Rubber burnt smell from two house vents
#1
01-15-23, 11:39 AM
Rubber burnt smell from two house vents
Everything I mention below is all on the first floor.
So, yesterday we noticed what we'd describe as a "burnt rubber" smell coming from JUST the guest bath vent. It was there for maybe 10 minutes then went away. We didn't smell this smell out of any other vents.
Today we smelled the same smell again coming from just one vent in our dining area. We have a pretty open floor plan including the dining area, kitchen and living room. Again, the smell only came out of this single vent in the dining area. We checked vents in the living room and a "dining nook" by the kitchen and didn't smell a thing. This time, the smell went away for a while, but then it would come back. At one point I noticed the smell from the couch (just out of the blue) and checked all the vents. Once again, the smell was only coming from this vent.
The vent in the dining area is maybe 15' from the HVAC unit, while the one in the guest bath is maybe 25' from the hvac unit.
Because it happened two days in a row, we called the HVAC people out. We explained what had happened to the tech and he thoroughly checked out the unit. This included looking for burnt wires, overheating motors, the transformer, circuit board, gas packs, etc. He showed us multiple pictures and there are no signs of anything being burnt or melting.
Despite 16 years as an HVAC tech, he was stumped by this one. Has anyone ever ran into this oddball problem before? If so, any tips to tshoot or fix would be appreciated. Our unit will be 7 years old this year. It's an Amana (model# APG1442080M41).
thanks,
Andy
So, yesterday we noticed what we'd describe as a "burnt rubber" smell coming from JUST the guest bath vent. It was there for maybe 10 minutes then went away. We didn't smell this smell out of any other vents.
Today we smelled the same smell again coming from just one vent in our dining area. We have a pretty open floor plan including the dining area, kitchen and living room. Again, the smell only came out of this single vent in the dining area. We checked vents in the living room and a "dining nook" by the kitchen and didn't smell a thing. This time, the smell went away for a while, but then it would come back. At one point I noticed the smell from the couch (just out of the blue) and checked all the vents. Once again, the smell was only coming from this vent.
The vent in the dining area is maybe 15' from the HVAC unit, while the one in the guest bath is maybe 25' from the hvac unit.
Because it happened two days in a row, we called the HVAC people out. We explained what had happened to the tech and he thoroughly checked out the unit. This included looking for burnt wires, overheating motors, the transformer, circuit board, gas packs, etc. He showed us multiple pictures and there are no signs of anything being burnt or melting.
Despite 16 years as an HVAC tech, he was stumped by this one. Has anyone ever ran into this oddball problem before? If so, any tips to tshoot or fix would be appreciated. Our unit will be 7 years old this year. It's an Amana (model# APG1442080M41).
thanks,
Andy
#2
01-15-23, 06:54 PM
I was doing some more research on this and one of the things I kept reading was that a dirty filter could cause a burnt rubber smell (although none of the articles got into only smelling it in certain vents). I checked out the two return vents on the first floor and the filters were much dirtier than expected (and much dirtier than usual after less than two months).
I replace my filters every 2 months and these were due to be replaced until Feb. 7, but they were quite dirty, so I went ahead and replaced them. I'll monitor for a week and update what happened.
I replace my filters every 2 months and these were due to be replaced until Feb. 7, but they were quite dirty, so I went ahead and replaced them. I'll monitor for a week and update what happened.
#3
01-15-23, 08:46 PM
Group Moderator
You have a gas pack unit. It is packaged and is outside. It is connected to the house via a supply and return duct. That means the packaged unit cannot cause an odor to appear in only one register. Since it uses a common supply duct..... what ever odor it generates must appear at every register. You may only notice it more pronounced at one location but there is nothing mechanical in the duct that can generate its own odor.
Some techs have mentioned a zone damper could cause an odor. It is distinctly possible but with most motorized dampers... the motor is outside the duct.
Therefore I have no idea what you could be smelling coming out of only one register.
Some techs have mentioned a zone damper could cause an odor. It is distinctly possible but with most motorized dampers... the motor is outside the duct.
Therefore I have no idea what you could be smelling coming out of only one register.
#4
01-17-23, 06:12 PM
I agree 100% PJ. It makes no sense that the smell was only coming out of one vent one day, and another vent another day. It should be present from every vent, but it wasn't. My wife and I both confirmed it was coming out of a single vent each day.
We don't have any type of zoning going on.
We haven't smelled it since I replaced the filters on the first floor, but I think that's just a fluke. I'll post back in a few weeks and give an update. Thanks for replying.
Andy
We don't have any type of zoning going on.
We haven't smelled it since I replaced the filters on the first floor, but I think that's just a fluke. I'll post back in a few weeks and give an update. Thanks for replying.
Andy
#5
01-17-23, 06:18 PM
Member
My first thought (once you ruled out a mechanical issue) was dead critter...it's location might explain why the smell only comes from certain vents, depending on duct layout, A long shot I'm sure, but something to think about.
#6
01-17-23, 06:50 PM
The seal between the HVAC unit and house is very tight (including caulking), so nothing getting in there. We do have a sealed crawl space and there is one small vent (about 5"-6" across) that pushes just a little bit of air into the crawl space. When it's blowing, there would be a tiny opening enough for a mouse to get into, but given the entire space has about 12mil of plastic and foam sprayed on all walls, I don't think that's likely in our case.
