Direct vent fireplace smell on startup if pilot had been on

[kow22]

Hi HVAC-Talkers -

I have a 20 year old direct vent gas fireplace. When I turn it on after it hasn't been used for a few days it kicks out a terrible smell for the first 20-30 minutes. It's not a rotten egg gas smell - it's acrid, really strong and permeates the house. I've heard others describe a smell of burning metal from a fireplace - that could be it.

After a ton of experimenting I discovered that if I turn off the pilot when the fireplace isn't use, the smell doesn't happen. The longer the pilot is running between uses, the stronger the smell.

I've done a ton of Googling and have found only one similar report but no solution. Does anyone have any ideas about what might be going on here and if there's any action that I can take short of always turning off the pilot?

Thanks
- Mike

[hearthman]

You need a qualified tech to inspect and service it. You can clean the unit using a citrus-based solvent cleaner. If the glass seal is gone, you could be smelling aldehydes, which accompany carbon monoxide, which is why its so important to get a qualified tech in there.

[pecmsg]

Hi HVAC-Talkers -

I have a 20 year old direct vent gas fireplace. When I turn it on after it hasn't been used for a few days it kicks out a terrible smell for the first 20-30 minutes. It's not a rotten egg gas smell - it's acrid, really strong and permeates the house. I've heard others describe a smell of burning metal from a fireplace - that could be it.

After a ton of experimenting I discovered that if I turn off the pilot when the fireplace isn't use, the smell doesn't happen. The longer the pilot is running between uses, the stronger the smell.

I've done a ton of Googling and have found only one similar report but no solution. Does anyone have any ideas about what might be going on here and if there's any action that I can take short of always turning off the pilot?

Thanks
- Mike

Google is not a friend for something like this.

Get it professionally serviced. 20 years has been a good run, might want to consider replacing.

[kow22]

Thanks for the feedback. I had a service out last year to diagnose the smell - they cleaned the fireplace but that didn't help with the smell. They were reluctant to try to diagnose further - it was frustrating. I'll find another service and hope for better results. Thanks again

[pecmsg]

Thanks for the feedback. I had a service out last year to diagnose the smell - they cleaned the fireplace but that didn't help with the smell. They were reluctant to try to diagnose further - it was frustrating. I'll find another service and hope for better results. Thanks again

Fireplaces are a special area of our trade. Difficult to get good techs on furnaces and boilers even harder on a small market like fireplaces. It might just be time to replace!

[airhammer]

Call tech for sure