What is that smell coming from my furnace???

[6kitties]

Now that the weather is turning colder, hubby and I decided it was ti1me to fire up the furnace in the '71 Trade Wind we bought a couple of months ago. It appears to be the original Suburban and it started right up and worked fine. Hubby put the front cover back on and just as we thought we were all set we started smelling something akin to burnt rubber. We have tried cleaning around it and have removed the insulation that was behind it looking for anything suspicious. We don't think there is anything plugging the venting since we can feel air passing through. The odd thing is that we only get that smell when the front cover is attached, uncovered there is nothing. We have tried this a few times to make sure we aren't hallucinating. Has anyone experienced something similar or maybe offer some advice? Thanks!

[TBRich]

Not sure it's the same for your situation, but when we fire up the furnace for the first time or so in the "furnace season" it has a definite odor...sort of like "burning off the summer dust" smell. It takes a while for it to go away. If the smell persists for you perhaps you should have it checked out...just to make sure nothing is amiss.

[6kitties]

Thanks, it's definitely not that first-of-the-season smell. The odd thing is that it only happens once the front cover is attached. We ran the furnace for at least 5 minutes this evening before replacing the front cover and then that burnt rubber smell started within 30 seconds.

[whitelight]

Do you have other vents/heat outlets that come off the heater? You may have something else "stuck" in one of the vents. When you place the cover on the heater, it "forces" the hot air into the vents. Whatever may be in the vent heats up & produces an odor.

[6kitties]

Thanks, we are going to explore the two vents coming off the furnace. They don't seem to be plugged because we feel air circulating from them, but who knows. Now all we have to do is figure out what to use to explore inside the venting. ;-)