horrible smell

[oceangirl]

Trying to figure out what this might be. I have a Lennox gas furnace. There is a smell, kind of stale smell comming fronm the floor vents when the furnace is running. My furnance has an Aprilaire humidifier attached, (not connected to the water line)but there is cold air running thru the box. I disassembled the box where the filter is at & it had disenegrated. I totally cleaned the box where the filter was located, I also cleaned the hose that is connected to the furnace where the water flows to the drain. The drain hose again has a white substance comming out instead of clear water. This matter is sort of hard to explain, so I hope you understand what I am trying to ask. Also the smell has gotten into my clothes, etc Also in Oct. 2005 I had atech outto replace my ignitor, becuse the gas would not stay lit. Thanks for your help

Oceangirl in Kansas City

[Phelps]

Do you have any prankster friends that have been over, lately?...or mischievious or accident-prone kids?

You could have had something poured down one of the registers that found it's way all the way back into the heat exhanger (the inner bowels of the funace, that gets real hot).

Milky condensate fluid is rather odd, I must say. Normally any standing water (which you don't want inside) will look like water, and might have some slime junk in with it, clogging up drain ports. But for it to drain out the white color like you said is odd. I've never run into this anyway, in my rental property maintenance/furnaces repair line of work.

Does that odor smell like anything you have ever smelled before?

[oceangirl]

horrible smell

no, someone else said it smells like stagnic water, but I don't thinks, so sort of smell like a burnt order. Would it have anything to do with my hot water heater? This is driving crazy, I guess I should call ahvac man???????????
Thanks for your help

[lonestarheir]

There is a smell, kind of stale smell comming fronm the floor vents when the furnace is running.

Oceangirl in Kansas City

If you have ducts under your home in a crawl space, could be that something got in under the house and has broken one or such. If your humidifier is not connected to a water source, then any water in it is a concern. Where is the water coming from?? More information would help pictures would be great if possible

[Phelps]

It could be that you have a twofold problem. You could have stagnant condensate water backed up and a cracked (or broken out piece) of heat exchanger. That too could allow odor to get into the registers.

How old is that Lennox?

If you don't have one already...you might want to invest in a carbon monoxide detector, as they are nice to have regardless. Get a good LED digital one like a Kidde brand from a home center (about $40).

Was it the humidifier wheel sponge material, that soaks up the water, that is what disintegrated? Maybe somehow it found it's way back through the heat exchanger and got mixed in with the condensate. It could be possible as these humidifiers are located in the plenum above the furnace, directly above the upper main heat exchanger, and if it fell through that.. it could have gotten ontop the secondary heat exchanger where it cooked and mixed in with condensate, possibly. (To access the top of the secondary heat exchanger can be difficult on many furnaces. But getting at the bottom is accessible by removing the blower (these slide out usually by removing two screws.), and then you have to gaze up in there with a bright light. It will look like a car radiator type square thing)

[oceangirl]

horrible smell

Wow, thanks for all the responses. I did have my neighbor come down and he said I may need to have the coils cleaned. He said it looks like calcium comming thru the water line and some of the filter that crumbled maybe burning on the coils. Guess I better call in for the experts, (they don't call me tight wad for nothing). Anuone from Kansas City.?????????? And yes, I will get a carbon tester. Thanks again

[Phelps]

How long has this smell problem been going on for, since you first turned on the heat for the season? It's possible over time it will burn itself off, also. As long as you feel that you are getting decent air coming out your registers, as compared to before, if you can remember that. Then that would indicate there is no serious clogging of the coil fins, as the blower air has to pass through these fins, and would be restricted by the amount of the clogging. I'd just hate to see you needlessly spend money as this could pretty much go away on it's own. It be like if you knew a balloon fell down in there. You would smell the burning rubber for a while. Then as it melted it would shrivel up and just put a baked on coating to those affected fins and probably cause little concern, and the odor would dissipate.

[oceangirl]

horrible smell

Been going on for about a month, the smell seems to have gotten worse this past week, might be that I am tired of smelling it, it has gotten wretched. When the furnance comes on I can almost taste it,I hate to spend the money but to get the problem fixed, it would be at this point worth it. Thanks again

[Phelps]

It almost sounds like, after all this time, that whatever got in where was of a more hartd or taffy-like consistency. Then when the furnace and duct work gets hot, it is enough to keep melting more and more of whatever it is, so that irt runs back into the furnace and onto the heat exchanger. You are certain nothing went down a register, eh?

I have had bats die in furnaces that don't even have a smell that lasts a month. They mummify in no time, and the smell disappears.

Make sure you have nothing sitting in the bottom of the furnace *before* the furnace filter.

Then, if not, ...do you have a heat register in the main plenum just above the furnace? If so, unscrew it and use a big mirror and bright light in there and see if you can see anything.

I'm sitting here trying to think if there coud be any plastic piece that somehow came off the furnace and got down into the heat exchanger and just slowly melts over time, to a white slime. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

[oceangirl]

horrible smell

Well I had a heating tech come over and he wasn't sure either. I looked like some crazy woman having this gentlemen go around and smelling the air comming from the floor vents. He suggested that we start by cleaning the coils first and then go from there. Well I changed out some of the duct work myself and put in a new filter in the humidifier. Tech was was suppose to come this morning, was a no show. (Guess he thought I was just plumm crazy. So I am back to square one. I think I will try your suggestion, but don't think there is a heat registar in the heat plenum. or I may just try another hvac guy.or I may have to get married so I don't have top deal with these things (hahahahha)

Thanks so much
Have a great evening
OG

[Phelps]

Are you real handy? If you were, you could take the duct apart above the furnace. Usually it is folded over in such a way that you pick the side that has the sheetmetal installed between the two folded sides and unscrew if there is screws, and start prying it apart. I do this all the time to inspect and/or clean the evaporator coils for the a/c unit located above the furnace (the condensor coils are located outside the house under that unit with the fan).

If you did this, you could see what you might see at the top heat exchanger area of the furnace, and also run the furnace this way (no, you won't get carbon monoxide because the gas/heat is inside of it's own non-accessible tubes)

[oceangirl]

Horriblr Smeel, I;m Back

well, you would have got a kick out of this. i did take apart some of the duct work, and cleaned it out. wellllllllll, i tried to put back together and it just wasn't fitting right, worn out. so in order to cover the vent holes up, i taped pie pans over the holes until i could go buy new duct work. got home couldn't get it to hold in spots, so i had to take a 2x6 to hold up the duct work untill i could buy some straps. looked like i love lucy. anyway, finally had a hvac man out tonight. He modified the duct work that was allowing some carbon to come out where the flappers are suppose to expand when the blower comes on. he also hooked up the humidifier. well this doesn't seem to omit the smell. He thnks the smell has a hint of sulfer. He said to let the furnace work for a few days and see what happens. So this is where I am at. So I guess I will wait, smell is still there. So I guess i will give it a few days.
until then..................heres smelly in K.C.
OG

[Phelps]

Something for your diary, if you keep one.

Oh. And what did your furnace man make of your handy work?

[oceangirl]

HORRIBLe SMEEL, IM BACK again

He thought it was pretty smart for a quick fix, not bad for a girl. Hey, I have a question. The smell is stil there, do you suppose the smeel is comming from the drains in the basement. It has been really dry here for the last 2 months. I did run water thru the drains with a water hose. They are not backed up, ran the water for about 15 minutes. Should I have a plumber come out, and will they be able to tell if the drain has "become dry"
I look forward to your reply

Blessing
OG

[Phelps]

Every drain requires a trap. Unless the trap has a crack in it that is letting the water out, that you can't tell, then all you should have to do is periodically dump a glassful or so, down them.

If you suspect THAT is where your smell is coming from, then I would do this: IF you have good lungs, I would go upstairs, outside, and aclimate to the outside air and take some deep breaths. Then, holding your breath, without inhaling, go into the besement and kneel down by a drain, then breath in through your nose and make note of what you smell. When water is being retained by the trap you should not smell odors above one.

Edit: I don't think I'd be able to make it that far though without inhaling and I might have to settle for a room nearby the top of the basement steps that doesn't smell so bad, and go from there.