Gas Furnace Attic Smell

Run the furnace fan and check the temperature of the air going into the return air grills and in the return air duct just before the furnace.

Gas furnace attic smell.

The smell of natural gas or propane gas around your gas furnace is not good. You can prevent this smell by dusting off the furnace before switching it on. It likely means you have a gas leak. If your heat has been running and you realize there is an unusual burning smell coming from the furnace the smell can be quite disconcerting.

Our natural gas heater is in our attic. A few days ago when i went up to the attic to take some stuff up to storage i noticed a faint natural gas odor at the top of my attic steps which are very close to the furnace. The first time your furnace is used in the winter when furnaces sit idle for months dust and debris build up. This is normal but you can cut down on the duration of this unpleasant smell by opening some windows to allow for cross ventilation to dissipate the smell quickly.

After a few seconds i could not smell it anymore and thought that maybe i was just being paranoid. It s normal to lose a bit of heat though if it s going through an attic duct. This will most likely diagnose a leaking furnace heat exchanger. A burning smell is something many folks readily associate with fire and a fire in your home is something no one wants to discover.

During the summer dust settles within the hvac on the heat exchanger. If you smell something burning it could be a furnace problem. If the smell isn t coming from the vents it s most likely a leak at a pipe fitting or within the equipment. Natural gas used for heating is treated with sulphur to give it its distinct rotten egg smell.

So before you call for hvac service look around and make sure you don t have a dead rodent in the attic somewhere. When you turn on the furnace for the first time you might notice a slight gas smell while the furnace burns off the accumulated debris. If you smell sulphur leave the area and call an hvac technician as well as your gas company. If you have a furnace in your attic then you can install almost any type of equipment in that space without compromising your safety.

Kicking on each cycle it s possible to detect a faint odor every time your furnace kicks on. It could also mean you have a dead rodent in the attic somewhere. The furnace has been working fine mostly just coming on at night as it is. If your furnace smells like gas and you have ruled out the other more obvious options ensure that the smell is coming from your air vents called registers.

Even gas furnaces work there when you have the proper venting and alarm systems available to ensure any leaks are detected quickly. This odor is intended to alert homeowners to potential gas leaks as soon as possible. A very significant difference indicates a large return leak. When the furnace is turned on the dust gets burned off.