paraffin smell from gas cooker

[The Weary Wizard]

Today for the first time, I picked up a whiff of paraffin when using my gas cooker.

What could this be, and should I be worried?

[The Weary Wizard]

Today for the first time, I have picked-up a smell of paraffin when using the gas cooker. What actually could this be, and should I be worried?

[mike]

Have you been gloss painting or varnishing? Could be the solvents, in which case the smell will be gone tommorow.

[The Weary Wizard]

Today for the first time, I picked up a whiff of paraffin when using my gas cooker.

What could this be, and should I be worried?

[Mary Fisher]

Anything with solvents would have the same effect, in my experience. It's not nice but it does go.

I make polish using oil of turpentine. Thank goodness for the extractor!

Mary

[The Weary Wizard]

No. It's odd really. It starts when I start to burn gas on the stove or in the oven, and the smell wanes after 3 or 4 minutes.

I'm simply concerned in case there is some kind of safety issue I should be addressing.

[MrBlueSkye]

Check the oven incase your daughter has left her legwax hair remover in there

>

[chris French]

In message , The Weary Wizard writes

Ours did this once - a good clean of the oven sorted it.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Is there any oil used in the house anywhere?

I had oil leaking under the floor and the UF vents pulled it in when the heater was sucking air fr combustion.

[Bob Mannix]

Ours does it as well sometimes. It's not solvents or any external substances and it can't be requiring a clean of the oven (not that ours is that clean) because it comes and goes and has done it after a clean. I don't have an answer, it just does it sometimes and not others. I would suspect impurities in the gas but that seems unlikely.

At any rate you are not alone and ours has been doing it (occasionally) for ages and hasn't shown any other symptoms so I wouldn't worry too much (unless it ceases to be occasional/gets worse). I would be interested to know:

The make of cooker The area of the country you are in

[Mary Fisher]

If there are no other obvious reasons I'd still suspect impurities in the atmosphere rather than the gas. Even if you can't smell them they could produce odours when burnt.

Mary

[Bob Mannix]

Well, yes, except it's not "odours", it's definitiely paraffin (as the OP will testify, I've no doubt) and always the same on each occasion. It's also binary, ie it's either there or it isn't, no real "just a bit" and it will go in a shorter time than any air impurities would have.

Probably won't get a solution but at least the OP knows it's not just him!

[The Weary Wizard]

Hi there! It's a Flavell, and I'm in South East London.

Thanks for your input. Part of me is inclined towards thinking that the real time to worry, is when you can detect such a smell when the cooker is NOT in use, but I suppose it's just made me a bit jumpy.

I must admit the 'impurities' hypothesis occurred to me too, though with my lack of knowledge of such things I couldn't really say.

[The Weary Wizard]

No. I haven't used anything like that, hence the bemusement. :(

[robkgraham]

Just to add an other element of interest in this discussion, my gas hob is on a bottle from Calor Gas, and yes every so very rarely I've noticed the same too and wondered about it. There is no pattern that I can recognise and it's pretty infrequent. Interesting theory about something in the air; I must think about that when it happens the next time.

Rob

[The Weary Wizard]

LOL. It certainly won't be that.

[tarquinlinbin]

It is either: solvents which have been released on the premises and which are being burnt by the flame eg paint thinners etc

or

Monoethylene glycol entrainment from the distribution system. This chemical is injected into the distribution system in areas which have high densities of cast iron mains with socket/spigot joints. It helps plug leaks in winter when the gas prssures/flows are increased. Sometimes too much goes in or it pools and is taken up by the gas stream. Nothing can be done,just keep the window open when cooking and it should fade eventually.

[The Weary Wizard]

Very interesting and illuminating. Thanks for that.

[Bob Mannix]

And from me! How refreshing, a to-the-point response from someone who knows something ;o)

[Janders]

Isn't this stuff pretty bad for you if you breathe it in??