nasty smell from furnace area…..

[David Tennant]

this is a doozie…..we moved into a 20 year old house in april, 1998. ever since we turned on the heat, we have noticed a nasty smell coming from the heating vents…we have an oil burning furnace with forced hot air system and a septic tank. we have been researching everything..trying to find the culprit…had all the toilets re-sealed….(found a leaking flange)…had the fireplace cleaned and inspected (no blockages)…had the duct work cleaned, inspected, and fumigated (no dead animals)… had a new furnace installed (found a cracked heat exchange in the old one)……but the smell continues….and its only when the heat is on…comes from the furnace room (previous owners enclosed it in a finished basement) it has been suggested that we install a vent in the furnace room to get more air in there..to circulate…the furnace is located next to a (septic) pipe…separated only by a thin wall, some insulation…do you think we could be smelling septic gases?…could there be a leak? or do we just have a venting problem? please, does anyone have suggestions for us? we dont know what else to do….

[debParticipant]

Being that the unit is closed in that may be a problem. If this area is considered a confined space it will require combustion air. To calculate this measure the room the furnace is in and multiply the length x width x height. Determine the total btus of furnace and any other fuel burning (non-electric)appliance such as water heater or dryer. Divide the total btus by 1000. Divide the cubic feet by the answer from total btus. If less then 50 need combustion air. For example: A room 10 x 20 x 8 with a total btu of 150,000 10 x 20 x 8=1600, 150,000 divided by 1000 = 150, 1600 divided by 150 = 10.66 This would require fresh air for combustion. For more information please contact me : this is a doozie…..we moved into a 20 year old house in april, 1998. ever since we turned on the heat, we have noticed a nasty smell coming from the heating vents…we have an oil burning furnace with forced hot air system and a septic tank. we have been researching everything..trying to find the culprit…had all the toilets re-sealed….(found a leaking flange)…had the fireplace cleaned and inspected (no blockages)…had the duct work cleaned, inspected, and fumigated (no dead animals)… had a new furnace installed (found a cracked heat exchange in the old one)……but the smell continues….and its only when the heat is on…comes from the furnace room (previous owners enclosed it in a finished basement) it has been suggested that we install a vent in the furnace room to get more air in there..to circulate…the furnace is located next to a (septic) pipe…separated only by a thin wall, some insulation…do you think we could be smelling septic gases?…could there be a leak? or do we just have a venting problem? please, does anyone have suggestions for us? we dont know what else to do….

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