Water Heaters - Smell by gas control knob

I recently installed a new GE 40 gallon gas water heater. I noticed a very faint smell coming from around the gas control knob/pilot ignitor on the thermostat. The only way I can notice the smell is if I put my nose right up against the control knob/pilot ignitor. I had a plumber and my local gas company check for leaks and neither of them found any.

Would anyone know what the smell would is? Is it something I should be concerned about? It almost smells like gas but since there are no gas leaks, I’m not sure what it would be.

Thanks!

The sniffers that the gas company uses are far more accurate than the human nose, so I suspect things are OK. What you may smell is the pipe dope used to seal the pipe threads.

How long would it take for the pipe dope to dry? The water heater was installed on 12/11.

I'm pretty sure that it's not gas that I'm smelling but I don't know what it would be?

Thanks for the help!

You have a trivial odor that is not a hazard as determined by a skilled tradesman using suitable testing equipment.

I might add I used to inspect for gas leaks when I worked for a gas utility.

My suggestion: quit worrying yourself about this.