Paraffin smell from gas cooker

[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]

In article <1107377862.8...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,

"The Weary Wizard" <mark_ho...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> Today for the first time, I have picked-up a smell of paraffin when
> using the gas cooker.

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

[Mary Fisher]

"mike" <mike...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:mikengac-35F1DF...@newsfe2-gui.server.ntli.net...

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.

[chris French]

In message <1107377862.8...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, The
Weary Wizard <mark_ho...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>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?
>

Ours did this once - a good clean of the oven sorted it.
--
Chris French, Leeds

[The Natural Philosopher]

The Weary Wizard wrote:

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]

"The Weary Wizard" <mark_ho...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1107377862.8...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> 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?
>

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

--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

[Mary Fisher]

"Bob Mannix" <b1o...@mannix.org.uk> wrote in message
news:ctspfl$tks$1...@blackmamba.itd.rl.ac.uk...

>
> "The Weary Wizard" <mark_ho...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1107377862.8...@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> 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?
>>
> 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.

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]

"Mary Fisher" <mary....@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:42020e62$0$2657$4c56...@master.news.zetnet.net...

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. :(

[robkg...@lineone.net]

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

[tarquinlinbin]

On 2 Feb 2005 13:01:41 -0800, "The Weary Wizard"
<mark_ho...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

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]

"The Weary Wizard" <mark_ho...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1108048291....@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

> Very interesting and illuminating. Thanks for that.
>

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

[Janders]

replying to tarquinlinbin, Janders wrote:

> braantispam wrote:
>
> On 2 Feb 2005 13:01:41 -0800, "The Weary Wizard"

> 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.

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

--

[Andy Burns]

Janders wrote:

> On 9 Feb 2005 tarquinlinbin wrote:

>
>> On 2 Feb 2005 "The Weary Wizard" wrote:
>>
>>> Today for the first time, I have picked-up a smell of paraffin when
>>> using the gas cooker
>>

>> 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
>

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

If the cooker didn't kill him nine years ago, I suspect it's been
replaced a couple of since then ...

[Brian Gaff]

Eh, 2005?
I'm sure there is a time warp around here...
Brian

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[Davey]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2014 08:32:41 -0000
"Brian Gaff" <brian...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Eh, 2005?
> I'm sure there is a time warp around here...
> Brian
>

No doubt about it, there are frequently old messages surfacing
unexpectedly.

--
Davey.

[Brian Gaff]

Does not google gropes have a date on the posts then?

Brian

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> It's usually morons responding to things on Google Groups. Another reason
> that GG sucks.
>
>
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[Janders]

replying to Andy Burns , Janders wrote:

> usenet.feb2014 wrote:
>
> If the cooker didn't kill him nine years ago, I suspect it's been
> replaced a couple of since then ...

Ok<
I'm not being funny, I just can't seem to find any information about this
anywhere else,
information posted on a thread in 2005 still might have some relevance
now??? Or does fact have a sell by date.
The reason I'm interested is not for the safety of the guy who posted 9
years ago, I have a gas hob that has just started smelling of paraffin and
is making me feel light headed to cook on,
if it is mono ethylene glycol added to the gas as an antifreeze and to
prevent corrosion (see
http://www.westfalia-separator.com/applications/oil-gas/mono-ethylene-glycol-meg.html)
then smelling it burning on your hob isn't a good thing! This report by
the World Health Organisation spells it out;
http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad45.pdf
basically its toxic to inhale,
so why the f**k isn't anyone talking about how s**t this is? Just opening
a window seems a bit lame when I'm standing over the flame cooking and
breathing.
I was hoping for a response from someone who might know something about
this, as this is the only thread I've found that mentions the addition of
Mono ethylene glycol to gas.
Any takers?

--

[Tim+]

I think your tinfoil hat has slipped.

Tim

[Phil L]

Janders wrote:
> Ok<
> I'm not being funny, I just can't seem to find any information about
> this anywhere else,
> information posted on a thread in 2005 still might have some relevance
> now??? Or does fact have a sell by date.
> The reason I'm interested is not for the safety of the guy who posted
> 9 years ago, I have a gas hob that has just started smelling of
> paraffin and is making me feel light headed to cook on,
> if it is mono ethylene glycol added to the gas as an antifreeze and to
> prevent corrosion (see
> http://www.westfalia-separator.com/applications/oil-gas/mono-ethylene-glycol-meg.html)
> then smelling it burning on your hob isn't a good thing! This report
> by the World Health Organisation spells it out;
> http://www.who.int/ipcs/publications/cicad/en/cicad45.pdf
> basically its toxic to inhale,
> so why the f**k isn't anyone talking about how s**t this is? Just
> opening a window seems a bit lame when I'm standing over the flame
> cooking and breathing.
> I was hoping for a response from someone who might know something
> about this, as this is the only thread I've found that mentions the
> addition of Mono ethylene glycol to gas.
> Any takers?

I occasionally get a whiff of something when first lighting a ring on my
hob.
It's only temporary and I put it down to the initial bit of gas not burning
properly, once the flame is established it disappears quickly, but that
first whiff tends to stick in the nose a bit - it's similar to having a
spoonfull of english mustard.

[Johny B Good]

Now you know why you should have _originated_ your own thread rather
than make it look as though you were responding to a 9 year old one.
You could even have just posted using the same subject name (minus the
re: prefix).

You can be thankful that you even got any sort of response at all.
Most of us can't even be arsed to waste time even to make a brief one
liner response to someone who appears to be answering a 9 year old
usenet posting since the 'fun at the poster's expense' has gotten so
old.

You'd have been taken far more seriously if you _had_ started a new
thread and mentioned that that 9 year old usenet post was the only
info you'd been able to track down despite a protracted search (we
tend to be more sympathetic to those who have at least made _some_
effort in gathering their own evidence rather than just jump in with a
question they could have easily answered for themselves by a judicious
use of a search engine or three).
--
Regards, J B Good

[aminah]

replying to mike, aminah wrote:
Hey I just seen your comment,I was varnishing yesterday in kitchen on these
biggish wood cabinets now I can smell that parafin kinda of smell today when i
turn oven on is this because of the varnishig am just worried as I have a 2
year old. Thanks x

--
for full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/paraffin-smell-from-gas-cooker-149393-.htm

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 27 January 2017 12:44:04 UTC, aminah wrote:
> replying to mike, aminah wrote:

> Hey I just seen your comment,I was varnishing yesterday in kitchen on these
> biggish wood cabinets now I can smell that parafin kinda of smell today when i
> turn oven on is this because of the varnishig am just worried as I have a 2
> year old. Thanks x

AIUI the paraffin smell is combusted hydrocarbons, and your vanish is probably hydrocarbon petroleum distillate based. I've never heard of anyone claiming paraffin heaters to be toxic to 2 year olds.


NT

[Brian Gaff]

A two year old what?

Brian

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[Brian Gaff]

Only if they drink the tank contents.

Brian

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[Fredxxx]

On 27/01/2017 12:44, aminah wrote:
> replying to mike, aminah wrote:
> Hey I just seen your comment

You've had 12 years to see the OP's comment. Why now?

[Andrew]

On 27/01/2017 16:52, Brian Gaff wrote:
> A two year old what?
>
> Brian
>

Replying to a 12 year old original post !!!!.

[Marion]

This happened to us after caulking windows. Very distinct paraffin smell. The curing silicone + combustion caused the smell.

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/paraffin-smell-from-gas-cooker-149393-.htm

[Unknown]

Marion was thinking very hard :

> This happened to us after caulking windows. Very distinct paraffin smell. The
> curing silicone + combustion caused the smell.

No doubt the smell will have gone in the 16 years since the original
question was posted.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa)]

That of course depends on what actually caused it.
Brian

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[Andrew]

Possibly because she has a gas hob and the sealant is giving
off some volatile sunstances that are then burnt by the gas
hob flames causing the smell. Usually happens after painting
internally with oil-based paints.

Andrew