A smell like burning paper...

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
...near my little cave unit. Nothing is smoking or even warm to the touch. But it's disturbing.

I have turned it off for now. My current plan is to let the room clear a while then sniff again.

Anybody had a similar experience?
 
My old unit smelled like that before the cooling tubes broke. You might want to leave the temperature a little higher.
 
originally posted by Yule Kim:
My old unit smelled like that before the cooling tubes broke. You might want to leave the temperature a little higher.
Thanks. This particular unit has always worked so well that I usually keep the knob only halfway between "Off" and "Normal" (and never anywhere near "Max).

I am already hitting Google to see who carries a new model in my neighborhood.
 
You could have a non trivial amount of dust on the coils. Might be worth powering it down, getting access to the back of the unit and inspecting the coils. An air compressor is usually the best way to blow them off.

You may have also noticed your unit being cycled on more of late? The dust will inhibit the heat transfer which will make the coils run hotter which will make the unit run more which will make the coils hotter which will make it smell like burning dust....
 
as I recall you bought your (identical) unit about 6 months after I did (1997? 98?). I should probably start thinking about what I'd replace mine with if necessary.
 
originally posted by Jay Miller:
as I recall you bought your (identical) unit about 6 months after I did (1997? 98?). I should probably start thinking about what I'd replace mine with if necessary.
October 1999.

Avanti still makes a similar unit. Of course, my space is more limited than yours; you could do better now.

By the way, they do have on-site service.
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
You could have a non trivial amount of dust on the coils. Might be worth powering it down, getting access to the back of the unit and inspecting the coils. An air compressor is usually the best way to blow them off.

You may have also noticed your unit being cycled on more of late? The dust will inhibit the heat transfer which will make the coils run hotter which will make the unit run more which will make the coils hotter which will make it smell like burning dust....
I have not noticed the unit cycling more often. It is very quiet and I am not often in its room long enough to hear a cycle.

Also, the back of the unit is basically closed except for access to the compressor -- there are no coils like a traditional fridge.

But I took your idea to heart, grabbed a soft whisk broom and swept out what I could reach and turned it back on. No more smell. So, your Dust Accumulation theory appears to be supported. I will monitor the unit more closely for the next few days.

Thank you!
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
originally posted by Josh Beck:
You could have a non trivial amount of dust on the coils. Might be worth powering it down, getting access to the back of the unit and inspecting the coils. An air compressor is usually the best way to blow them off.

You may have also noticed your unit being cycled on more of late? The dust will inhibit the heat transfer which will make the coils run hotter which will make the unit run more which will make the coils hotter which will make it smell like burning dust....
I have not noticed the unit cycling more often. It is very quiet and I am not often in its room long enough to hear a cycle.

Also, the back of the unit is basically closed except for access to the compressor -- there are no coils like a traditional fridge.

But I took your idea to heart, grabbed a soft whisk broom and swept out what I could reach and turned it back on. No more smell. So, your Dust Accumulation theory appears to be supported. I will monitor the unit more closely for the next few days.

Thank you!

You definitely have coils in there, they are probably just internal to the unit. I don't know if the unit can be opened up to get at them. I have had this issue with a home fridge that is a fancy built in jobber and with a wine cooling unit both, and in the case of the home fridge, it took me a few hours to disassemble shit to get to the coils, but a few hours beats a $1000+ ....
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
You definitely have coils in there, they are probably just internal to the unit. I don't know if the unit can be opened up to get at them. I have had this issue with a home fridge that is a fancy built in jobber and with a wine cooling unit both, and in the case of the home fridge, it took me a few hours to disassemble shit to get to the coils, but a few hours beats a $1000+ ....
Oh, yes, I know the coils must be there. In fact, I think they run up and down both sides of the unit because the sides get warm when the compressor is running.

Of course, it isn't clear to me how dust would get in, as the unit is pretty much sealed up.

Anyway, if the fragrance does not return, I am not going to wield my screwdriver in haste.
 
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