Burning smell from new trailer furnace

[RV_Bound]

We just turned our furnace on for the first time in our new Puma 23FB and the trailer smells like smoke and the smoke detector even went off. It even seems smokey in the trailer. It seems like more than just burning off the newness. What could it be? The CO2 detector did not go off.

[Farm_Camp]

mileshuff wrote:
We have a new trailer as well and have not used the furnace yet. On our next trip we'll probably need it at night. Should we open the windows and turn it on low while we go out for a few hours? I sure don't want to breathe that smoke while there!

Not sure I'd leave it unattended for hours with the windows open but the general idea is that you will needs lots of venting while it breaks in.

We had the same thing - horrible smell and it set off the smoke detector. I have an autistic kid that does not react well to sudden very loud sounds... So... We ended up sleeping overnight without the heat that night for the sake of domestic tranquility. LOL.. It got down into the lower 40s(F) but we all had sleeping bags and it worked out.

The next morning I pulled the battery out of the smoke detector while I ran it through a few on/off cycles over a couple of hours or so with the doors and a vent open. The next night the smell was almost 100% gone and no more alarms. Thank goodness... Next year I'll know to give it a break in run or two in advance!

If you can just go fire it up now before your trip for a hour or two (let it cycle on and off several times and vent it.) Then you'll have no issue when you get out camping.

[dodge_guy]

Our TT`s (we`ve bought 2 brand new) had the burning smell too. they will need to run for a few hours to burn off the Manufacturing oils. and even after that it will still smell a little bit! I would recommend running it before a trip. better to burn it off in the driveway rather than in the middle of a trip!

[mileshuff]

We have a new trailer as well and have not used the furnace yet. On our next trip we'll probably need it at night. Should we open the windows and turn it on low while we go out for a few hours? I sure don't want to breathe that smoke while there!

[mkirsch]

Vegetable oils themselves might not be toxic, but the SMOKE from vegetable oil is as toxic as smoke from a wood fire.

It's not the "one whiff and you're dead" toxic. More like mildly toxic, like if you breathe it for decades you'll end up with lung cancer toxic.

Obviously you won't be breathing the smoke for decades, so it's nothing to worry about.

[spadoctor]

The oil should have been burned off already if the dealer had done a complete and proper prep. That being said, a neighbor found nuts and acorns on the heat exchanger causing a smell. Turns out mice can enter the trailer thru the duct that is openended in the basement for ank heat.

[Lynnmor]

Had a burning smell from a furnace in a new trailer once. Turned out that the idiots left the paperwork on top of the furnace. I told a fellow camper that had the same model as mine and he found the same thing.

[sbowman871]

Yep, CO2 wouldn't have gone off.

[Reddog1]

Moved from TC Forum.

Wayne
Moderator

[Buzzcut1]

I thought this was the truck camper forum?

Although I do realize that we are a most resourceful group.

[ScottG]

FWIW, it's just vegetable oil so it's non-toxic.

[DutchmenSport]

Ah, I remember that from our first TT and second TT! Our first was a total shock! It smelled so bad we couldn't stay in the camper. It took about an hour to burn off the oils. We called the RV dealer the next day and he explained it to us.. perfectly natural ... it will get better! Let it run, open the windows, air it out. In a couple hours and once the camper airs out, you'll be fine!

Our last TT (our Outback), the dealer completely prepped it. When we fired up the furnace the firs time, there were no smells. They'd already done that between the time we signed and 3 days later when we picked it up. Sweet.

Perfectly natural ... just let it run a little and pull the batteries from all the detectors so they'll shut-up!

[sclark]

The heat exchanger is coated with oil in order to prevent oxidation. The smell is normal until the oil is burned off of the surface. Good luck with your new rig.

[kohldad]

Should be normal. Even on older units, it is not uncommon to get a slight burn smell the first burn of a season. This is from the dust build up.

However, to be safe, look at the areas you can to make sure nothing was left laying up against the combustion chamber. If there is a drawer above it, lots of time you can pull it out to look down into the area.

[SCVJeff]

RV Bound wrote:
---snip-- The CO2 detector did not go off.

That's a good thing. Otherwise you would have a problem!