Strange smell from gas furnace heater

[john12ax7]

There are a few gas heaters / furnace in the basement of my building. The one room in my place directly above them sometimes has a strong weird smell I can't identify. It's not the typically natural gas smell,  more of a skunky type smell, perhaps similar to a car when not combusting properly.

Anyone experienced this? Doesn't seem to be natural gas,  and carbon monoxide is odorless, perhaps nitrogen dioxide? Is a general heater repair guy the right person to call?

 

[ruairioflaherty]

There are a few gas heaters / furnace in the basement of my building. The one room in my place directly above them sometimes has a strong weird smell I can't identify. It's not the typically natural gas smell,  more of a skunky type smell, perhaps similar to a car when not combusting properly.

Anyone experienced this? Doesn't seem to be natural gas,  and carbon monoxide is odorless, perhaps nitrogen dioxide? Is a general heater repair guy the right person to call?

Yikes, do you have CO alarms in your apartment?

 

[john12ax7]

Yikes, do you have CO alarms in your apartment?

There is one in the hallway, probably time to put them in every room.  But CO is odorless. Not sure how to figure out what this is.

 

[ruairioflaherty]

There is one in the hallway, probably time to put them in every room.  But CO is odorless. Not sure how to figure out what this is.

Definitely time.  You're right about CO being odorless but if your burner is not working properly it's a concern. 

 

[kambo]

There is one in the hallway, probably time to put them in every room.  But CO is odorless. Not sure how to figure out what this is.

why dont you call fire department and ask for help in semi panicky mode,
they have pretty good knowledge! FireFighters rocks in the USA

 

[JohnRoberts]

There are a few gas heaters / furnace in the basement of my building. The one room in my place directly above them sometimes has a strong weird smell I can't identify. It's not the typically natural gas smell,  more of a skunky type smell, perhaps similar to a car when not combusting properly.

Anyone experienced this? Doesn't seem to be natural gas,  and carbon monoxide is odorless, perhaps nitrogen dioxide? Is a general heater repair guy the right person to call?

some gas sources add a chemical to make gas leaks easier to smell...

If you are smelling a gas leak that could be very serious.

JR

 

[cyrano]

Mercaptans is the group of chemicals added to gas. You only need a tiny bit to make humans leak aware.

Calling the fire department seems like a good idea. They probably have a detector and the knowledge to use it.

 

[Delta Sigma]

Where I live, you call the gas company if you're concerned and they send someone out for free.

 

[john12ax7]

The gas company came out today,  couldn't detect any leaks.  So there seems to be 1 of 2 things.

1) there is another chemical (not gas or CO)  being generated

2) the guy said there was a lot of rat droppings in the basement (it's an apt building).

Would either of these cause a strong uncomfortable smell?

 

[kambo]

The gas company came out today,  couldn't detect any leaks.  So there seems to be 1 of 2 things.

1) there is another chemical (not gas or CO)  being generated

2) the guy said there was a lot of rat droppings in the basement (it's an apt building).

Would either of these cause a strong uncomfortable smell?

why dont u walk down and smell some
rat droppings !

just kidding 
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[JohnRoberts]

The gas company came out today,  couldn't detect any leaks.  So there seems to be 1 of 2 things.

1) there is another chemical (not gas or CO)  being generated

2) the guy said there was a lot of rat droppings in the basement (it's an apt building).

Would either of these cause a strong uncomfortable smell?

A dead rat hidden up in a duct could smell powerful. Never poison rats because they just crawl up behind something to die... use a proper rat trap like men.

JR

 

[pucho812]

The gas company came out today,  couldn't detect any leaks.  So there seems to be 1 of 2 things.

1) there is another chemical (not gas or CO)  being generated

2) the guy said there was a lot of rat droppings in the basement (it's an apt building).

Would either of these cause a strong uncomfortable smell?

My farm living childhood info coming back.
rat droppings are hazardous and can cause  Hantavirus.  be careful there and wear protective masks and so forth.
Secondly rats in general urinate and defecate liberally, it's sign of a rat infestation. You  will first notice it  by a pungent, musky order. Since it is in the basement you may have a huge rat problem and that could easily be the smell. I would consult your landlord asap,  by law they have to keep the place safe for living.

 

[john12ax7]

I would consult your landlord asap,  by law they have to keep the place safe for living.

Sent the landlord a message.  Seems whichever room I choose for the home studio / office tends to have issues.  The last place the roof leaked.

 

[Matador]

Perhaps eat less beans?

 

[PRR]

I had a "gas smell" but intermittent. It was the on-demand gas water heater on a too-small propane tank. Gas pressure dropped, flame burned bad, unburned gas spilled into cellar. And by the time we'd notice the heater had shut-off.

Both street-gas and propane are nearly odorless, consumer gas is ALWAYS doped with egg/skunk mercaptan so you will know it leaks (but Propane is treacherous cuz the stink settles out).

But if the Gas Guy says you have rats, you have rats. (They are incidental Experts.) And rats stink.

 

[Gold]

I know this is a necro thread. Propane smells like a dead animal when it leaks. At least it does in the US. I think it is naturally odorless.

 

[Tubetec]

The local gas utillity is the contact in the event of a leak ,usually an emergency number is printed on the appliance ,
The firebrigade I doubt would even respond to a boiler issue ,
Gas boilers need periodic maintenance , again you need a qualified service person ,
The property management company is likely the first stop .

 

[JohnRoberts]

dead thread walking...

JR

 

[cyrano]

Just an aside: today, a child daycare center was evacuated here. After a check by the fire dept. the smell came from the plastic of a bunch of new toys that arrived the day before...

Nitrogen dioxide smells a bit like bleach. I would't call that skunky. Somebody growing weed in your cellar? Some fungi also produce a skunky scent.

 

[Youngwhisk]

I will contribute to this old thread. If there is a floor drain in that room it could be that the trap is empty and allowing sewer gasses into the room.