Do wood burners smell.?

[Prozac]

The wife is reluctant to have a wood burner as 'it'll make the house stink'...... she may have a point. Do they smell like an open fire?

[sleepybubble]

yes and no..... if your getting blow back down the chimney then it will stink the place up. If not then it will 'smell' hot. She should be more worried about the extra dust, not the smell. 

[kristen]

"She should be more worried about the extra dust"

Good point

The smell is a sort of slightly sweet smell, not at all unpleasant IME, and not like an open fire.  There is no smoke etc. from my wood boiler (it has a flue-bypass mode when you open the door, e.g. to re-fill it, so that it creates a strong draft and nothing comes out of the boiler door - also very helpful when lighting it as the positive air flow creates a roaring blaze in no time!).  

From a wood burning stove there will be some smoke / burning smell when you open the doors to top it up.  Any smoke blowing back into the house is annoying, of course, but the burning smell is quite pleasant IME - it doesn't smell like the place is burning down, or a pot has been left on the stove too long.

[martin]

Stink? - heavens to murgatroyd! Considering the average UK home atmosphere is a toxic chemical soup reeking of synthetic pheromones, often aided and abetted by those dreadful "plug-in" thingummyjigglers, bog "deodorants" and the long-term exudations from MDF, plywood, and synthetic foams as used in furnishing, carpet underlays...... not to speak of the toxic fire retardants sprayed willy nilly on fabrics.........someone suggests that burning wood may "stink" - no it doesn't, it's a splendid natural smell, and if you have the luck to get some apple wood, quite delightful........

[pphilpot]

I noted that after our woodburner was installed (and used) in our double glazed centrally heated home I found that it pulled the air through the house - effectively freshening the whole house - and when we rarely switched on the central heating the hot radiators gave off a very distinctive 'central heating smell' (i.e. probably dust)...

... I now hate the smell of central heating (and the heat, and stuffiness )

[desperate]

All good clean natural carcinogens, Eh Martin


Desp

[martin]

sooner take me chances with some woodsmoke.....
-and the gentle niff of wood fires on the breeze come autumn is one of the more pleasant reminders of the change of season..........

[desperate]

Same as that,  Martin, I,m of the opinion that life is a terminal disease, might as well have fun on the way.

Desp

[Ivan]

Our woodstove doesn't smell at all. Bad flue design is the cause of smoke entering the room when you open the doors (or trying to do a John Wayne draw impression when opening the doors). Some wood can be pongy, though - eg oak. Also, spiders seem to like living in woodpiles, so you may introduce spiders into the house - which can be an issue for the fairer sex. We use flexi plastic tubs as wood baskets. Not so pretty beside the fire, but it does tend to keep the spiders/woodlice in the bucket rather than crawling over the carpet.

Don't let any of the replies put you off - we're highlighting very small issues. If you are really worried about it, go for a wood boiler in the garage

[KLD]

Same here, no smell from the WBS. Get a flue design that provides enough draught, and you'll be OK.

When it's windy, our little stove make quite some noise.

In our new extension another flue pipe is installed, but not connected to anything yet. It serves as an early rain indicator (pling pling on the metal head) and transports the "cue... cue" of the wood pigeons right down into the dining room 

Klaus