Office smells

[Bruce Volden]

OK, heres my question background.

I have a heated (propane) office I use to manage the South Dakota winters. I often bring WW'ing projects into the heated area (glue ups, staining...) for proper "curing".

When I come in after just several minutes the whole area smells terrible. I am wondering why??? It's almost unbearable and very offensive. I have always wondered if there is a chemical reaction going on between the burned propane and the WW project. The smell is always the same and doesn't seem to bother anything (me or the plants AFAIK). It doesn't matter what I use on the wood-BOL, stain, finish...the odor is there.

I will note the wall mounted heater is an unvented model and has worked great for over 10 years and is quite economical. The plants (spider plant, wax plant) both thrive. Me, on the other hand, have learned to give the space 24 hours to "clear the air".

Come on smart guys, help me out....please.

Bruce

[Sonny Edmonds]

My tool partner and I had a problem in our rolling office this morning.
The smell was really bad!
Then I realized I had farted. :o
I am thankful though. At least it was dry. :eek: :D

[Steve Clardy]

OK, heres my question background.

I have a heated (propane) office I use to manage the South Dakota winters. I often bring WW'ing projects into the heated area (glue ups, staining...) for proper "curing".

When I come in after just several minutes the whole area smells terrible. I am wondering why??? It's almost unbearable and very offensive. I have always wondered if there is a chemical reaction going on between the burned propane and the WW project. The smell is always the same and doesn't seem to bother anything (me or the plants AFAIK). It doesn't matter what I use on the wood-BOL, stain, finish...the odor is there.

I will note the wall mounted heater is an unvented model and has worked great for over 10 years and is quite economical. The plants (spider plant, wax plant) both thrive. Me, on the other hand, have learned to give the space 24 hours to "clear the air".

Come on smart guys, help me out....please.

Bruce


Not sure about the reaction smell.
How about installing a bath vent fan maybe?


My tool partner and I had a problem in our rolling office this morning.
The smell was really bad!
Then I realized I had farted. :o
I am thankful though. At least it was dry. :eek: :D


So it was you. :mad::D
ROFLOL :D

[Sonny Edmonds]

Yep. Sorry Steve.
Seems most of the rest of the nation is "downwind" of California, where I happen to be.
Just light a match, the stink will go away. :o

[Lee Schierer]

I think your nose is telling you to be careful. I would invest in a CO detector. Your plants won't care how much oxygen is present in the office and may be thriving due to high CO or CO2 levels. Non-vented heating equipment in a confined space is asking for trouble. Even the burner needs less O2 than you do. I found this warning at a propane website: "Propane has a strong, unpleasant smell like rotten eggs, a skunk’s spray, or a dead animal. Propane manufacturers add the smell deliberately to help alert customers to propane leaks, which can create a safety hazard."

Be careful, get your system checked.

[David G Baker]

Bruce,
If it smells the way you described you may have a serious problem. As Lee suggested get a CO detector or at the very least get a canary and use it instead of your plants to tell if your environment is hazardous.

[Jim Becker]

There is an unvented wall unit at the barn/stable that we ride...and I can't stand being in the room with it if that room has been closed up. There is a definite "difference in the air" and a subtle odor. I agree with David that you should do a serious safety check and have a working CO detector in the room.

[David G Baker]

My 30x40x10' pole barn is heated with a Modine 75k BTU ceiling mounted forced air heater that I keep set at around 50 degrees when I am not working in the building. The heater uses shop air for its air source. If I haven't been in the building for a few days the air has a sharp nose burning odor to it. I keep a CO detector in the building and its alarm has never gone off but I am not comfortable with the smell so I leave the walk through door open for a while to let in some fresh, sometimes very cold, air into the shop. If I ever replace the heater I will replace it with one that uses outside air as its supply.

[Bill Keehn]

SE South Dakota? Don't worry -- that smell is Iowa. :D

But seriously, you shouldn't be able to smell burned propane. Can you describe the smell? What sort of wood are you building with? It's not Zebra wood is it?

[Paul Atkins]

Unvented? What size is the office? You are burning the solvents that evaporate off the wood. I have that smell when I put something in the kitchen to dry just from the stove pilot lights. Not pleasant. Probably not safe.

[Mike Circo]

Paul has it pegged.

I get the same thing if I use my oven (upstairs) the same day I finish a project in the basement. The fumes get throughout the the house, but you don't really notice them. When the oven burns the air permiated with the evaporated solvents, I get a strong chemical smell. It is similar to a solvent smell, but different and more pronounced.

I can't comment on the danger, but it is at the least irrating.

[Bruce Volden]

Paul / Mike

That may be it-the solvents in the WWing stuff mixing with the burned propane!!!! I know for a fact the CO levels are fine as I have a brother who is a fire marshall and he checked things out with his "sniffer" (not his nose:eek:)

My office is only 12' X 17', 10' ceiling w/fan. It is very tight (foam insulation) and there is a CO sensor on board the heater (ComfortGlow). The odor is ALWAYS the same whether I am using BLO, stain, poly, varnish.... NOTE: I do not apply the finish in the office only let it dry down here.

Well I'll keep checking back in and seek more info. Thanks guys!!

Bruce

[Dewey Torres]

Bruce,
Put a seal coat of shellac on you project, let dry and then bring it into the room. Shellac is a very good smell killer.

[Sonny Edmonds]

Maybe my butt needs a good shellacking? :eek: :confused:
Naw, I don't think even that will help. :rolleyes: :D

[Lee Schierer]

You can change your method of finishing. I use a solvent based brushable lacquer for all my furniture. I applied a coat last night in my unheated garage at 9 degrees F., it was 12 F. the day before. By tonight it will be dry enough that I can rotate the project and apply the finish to another side. I have zero fumes in my house and the finish will turn out just as good as if it were done in a heated room. If parts need sanded between coats, I can bring them in the house, do the sanding and take them back out side for the next coat. Solvent based stains will also dry in the cold. I've done this for over 30 years with few problems. The only difference is that it will take longer to fully cure.

Note the only problem is on porus wood like Red Oak the finish that gets down in the pores doesn't cure as fast as that on the surface. If you bring it into a heated area, the air in the wood can push out this uncured finish and form bubbles. Longer drying times are all that is needed.

[Darryl Hazen]

... I found this warning at a propane website: "Propane has a strong, unpleasant smell like rotten eggs, a skunk’s spray, or a dead animal. Propane manufacturers add the smell deliberately to help alert customers to propane leaks, which can create a safety hazard."

Be careful, get your system checked.


The "rotten egg" odor is from mercaptan. If you can smell it then you have unburned propane in the area. Completely burned propane will not smell of rotten eggs.

[Frank Hagan]

That may be it-the solvents in the WWing stuff mixing with the burned propane!!!! I know for a fact the CO levels are fine as I have a brother who is a fire marshall and he checked things out with his "sniffer" (not his nose:eek:)


You wouldn't smell CO anyway ... it is odorless. If it was unburned LP gas, you would smell it in the room when you don't have a woodworking project in there. So I suspect that Paul and Mike are right. The heater is burning the solvents as they evaporate.



My office is only 12' X 17', 10' ceiling w/fan. It is very tight (foam insulation) and there is a CO sensor on board the heater (ComfortGlow). The odor is ALWAYS the same whether I am using BLO, stain, poly, varnish.... NOTE: I do not apply the finish in the office only let it dry down here.


You should double check this. I think it probably has an "ODS" pilot (oxygen depletion sensor) and not a CO sensor. The difference is pretty substantial.

Also check the manual; you must provide ventilation and combustion air if your room is of "unusually tight construction" according the manual for one of their gas heaters (see the PDF file at http://12.153.20.74/manuals/123995-01C.PDF if you don't have the manual handy.) Your brother's test was a "point in time" test and doesn't measure what will happen if the oxygen in the room starts to get depleted. Long before your ODS shuts off the pilot, you could have levels of odorless, colorless, non-eye-irritating CO in the room that could cause injury.