[Shop-talk] unnerving burnt smell

[Jimmie Mayfield]

On Fri, Jul 06, 2007 at 11:52:44AM +0000, mark at noakes.com wrote:
> I'm getting a very unnevering burnt wood smell in my family room that I 
> cannot find the source of. (I haven't run the table saw or the 
> fireplace in quite a while.) It's very faint and not continuous. While 
> I do have a gas water heater in the basement/garage, I'm worried about 
> something electrical. The house is 19 years old.
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can find the source 
> before it becomes disasterous? I guess I'll pull all the outlets in 
> that part of the house this weekend to see if there are any issues.

If your local fire department is unwilling to let you borrow/rent their
thermal imaging camera, you can use a stethoscope to find tiny arcs in 
the wiring inside the wall.  A few years ago I used one to chase down what 
turned out to be a loose wire nut in a junction box.  

You mentioned that you have a fireplace.  Are you smelling burnt/burning wood
or are you smelling the typical ash smell of a chimney with a downdraft?  In
my experience they are very different smells (the latter of which quickly
gives me a headache).

Jimmie