YES its a OLD house...with the apparrent terra cotta liner previously ...then it goes away.

Is the room with the smell on the same wall as the outside chimney?

djm123456 wrote: ↑

Wed. Aug. 04, 2021 10:04 pm

This is the BEST response, it then goes away, its not a danger and I guess there is NO way to get rid of it.! Paul you seem to be right on target. Some people said when chimneys run in the winter it can help it move upwards there are so many theories NO my chimney is NOT loaded with cresone cause I would hae been burnt down MONTHS ago. My work was done by a reputable company its a bit upsetting the smell is not gone and i dont know what further I can do here other than live with it.

There is no way to get all the creosote out of a chimney, even by the most reputable company anywhere. They can brush and vacuum out most of it, but there will always be enough remaining in cracks and clay liner pipe joint gaps to give a "wood smell". Even moreso in damper weather as the dampness brings out the wood smoke smell and the hotter air inside the house causes the house to act like a chimney and draw in those smells from the chimney.

Like Coalheat has happen, in the off season my chimneys will sometimes back draft through the stoves. If the air in the chimney is cooler than the house and I open the stove doors I can feel and smell the draft.

When I occasionally burned wood in my kitchen range at the end of the season, if the chimney was still cool from night air and the house is warmer, the heavier cool air would sink down the chimney and try to replace the lighter warm air in the house. Even though there was hardly any creosote, the kitchen would smell of wood smoke because moisture in the air this time of year being drawn down the chimney would reactivate what little there was.

Originally intending to have a light layer of creosote protect the insides of the cast iron stove and the steel stove pipe against summer rust, after a couple of seasons doing that, I stopped burning wood all together because of the smell.
Now after 14 season of only burning coal, I still get a whiff of wood smoke when I clean out the chimney through the chimney's ash door on damp days.

While it's greatly diminished with time, there's still traces of creosote in the chimney after 14 years of 9 months each year of just coal.

With the double liner you won't have to worry about fire or exhaust leak into the house, but if the smell really bugs you, try caulking and sealing the bathroom wall that is nearest the chimney. Or slightly open a window in or nearest to the bathroom whenever you run the bath. That should kill any draft leakage from the chimney.

Paul

djm123456 wrote: ↑

Wed. Aug. 04, 2021 10:09 pm

since the liner is in and its an OLD house, there is NO way go get the wood smell out when my stokerfires up?

Sure, depends on how much you want to spend. Like Paul said the chimney is full of creosote, take it down. It has seeped through the old bricks and is inside of each little crevice. I'd bet he was right on the $ when he said it was the air around the liner that carries the smell. The stoker heats the liner and warms the creosote between the liner and brick, air currents move that smell around until liner cools down. Anyone know if hot air going up the liner would pull cool air down and out around the thimble? Sorry, short answer is, Imho, if chimney stays, the smell stays.

djm123456 wrote: ↑

Wed. Aug. 04, 2021 10:46 pm

so something like that there is really nothing I can do correct? I have a DOUBLE liner? what are options?

Why did you install a liner in the first place?

cause of smell, can barometic dampners be adjusted? how do they know how to do that?

djm123456 wrote: ↑

Sun. Aug. 15, 2021 12:18 pm

cause of smell, can barometic dampners be adjusted? how do they know how to do that?

Most can be adjusted, but I doubt that would impact the smell. Sealing it off with foil for a stronger draft might help but I wouldn't do that if the appliance is running.