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    House Oil furnace help - my house smells like oil

    I thought I would ask in here to see if there are any experts that can help me with this issue. I'll get straight to the story.

    Problem = When I turn on the furnace in my house I smell oil vapor coming out of the heater vents in the house.

    I moved in to a place last December that is a 1 floor bungalow with a basement. I am renting the place and it's a 50 year old house. It has new windows, doors, floors, fridge, stove, dish washer, washer, dyer, furnace, duct work, piping, electrical, etc, all items less than 1 year old. Great looking place and had brand new everything.

    Initially I smelt paint when I walked into the house and so did others and the owners assured me that they were painting to explain the smell. During the next few months I noticed when the furnace came on and you had the initial "wave" of air coming out of the vents that it smelt like oil. I can never smell the oil in the basement, and always smell it coming out of the vents on the first floor. Some rooms are worse than others. On cold days the smell is worse. (I've lived in many other places with furnace heat and never smelt oil like this).

    The furnace is a oil burning blower type located in the basement. It is brand new, along with all the piping going to it. The oil tank is located in the basement which is new and all the piping going to it as well. The air inlets (return vents) are on the 1st floor, and the heater vents (heat outlet vents) are on the first floor with two in the basement.

    After getting fed up with all my clothes and furniture smelling like oil I told the owners and they happily agreed to have someone come look at it. They eventually had 4 visits of "professionals" come look at it with the following results:

    1st company visit:
    - Changed the burner tip, oil filter, adjusted the burn cycle. No help.
    - Returned a week later, adjusted the burning cycle again. Adjusted the dampener. No help.

    2nd company visit: (different company/professional)
    - Taped around the exhaust pipe connected to the furnace, found other holes and taped these up. Claimed the exhaust fumes were being sucked in by the return pipe and this was causing the problem. This seemed to help the problem a bit as the smell was very strong when the furnace turned on initially! But the problem was still there. After this fix I can also smell burning wires when the furnace turns on.

    3rd company visit (different company, 30 years experience):
    - Immediately walked into the house and said "Yep, I smell the oil!". Concluded there was a oil spill years ago on the floor of the basement. This was making its way up to the first floor, in the air return lines, through the furnace and air filter, and coming out the heater vents. . They cleaned the whole basement floor by hand and put down this crap to help. It simply looks like kitty litter which we already had down there in the first place. For two days they also put a machine in the basement to suck any oil smell out of the air. They also showed that the burn cycle was fine as the exhaust pipe coming off the furnace had no suit in it.

    Conclusion - 3-4 months later and thousands spent....
    Months later I still smell the oil when I turn on the furnace. I do feel for the owner as he spent over $1000 on these "professionals" who all claimed they could fix the problem. At the same time I'm not going to live there in the fall if this issue persists. Now that summer is here I finally have the smell out of my clothes and furniture, but I can smell it on my car seats as I have yet to wash these.
    The owner and I both agree it sucks to have to play the guessing game like this. We wish there was a sensor/detector that could tell you how many PPM (parts per million) of junk that was in the air coming out of the vents. And although this would tell us there is a oil vapor coming out of the vent it still doesn't tell us what the problem is. We were hoping there was some test that could be done to help us figure this out.

    Items I have done:
    - Put old white shirts over vents for weeks and looked for an oil / darkened stain. There were none visible but I could smell the oil.
    - Totally closed off the dampener vent in the basement. No help.

    The only other option at this point is for someone to rip the furnace apart and look inside. I am wondering if anyone on this forum is a professional at this and can help in any way?


    Thanks in advance!

    #2
    the combustion chamber/exchange chamber has probably developed a hole due to rust..youre also breathing in carbon monoxide.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by illinois_erik View Post
      the combustion chamber/exchange chamber has probably developed a hole due to rust..youre also breathing in carbon monoxide.
      Even though the unit is brand new? I'll take a picture if you like. And the house has brand new carbon monoxide/smoke detectors too.

      Comment


        #4
        well everyone I ask says there is a crack in the combustion chamber for this problem to happen like this...

        Comment


          #5
          Crack in the heat exchanger would more than likely be the culprit. If it is new as you say then the repair should be under warranty.

          I would stop running it until its fixed

          BB6->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=200445<Summer Lover
          BD6->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=194262<Dailey/Future AutoX
          Mazda 6s->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201313<Wifes
          CB7->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=189108<Sold

          Comment


            #6
            You're renting? Why are you paying to fix this problem? This should be on the landlord! That's one of the perks of renting... the repair of the property isn't your responsibility.

            If it's due to oil in the ground, the affected area might need to be removed. Especially if the spill was long ago. Oil isn't going to dry up, and it's likely not going to seep away anytime soon. Since the smell gets worse when you actually run the system, I doubt it's that, though.

            Honestly, at this point, I think a new furnace is required. Since you noted the smell when you first moved in, and the owners attempted to hide/explain it, you could potentially have a good case in court against them. Their actions show that 1) they were aware of the problem, and 2) they attempted to deceive you. Because of this, the furnace issue was not taken into consideration when you made the choice to move in there. Since you have moved in, it has cost you a good deal of money, and it has been a significant health hazard.
            If you have any lawyers near you that offer a free consultation, I would consider doing that. See what they say. It would be nice if you could get your money back, and have the issue fixed.

            Even if the furnace is brand new... as car enthusiasts, we all know that brand new parts can sometimes fail immediately!

            I remember when I first had to get my furnace cleaned... I waited too long, and it started backfiring. Black soot was staining my white ceilings near the vents. My curtains had a film of soot on them. The smell was making me dizzy... and that was only over the course of about 2 weeks! (I was 23... didn't have much money to pay the bills, let alone furnace repair!)






            Comment


              #7
              Deev, he said the owner has been paying for the "repairs".

              Either way this a dangerous problem that needs to be looked at by someone that specializes in oil burners. Obviously the other professionals have no idea what they are looking at.

              HVAC is kind of a scary industry, There are a lot of people touching equipment that should not be touching equipment...

              Find a company on your own, of your own liking and get a quote to fix it. Then give the quote to your landlord. I know its not your responsibility to do so, but sometimes you need to take matters into your own hands.

              BB6->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=200445<Summer Lover
              BD6->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=194262<Dailey/Future AutoX
              Mazda 6s->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201313<Wifes
              CB7->http://cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=189108<Sold

              Comment


                #8
                Bah, totally missed that. That's what I get for reading without my glasses! Don't get old, kids.

                Either way, though... it still seems to me that the owners were trying to hide the problem that MAY have caused you to rent elsewhere. That's shady to me.
                I would still talk to a lawyer and explore your options. You've been in the house for more than half a year, and the problem was clearly known to the owners before you moved in. 6 months (most of them being cold months) with a furnace that is spewing potentially harmful fumes is no small matter.

                At this point, the furnace should be replaced. Brand new or not, there is a definite problem. I assume the furnace and the piping should be under some sort of warranty, seeing as they're new... so the owners should be able to file a claim there.
                Regardless, your health is at risk, and something should be done about it. To allow a tenant to live in conditions like that is shameful.






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