How Do You Control The Diesel Smell In Your Cabin.

[Julie Mor]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

I prefer the simpler solutions .... keep my bilges clean and dry.

Ahhh, the old clean and dry trick!

[DeepFrz]

I hate to admit it boatpoker but your engine room is cleaner than my kitchen.

[Mr42]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

...it's not of any service to the question just to dismiss it by saying keep it clean and don't have a leak.

I think you just said what I was trying to express, only I was grumpy and tired and let my frustration with other things get the better of me.

Thank you.


Peace.

[Mr42]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

That's sarcasim isn't it

Maybe...


Peace.

[Mr42]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

And of course, the fact that his practice of pumping a kero/diesel/sandalwood mixture overboard would earn him an enormous fine in the USA and many other places, likely even in the land of the long white cloud... totally illegal, and not very nice, either!

Great advice... NOT!

Jim

I'm only advocating this technique in an emergency situation, which an inboard diesel leak can quickly become. Oil is slippery stuff which doesn't help you obey the first rule of solo sailing- don't let go of the boat.

The only time I did this, I was solo in force 12, somewhere hundreds of miles off the South Island's east coast. I'm glad it worked and I'd do it again, if faced with the same dilemma.

I don't begrudge you your ignorance and I apologize for the manner in which I last commented.



Peace.

[boatpoker]

Can't see it in the photo but I do have a large drip pan under the engine. If I ever do have leak, I simply remove the pan from the boat and deal with it on shore.

I also filled all limber holes in the frame members and stringers (about 60 of them)so leaking fluid of any kind would be isolated and never make it to the bilge. This also quickly identifies they location of any leaks to be addressed.

And the stuffing box .... I cut a plastic coke bottle along one side and trimmed the ends to fit over the stuffing box & shaft then placed a small drip pan under that, it gets emptied after every run.

You may also notice that I am in the long slow process of painting the the big Volvo white, all the better to get leaks early.
I accept nothing less than a sparkling white, dry, odor free basement.

So ... I disagree, the simplest answer is ..... keep it clean and dry.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

My boat is properly maintained and meticulously clean. As a twenty year liveaboard I have never had a diesel odor.

I like your removable engine sump pan idea and others, like myself, who would not be able to move a catchment basin out from under the small space could keep an absorbent pad there.

I believe my original dismissal of your your advice as too simplistic came from this quote above. Diesel odors come from leaks and, if you never had a diesel odor in twenty years, I had assumed you never had leaks. My concern was the thought that cleanliness would prevent leaks.

Apparently, you've had diesel odors, but not diesel odor problems and I'm in full agreement that the odor problems are best controlled with your "clean and dry" plan.

Part of my "clean and dry" plan in my smaller engine space is the use of a cheap, flexible, child's fishing rod. I clip paper towels or rags to the end of this and I can wipe my sump and check for any source of a drip.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

I like your removable engine sump pan idea and others, like myself, who would not be able to move a catchment basin out from under the small space could keep an absorbent pad there.

I believe my original dismissal of your your advice as too simplistic came from this quote above. Diesel odors come from leaks and, if you never had a diesel odor in twenty years, I had assumed you never had leaks. My concern was the thought that cleanliness would prevent leaks.

Apparently, you've had diesel odors, but not diesel odor problems and I'm in full agreement that the odor problems are best controlled with your "clean and dry" plan.

Part of my "clean and dry" plan in my smaller engine space is the use of a cheap, flexible, child's fishing rod. I clip paper towels or rags to the end of this and I can wipe my sump and check for any source of a drip.

If you look very closely at the photo I posted you may be able to see that every single fuel, oil and water junction has a small piece of paper towel wrapped around it held in place with masking tape (I think you can see a few on the generator). The paper towel is checked daily (takes 2 minutes) and at the slightest hint of dampness the issue is addressed. My wife had dozens of life threatening allergies and we simply could not afford dampness, mildew, mold or any kind of hydrocarbon odors on board.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Mr42

I'm only advocating this technique in an emergency situation, which an inboard diesel leak can quickly become. Oil is slippery stuff which doesn't help you obey the first rule of solo sailing- don't let go of the boat.

The only time I did this, I was solo in force 12, somewhere hundreds of miles off the South Island's east coast. I'm glad it worked and I'd do it again, if faced with the same dilemma.

I don't begrudge you your ignorance and I apologize for the manner in which I last commented.



Peace.

I'm sure glad that you don't mind me being ignorant... you see, your post was in answer to a query about how to mitigate diesel smell in the cabin, something that might not be an issue in a F12 at sea, hundreds of miles offshore. I ignorantly thought that you were suggesting a solution to his problem, a solution that is illegal and generally unacceptable. I didn't then nor do I now think your method is good advice for the OP or anyone else either.

Jim

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

................
.................. every single fuel, oil and water junction has a small piece of paper towel wrapped around it held in place with masking tape ........ and at the slightest hint of dampness the issue is addressed. ...........

This is an interesting idea. I've used a similar technique to identify the source of portlight leaks, but not in my engine room. I have used the talcum powder trick....



The photo of this "snail trail" doesn't show the oil pressure sensor above that proved to be the leak source, but the puff of talcum powder did the job.

[Sandero]

I'd like to revive this discussion. This Spring I discovered diesel (half gallon in total) in several port side bilges. They do have limber holes from one to the other and in the after section into the engine room bilge on CL.

When I saw some "red" in the engine room bilge I assumed the engine had a leak. I was wrong. The diesel had migrated from one of the port bilges. On the port side aft is the fuel tank. I suspect this is the source of the leak. But what is leaking? I will find it but I also need to remove the diesel smell. I suppose lots of grease cutting soapy washes? PLEASE advise.

Now on to the leak discovery. The tank is topped up. One assumption is the leak is from the top where the fuel pick ups are and they are under the fuel level when heeled to starboard and would ONLY leak when the tank is probably more than half full and heeled to starboard.... sort of like a leak in a jar top only when you tip the jar when the cap is not properly screwed shut...

If there is no evidence of leaking now I will suspect that that the leak is in near or at the top of the tank... such as around the fuel pick ups... That is reasonably easy to test and replace/repair.

The Espar pump is also in the fuel tank bilge... and it does represent another possible pressurized leak potential. This too is fairly easy to test.... paper towels under the entire "run" from tank to Espar and look for drips of diesel when the Espar pump is running.

My biggest "fear" is a pin hole or crack in the stainless steel fuel tank at the bottom or at a place I can't see. If I eliminate all the above as the leak source... it would have to be the tank... and it would have to be emptied, tested, repaired and reinstalled. YUCK... that's a biggie.

Any comments or suggestions?

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Sandero

...If there is no evidence of leaking now I will suspect that that the leak is in near or at the top of the tank... such as around the fuel pick ups... That is reasonably easy to test and replace/repair...

Don't assume, because some scenario is easy to test and repair, that is what must be wrong. By all means eliminate the simple troubleshooting first. But it sounds like a fuel tank pressure test is in order.

How old is the tank? If the problem is with the fuel pickup, you should discover wetness around it.

[Sandero]

It's not practical to not have openings between bilges at least in my boat... plumbing and wires need holes to make their way around the boat.

It's a cool idea to "wrap" all liquid connections with a paper towel perhaps held by a cable tie as a tell tale of a leak. But this may be rather unpractical as well as there are so many joints/connections and under floor boards and so on... checking on them would be a very time consuming task... not to mention applying them all. Does it make sense to do this to some connections? And we haven't mentioned accessibility either.

[JPA Cate]

Sandero,

So sorry to hear of your leak. We once had fuel leak out around the fuel guage for the tank. Topical application of Marine Tex fixed it. We had an aluminum fuel tank that got a pinhole in its forward lower corner. That was repaired by forming part of an aluminum beer can and epoxying it on. Both of these were "bush repairs."

I agree with TN that you have to play detective, that is to say, search for an anomaly like wetness or a "snail track", without a pre-conceived notion of where you'll find it--or them, as there may be more than one source to what you found.

Once the leaks are found and fixed, then a good scrub with TSP and hot water should remove the smell. If it has permeated the cushions, take them home, give them a good soak with detergent but don't use hot water unless you know the fabric will not shrink; then air dry them.

Good luck with it.

Ann

[Sandero]

Thanks for the comments. I can't tell whether the smell is embedded in the foam or textiles on board.... these things do seem to attract them and hold them.

I have some strategies to locate the leak... eliminating the suspects one by one... picking off the easier ones first. It could be multiple places as well so even if the first try shows a leak it doesn't mean there isn't another one.

I suppose pressure testing the tank makes sense... if I know how... I could pour soapy water over it and look for bubbles.

I've got all the escaped diesel cleaned and so if more shows it looks like a "low down" location for the leak... not fuel pick ups. Maybe the fill connection is bad and that's at the bottom. If there is no evidence of escaped diesel it would be something "high" or perhaps the pressurized Espar fuel "system".

If it appears after some serious heeling it would point to some connections (fuel pick ups) at the top.

Tests begin this weekend.