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Old equipment - What is that smell??!

Refugee

Refugee

Hurricane Refugee
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I have some 50's-60's gear that has that certain antique electronics smell. In some ways I love the smell in small doses. It reminds me of good times when I worked at a recording studio with some friends or when I acquire some new piece of tube gear to work on. There are some pieces, however, that really smell - not cigarette smoke - or old rat piss - No, this smell is electronic.
My question is; What parts do you think the smell comes from? Is it the old paper caps? the transformers? the wire jackets? resistors?? - What part could be replaced to get rid of this smell in particularly strong smelling units?
What components do you think carry this smell?
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It happens even on gear that has been cleaned and re-capped. I think its hot varnish in the transformers. Modern transformers don't quite have the same scent. Probably something that causes cancer that they quit putting in electronics in the 70s.

I worked in an old power plant when I was in high school, our hangout spot was the disused original control room from the mid 1920s. The whole place was loaded with varnished wire and old transformers, and it had that very specific smell you're talking about.
 
Gadget probably got it: old transformers and their varnish insulation. I was four years old and received my first train set for Christmas. The hot transformer's fragrance was exotic and somehow energizing for me. After all, it meant playtime & fun. I've only noticed the same smell from a few very old power transformers.
 
gadget73 said:
It happens even on gear that has been cleaned and re-capped. I think its hot varnish in the transformers. Modern transformers don't quite have the same scent. Probably something that causes cancer that they quit putting in electronics in the 70s.

I worked in an old power plant when I was in high school, our hangout spot was the disused original control room from the mid 1920s. The whole place was loaded with varnished wire and old transformers, and it had that very specific smell you're talking about.
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This is what I thought it was too. Either transformers or the vinyl wire coating, but I think I have smelled it in units that were all cloth covered wire. I just got that Voice of Music VM-1450 that we discussed on another thread and although the unit is very clean it has more of that smell than most of my old gear.
 
gadget73 said:
It happens even on gear that has been cleaned and re-capped. I think its hot varnish in the transformers. Modern transformers don't quite have the same scent. Probably something that causes cancer that they quit putting in electronics in the 70s.

I worked in an old power plant when I was in high school, our hangout spot was the disused original control room from the mid 1920s. The whole place was loaded with varnished wire and old transformers, and it had that very specific smell you're talking about.
Click to expand...
The old cloth covered wires can smell too. Maybe the wax and dust that oozed out of them? I can't say I hate that smell though.
I did hate working on computers owned by heavy smokers though.
Everything inside covered in nicotine tar and dust sucked in by the cooling fans. I had to wear latex gloves just to work on them. I couldn't wait to get them off my bench.
 
When my neighbor passed his kids let me have what was in his electronics workshop. I got boxes and cans of historic electronic components of all kinds and the smell is very distinctive and almost overwhelling! And yes, it does have a formaldehyde-type odor recognizable from college anatomy courses.

Probably the bakelite.

Bakelite:
A hard, infusible, and chemically resistant plastic, Bakelite was based on a chemical combination of phenol and formaldehyde (phenol-formaldehyde resin), two compounds that were derived from coal tar and wood alcohol (methanol), respectively, at that time.
 
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some plastics have their own smell. When it starts smelling sour like old socks or vinegar, thats usually the plastic breaking down. Have thrown out screwdrivers that get sticky and smell like vomit.
 
Upon reading the title of this thread the following lyrics popped into my head and won't leave:

Hoo-Hoo that smell, Can't you smell that smell, Hoo-Hoo that smell......

That and I can almost smell that smell just from reading this.
Maybe I'll fire up the old Lionel train set under the Christmas tree for a sniff while I play some Skynyrd. :biggrin:
 
I personally think it's a mixture of everything mentioned above; dust, varnish, plastic (and in some cases wood), pretty much everything it's made of, with the years of dust all getting warm. We've likely all seen the joke pic of a candle that smells like "burnt resistor" , perhaps someone can create one "Audiophile's Dream" ..... :D
 
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