Gas odor in cold days

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barish

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In the days that it is very cold, the warm air heating the house (coming from the furnace) smells heavily.

I have the following guesses:

1. It has to work continuously those days and starts to go bad when this happens.

2. the chimney is not sufficient to handle such pressure in cold days... (downward push? or something like this)

3. (i read one of the threads) humidity causes this...

I dont know anything about why this is happening. these are just theories. What I know that I am quite worried. This happened three times so far and we turned it off and slept with a small electric heater. But it started to drive me crazy. The only thing that works with gas in the house is the hot water &heating. Please, help me before it goes bad.

best
Barish
 

Jadnashua

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Lots of possibilities. The first suggestion is get yourself a CO detector if you don't already have one. I sort of like those made by Kiddy - they have a numerical readout that will give you an idea if there is a small leak that needs to be fixed, but isn't enough to kill you (it could still give you a headache and other symptoms). It should read zero - anything above that is suspect. WIth this detector, it will set off the alarm if the level gets above a certain value quickly, or if it stays low, but above a certain level for a longer time.

Then, you could have a problem with the heat exchanger - this would allow combustion gasses to mix with the forced air...this is very dangerous and can kill you.

The flue could be bad, the chimney could be too low, and a bunch of other problems. You need to evaluate this quickly.

How old is the furnace?
 

Bill Arden

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I used to have a "chimney" effect when it got cold.
The result would suck the exhaust from the hot water heater into the house.

I would recommend getting a Co detector as well as looking to see if you have an outside air intake going into the furnace room.

Edit: Typo: it's a Co detector, not a Co2
 
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Nate R

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I used to have a "chimney" effect when it got cold.
The result would suck the exhaust from the hot water heater into the house.

I would recommend getting a Co2 detector as well as looking to see if you have an outside air intake going into the furnace room.

CO detector*. CO is Carbon Monoxide. (1 Oxygen atom)

CO2 is Carbon Dioxide, (2 O atoms) and is VERY different. IE not poisonous in the quantities that CO is. (PLENTY of CO2 in the atmosphere

Just don't want someone looking for a CO2 detector.
 

MACPLUMB

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Gas Odor

You Need To Call A Lic. Plumber Or Other Quilfied Gas Service Person As Soon As Possible ! ! ! !

Google Gas Explosions To See Why
Or Carbon Moxoide Poisoning

Macplumb 777 Masterplumber
 
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