Odor / Toxic Stink from new direct vent natural gas fireplace after 30 hour burn


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Old 01-14-12, 09:25 AM
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Odor / Toxic Stink from new direct vent natural gas fireplace after 30 hour burn

Hi,

We have a new Majestic direct vent natural gas fireplace. (Majestic CDVR33 – Natural Gas)

After burning it at least 30 hours continuously it is still emitting terrible chemical odor. The odor is smells so toxic we do not operate when we are in the home.

We had a gas fireplace in our previous home. It produced a burning dust smell for 30 minutes at the start of the winter season. After that there was no smell or stink for the remainder of the season.

The fireplace was professionally installed.

Recently we had an independent professional gas fireplace installer/service person with 20 years experience attempt to locate the stink. He checked everything. (Cleaned everything, checked for gas leak, checked for CO, checked the venting, and checked for anything to close to the fire box.) He said the odor is coming from the fireplace.

We had numerous people come to our home and they all agree the burning plastic/chemical odor is not normal.


When we ran it over night on two separate occasions, even with three windows open, we both woke up feeling congested.

We have two CO / gas detectors in the room with the fireplace. Both detectors have only ever had readings of 0%.


Please provide suggestions to eliminate this odor.


Thank you.
 
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Old 01-14-12, 09:56 AM
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Just an uneducated comment, sounds like some packing material was not removed as it should have been. i.e. the plastic smell you mention. You say direct vent, does that also mean sealed combustion, where the combustion air is brought in from the outside and not from the house. I assume that is the setup and thus the exhaust through the direct vent will not be removing any of the contaminated air/small. A regular fireplace would vent that air up through the chimney.

I would contact the mfg and ask for suggestions and any pointers where the smell might be coming from. In a proper installation I would expect anything in contact with a hot surface to not melt or burn.

Just some thoughts,
Bud
 
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Old 01-16-12, 08:16 AM
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My parents installed one a few years ago and the burn in was quite a bit longer than had been relayed to them but the odor did go away in a few weeks.

That said, Bud is right-on with contacting the manufacturer if you're not willing to give this any more time.
 
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Old 12-01-12, 03:59 PM
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Smell in direct vent fireplace

I too purchased a Majestic Direct Vent fireplace. The smell you are describing is similar to what i have been smelling. We also burnt it for over 30 hours. It still has the same smell. Did you eventually get rid of the smell? If so what did you do? If your fireplace still smells will you be contacting Majestic? I will be contacting Majestic this week.
 
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Old 12-01-12, 04:43 PM
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cnauta posted his problem back in January and never checked back for replies.

I would definitely contact the manufacturer.
 
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Old 12-01-12, 04:51 PM
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Yep i guess that's what i'm going to have to do. so annoying!!! i think it is the sealant they use on actual firebox. my husband was able to see inside (after removing a piece) and there is all kind of black goop & you can see most of it is charred. i wonder if this is what they mean by burning off the smell. it smells toxic to me.
 
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Old 12-01-12, 10:39 PM
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I don't think so. Normally the "burning off" refers to oils that were used in the production process (rust prevention) and are usually burned off fairly quickly on start-up.
 
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Old 12-02-12, 07:56 AM
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I just hope me & my children & my pets haven't been breathing in anything toxic while "burning off" whatever the smell is.
 
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Old 12-02-12, 02:01 PM
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Doreen ....... please tell us how you made out with manufacturer. I, for one, am very interested.
 
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Old 12-02-12, 03:25 PM
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I sure will. I wish cnauta would see this thread. i would love to know if his situation was ever resolved. I will contact the manufacturer tomorrow.
 
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Old 12-03-12, 01:02 AM
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You can try sending him a PM. The system will send him an email if he left his settings at board default.
 
 

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