Geothermal heat pumps have been in use since the 1940s, heating and cooling homes in the Coatsville area efficiently and thoroughly. Of course at 30 below there will be condensation from any fuel, so we see white smoke all over. The odorless, white steam or smoke coming out of your air conditioner is probably excess water stored in the heater box. Being in the basement during a white ghost is like being in a gas-filled room when a gas leak ignites and results in a combustion explosion. If the combustion has been rich for a while, then you only notice the smoke when the boiler blocks with soot. This white smoke problem, which was also mentioned in Dumas (1994), is often asso- ciated with high concentrations of acidic gases or fine particles as described in Damle et al. This may not be good. Truly gray smoke is most frequently caused by burning transmission fluid. Same thing does not happen for my outside vent when my heater is on. [Structure] A gas integrated with a heat exchanger for preventing white smoke, a wet gas cooling mechanism in the lower part of the device, and a dust removing mechanism in the upper part along the exhaust gas path of high humidity exhaust gas generated from the combustion furnace Cooling and dedusting equipment will be installed sequentially. Little plumes rising straight up from among the trees where you can't even see a building. But diagnosing where it came from is notoriously hard. Excessive furnace soot causes the heat that the appliance produces to go up into the chimney instead of … One of these gases is carbon monoxide. If it is the pipe that goes straight up then it is just an exhaust for plumbing. Naturally, your furnace emits a slight odor, but a prominent “what’s that smell” odor is not natural and should be taken seriously. If you can get to where your furnace flue is, look for signs of moisture. Exhaust Color Diagnosis. I'm not sure about a hot water furnace, but am getting some feedback on other forums that it may indicate a bad mix of fuel/oxygen or a hole. My question is: Of late I have noticed that when the boiler starts up, there is a lot of what appears to be steam or white smoke coming from the flue, this lasts a few minutes and then stops. They generally occur in oil boilers and furnaces, and are the result of excess unburned or partially burned fuel oil igniting, which blows a cloud of soot out of the boiler and into the room. Puff-backs are a separate issue, and considerably more serious issue than regular soot buildup. Just like gas, oil can also burn incompletely with no visible evidence. Your furnace and water heater which are most likely both gas, vent out to your chimney. Most of us have observed the great clouds of black smoke spewing out a stack. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, practically odorless, and tasteless gas or liquid. They use the constant temperature of the earth for their heat transfer medium instead of the outside air temperature as air-source systems utilize. It could be hot water from a shower or the dishwasher. When replacing my own oil steam boiler, I learned that white smoke was a bad thing, perhaps indicating a crack or hole in the boiler and steam was going out the chimney. Unfortunately, because ‘gray’ is such a wide color band, it can be a minor variant of any of the other colors or its own thing entirely. (1987). There are different levels of white smoke/steam which could be a normal occurrence. Even your fireplace would not produce smoke if it was converted to gas. In the first zone, the plume is diluted and cooled by the wind. A flue-gas stack, also known as a smoke stack, chimney stack or simply as a stack, is a type of chimney, a vertical pipe, channel or similar structure through which combustion product gases called flue gases are exhausted to the outside air. When the fuel-air ratio skews to … It could be a cracked tank and water is getting on the heating iron. Black smoke is an indication that your air-fuel mixture is running rich. 2 Exhaust gases must be vented away from indoor spaces so the occupants don’t breathe them in. In fact, with regular maintenance efforts, you can keep your gas fireplace more or less completely soot-free. DO NOT cover or plug it!. One of the most attractive features of gas fireplaces is the fact that they produce relatively little soot and smoke compared to their wood-burning relatives. If the baffles are blocked, then the burner will only take in as much air as it can exhaust, but will still put in the metered amount of oil, hence the smoke. No smoke means that nothing is burning. Within a matter of a minute or two, smoke will begin to exit the furnace through any furnace opening (leak). If it is actually some kind of smoke with a gas furnace something is wrong and call someone immediately. That's right, you are actually running the air conditioner. If there is too much air to fuel ratio, smoke will most certainly pour into your home and will smell like oil. Incomplete combustion can also be detected in white smoke and, with heavier oils, accumulations of carbon deposits in the furnace. A normal furnace relies on the stack effect, to carry hot exhaust up and out of the building.Since high efficiency furnaces extract most of the heat from the exhaust, the exhaust must be forced out. I agree with most everyone. Valve Guides: Excessive clearance between the valve stem and the valve guide allows the oil to leak past the gap into the cylinder. One of the clearest signs is a white powdery “precipitate” built up at the joints in the pipe. A small amount of white smoke is normal, but black or dark smoke coming from your boiler is a sign of a potentially serious problem. [A]using a smoke gauge to measure the amount of carbon in the smoke by putting a test hole into the vent 2/3 distance from furnace to draft regulator. Is it very light black smoke? These are possible symptoms and causes: Valve Seals: Leaking valve seals will cause blue/gray exhaust smoke. How to diagnose oil burner smoke, smells, or odors: These diagnostic questions and answers can help you diagnose heating oil burner odor or smoke complaints. Also the reversing valve shifts from the heating mode to the air conditioning mode. Rated 5 out of 5 by VicD from Gas leak detection spray I found this to be an excellent product, well worth the money. I see it all the time. What Causes Gray Exhaust Smoke? This wouldn't disappate as fast, and would be more like oil smoke from a car. The leak may be from your furnace, but you should not investigate it. The following furnace issues require professional expertise: Excessive soot: Soot is a problem that can occur with gas-fired and oil furnaces. White smoke around here means something is being burned to keep the building warm. Bluish-tinted white smoke? When an engine heats up under normal driving conditions the exhaust system will get hot as well. Gas leaks are a very common cause for explosions. Smoke testing is an excellent method for revealing poorly soldered or Excuse me if I use the wrong terminology...but I have a fuel-oil furnace that white smoke appears through the burner after the burner shuts off and the blower is still running, after about 45 seconds...white smoke starts to come out of these small holes on the burner and fill the basement with white smoke and smell like fuel. By making the outdoor unit the condenser, the warm refrigerant gas … The formation of white smoke happens in the plume after a distance downstream of the stack. Sometimes so much that the exhaust pipes have actually fallen completely apart and the exhaust is just pouring out into the crawlspace below the house. What to do: Do not investigate the issue. Gray exhaust smoke is a bit of a mystery. the byproduct of gas burning is water which condenses into steam when it meets cold air. Causes of Black Smoke in a Boiler. posted by JJ86 at 6:30 AM on December 8, 2006 The expression probably was first used in plumbing in referring to tests for the detection of cracks, leaks â ¦ Smoke Color: white Very happy customer. (57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent low temperature corrosion of a white smoke prevention air heater. It's a high efficiency gas furnace, and that's the exhaust vent. A white oily smoke, however, would be unusual. Hello, I notice smoke from my neighbor's furnace vent (outside one which is in the roof) in the early AM or night when their furnace/heat is ON. This article series describes the cause and cure for just about any odor or smell at or near an oil burner, where it comes from, what it means, and what needs to be done about it. Sooty Boilers, Furnaces, Water Heaters: Cause, Problems, Cure - How to inspect the oil fired heating equipment for soot build-up Dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning if there is soot production at gas fired heating appliances How soot build-up causes higher heating costs on oil fired heaters Why is soot build-up potentially dangerous on heating equipment? Blue/Gray Exhaust: Blue/gray exhaust is an indication of oil burning in the combustion chamber. The steam or vapor collected during the process of condensation could … If this a type of gas furnace it is not normal, if it's hot air escaping then you're losing heat through your vent. Your successful reading will be 0 to 1, referring to an approved smoke scale. That is the principal indication of incomplete combustion of oil. Black Smoke. Steam does not equal smoke. Check your water heater if it is gas. A sudden change in smoke color from black to white, accompanied by a strong smell and taste of fuel oil, is a warning sign of the white ghost. If so, then it is exhaust or steam from the water heater heating up. A small amount of water is produced as a normal bi product of the combustion process and until the exhaust system warms up the water evaporates and can be seen as steam. This happens all the time irrespective if it is very cold outside or not. SOLUTION: A white smoke prevention air heater 11 for heating white smoke prevention air by exhaust gas is interposed in an exhaust gas path between a gas cooling device 3 and a bag filter 2, and a white smoke prevention air heater 11 is provided. What would be causing this. Gas engines are designed to run with just the right combination of fuel and air to create the most efficient conditions for combustion when spark is introduced. Yet from time to time, a gas fireplace may produce excessive amounts of soot. 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