Wood Fireplace Season

greyfurball
greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

For my home, as long as I am home, I usually have our wood burning fireplace burning firewood.

The reason, although our home is set up with a baseboard water-driven heat source which is heated by a fuel oil burner. Our fireplace also has an insert though which uses the heat from the fire to heat the water pipes which circulate the hot water which comes from the furnace. So as long as the fireplace is heating the water pipes, our fuel oil is not being used. That saves us a ton of money every winter because my home is very large so it takes a lot of oil to keep it cool in here. I've never asked for warm... I could never afford it.

But there is two downsides. One, I won't burn a fire if I'm not home. Nothing has ever happened while we are here but I don't believe in tempting fate. So if I know I'm leaving there will be no fire.

Second, the smell of wood smoke is still pretty strong in my home and I don't like that. The chimney is cleaned every year, the grates, the fully glass-enclosed screen etc. but you know smoke it finds a way to drift in anyway.

Anyone else have this problem and found a solution?

Comments

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    My home is heated with a wood stove. The wood smoke smell tends to be strong when starting a new fire. I burn Nag Champa incense, it's odor is mild but covers the smoke smell.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @merlin44 I've never heard of that but I'll have to give it a try. Do you buy it online or where could I find it?

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    I've found it at a bookstore, its a distance away so more often I order from Amazon. Hope it works for you.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @merlin44... a bookstore? That's a surprise. I was expecting to have to go find a wood stove/fireplace type of store.

    Thanks for the info.

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    @greyfurball It's a new age-ish type bookstore, with crystals, incense, etc. Because I have 9 indoor cats and 3 litter boxes, I burn incense daily and noticed the Nag Champa covers the wood burning smell. Even though the boxes are changed & cleaned daily and people say they cannot believe I have any cats much less 9, I'm a bit paranoid about odors.

  • Hassena
    Hassena Posts: 345 ✭✭✭

    We also heat with wood. I haven't noticed a strong smoke smell. Just mostly dust/debris from bringing wood in our home.

    With your stove, when lighting a fire...do you see the smoke going up the chimney? or exhausting somewhere from the stove?

    Our stove needs to be resealed, we usually do this annually, but haven't got to it this year. Anyways when we light a new fire, there is a good amount of smoke seeping into our home through the cracks in the stove. Like where the pieces join together. Might be what's happening with ya'll?

    We keep a pot of water on the stove and add essential oils to help freshen up the place :)

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @merlin44, yes I can relate to your misgivings. I'm the same.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @Hassena no I do not have a wood stove. I have a fully enclosed wood burning fireplace with a forced circulator which drives the hot water thru all the pipes in my house. Since the wood smoke smell is only around the fireplace (living room) it can't be from the circulator pipes it has to be from the fireplace.

    What I believe it might be, therefore I can do nothing about it, it's probably the odor being pushed back down the chimney thus when we open the doors to the fireplace to add wood the smoke seeps into the room.

    Which is why I was hoping to find something which can neutralize the odor a little. It's especially bad on damp windy days.

  • Hassena
    Hassena Posts: 345 ✭✭✭

    Interesting. Does it have a flue?

    We open our flue all the way, before opening the door to add more wood.

    Nag champa, is a great incense. Def strong and earthy.

  • maimover
    maimover Posts: 359 ✭✭✭

    @merlin44 i too have a wood stove but don’t use it as the only heat source. When I get that woodsy smell I put essential oils into the water pot that sits on top of the stove. I like to use woodsy scents that blend in with the fire smell like pine, vetiver, cloves, and some others too depending. Some of the oils also have some health benefits that can help us get through the cold/flu season and also make the place smell good...

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    @Hassena I learned the hard way to "pre-heat" the stovepipe, starting out with a small fire till the pipe heats up. Once heated, the smoke is drawn out through the pipe and I avoid having to open windows LOL.

  • SuperC
    SuperC Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭

    @greyfurball open the damper first before opening the woodstove door. I find this helps reduce smoke from coming into my face, then add wood, close door, and close the damper some.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @teachercaryn mine is not a wood stove, it is a large fireplace so these do not work this way. My damper must be open all the time that the fireplace is burning, even if it is just hot coals leftover after a fire has burned down, or the whole house gets filled up with stove.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @merlin44

    Well I got a chance to look up nag champa on Amazon.

    My gosh, so many people with different olfactory sensing capabilities. Some love it, some hate it, some feel they are getting "smoked out" of their own home, some feel they are getting drugged, some feel they are getting nothing and on and on.

    So how about the company name you purchased (if you still have the carton). Is it possible for you to get that for me? All I see on the reviews is this is a fake or this is an authentic variety. And every variety has both opposing views on each selection.

    Need some help narrowing down the possibilities. If you don't have the box/carton yours came in don't worry about it - I'll survive. Thanks

  • merlin44
    merlin44 Posts: 426 ✭✭✭✭

    @greyfurball Satya (trademark) Nag Champa, manufactured by Shrininivas Sugandhalaya LLP, India. Hope that helps. Have a marvelous day.

  • EarlKelly
    EarlKelly Posts: 230 ✭✭✭

    @greyfurball another option that works pretty good is a ozone generator. Look on line and you will find all kinds and prices. My mother heats exclusively with firewood with a furnace in the basement. She suddenly couldn’t tolerate the smell of smoke that makes its way upstairs. Got her one and now no problem for her to breathe. Hope this helps you as another alternative. Good luck.

  • greyfurball
    greyfurball Posts: 591 ✭✭✭✭

    @EarlKelly thanks Earl. I will check it out also because the more I read on nag champa the more I get the impression it also has its own particular odor. I'm not trying to add odor, i just wish to eliminate the wood smell.