What Those Odors from Your Furnace Really Mean
Posted on: 16 June 2020
It's that time of year again when no one needs their furnace, and many people have no reason to call for repairs or buy a new one. This means that if you need to get a new furnace, you'll have a much easier time getting an appointment and a great price. When the new furnace has been installed, you'll need to learn new controls and give the appliance a test run. This can often lead to new smells entering your home, and it's important to be able to identify them so you can call the installers and have the issues taken care of.
A Smoky Burning Smell After Installation
When you turn on the furnace for the first time after installation, if you smell a smoky smell, like something burning, wait a couple of minutes (assuming you don't see flames, of course). If the smell dissipates, then that means the smell was just dust burning off, similar to what you can smell when you turn on a furnace after it's been off all summer. New furnaces also have a bit of a dust issue, and that smell should go away quickly.
However, if the smell continues, then you need to call the installers and have them come back. Something is wrong with the furnace if it continually smells burnt.
An "Electrical" Smell
Sometimes the smell isn't smoky but is instead almost electrical like you get the sense wires are burning. In this case, the wires may be getting too hot. If your old furnace didn't give off this smell, then the wiring in the new furnace may be defective, and you may need to have a second new furnace installed in place of the one you just got. Sometimes wiring issues are small, but in this case, you don't want to mess with them.
A "Rubber" Smell
If the smell reminds you of tires, gas stations, and other places where you might smell rubber, you've got a problem. This smell means rubber and plastic parts in the furnace are being exposed to too much heat and are being affected. This too requires that the installers come back because, if the parts can't be replaced or adjusted, you need to get a new furnace without this defect.
Most new furnace installations go quite well, but that does not mean you can ignore that initial test. Try out the new furnace as soon as you can so that you can arrange for help—be it repairs or replacement—as soon as possible if something is wrong. You can learn more about what to expect by contacting local furnace installation companies.
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