Smell Mystery

Tornado

Well-known member
May 7, 2019
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usa
Yea I'm curious if this would actually be propane, or just your septic tanks vent stack. Have you tried climbing up and taking a little sniff at the vent stack just to see if it smells the same to you? Foggy mornings will hold smells like this. I have always noticed here in Florida, in the winter, smells are so much stronger in the winter, and it is because of how the temperature drops at night and we have more dew and more fog. I feel like I can smell fires for miles in the winter. I would try to verify you are smelling propane. If you feel it is definitely propane I would remove all propane tanks from my property and see if the smell persists.
 

aaluck

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L4400HST, Bush Hog 276, RDTH60, Speeco PHD, etc
Oct 9, 2019
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Snowdoun, AL
I can't believe your fire department doesn't have a gas sniffer. I thought all of them did. We had them 20+ years ago when they were expensive. Last I checked, all our pumpers have them on them.

That surprise me.
That is extremely surprising and extremely dangerous. They are sending men into a fire, or potential fire, without knowing if there is a potential gas leak?
 

RCW

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BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Apr 28, 2013
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Chenango County, NY
Just swingin' a guess, but as others said wonder if it's another odor similar to ethyl mercaptan.

Gets concentrated in the heavy, foggy mornings.

One thing that comes to mind is skunks some distance away. Another is sewage system vent, as Tornado said.
 

Tornado

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May 7, 2019
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usa
Just swingin' a guess, but as others said wonder if it's another odor similar to ethyl mercaptan.

Gets concentrated in the heavy, foggy mornings.

One thing that comes to mind is skunks some distance away. Another is sewage system vent, as Tornado said.
Im glad you mention skunks because that is another smell that just seems to carry in the air a lot more in winter here in florida. I just wonder if he's actually smelling propane or something else.
 

Kurtee

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BX2660, BX2680 cab, JD 2032R, Honda 5518, JD X590, JD X739
Oct 3, 2013
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Nicollet, mn
A gas smell is not something to mess around with. A propane leak underground follows the path of least resistance and can find its way into a basement where it will pool until a source of ignition is found. Find a gas detector somewhere and locate the leak. Better yet have the neighbor with the tank check it out. Get the propane tanks off the porch. A propane explosion demolishes the structure above the ground level. My brother had a house that blew up and killed one resident and badly injured the other one ending with an ugly lawsuit that also involved the propane supplier. Here a propane system is required to be tested periodically. The propane suppliers do this.