Funky smell

[suelbyrne]

Looking for help pinpointing what a smell is from, we are out of ideas. It's coming from an area around the water pump for our freezer. We've replaced that, a couple times, smell still comes and goes. We have had people on the boat that have told us it is not the batteries. One thought it was from the bilge, but we can't figure out why it comes and goes. It sometimes smells when the pump is running but not always, sometimes smells when the pump isn't even on. It's not really a smell that would come from the head but we checked all piping and the holding tank and it's not that. Sometimes it smells when we are sailing, sometimes in port and sometimes at anchor. Having such a hard time gettng rid of it when we can't figure out where it comes from.
Any help anyone has would be so appreciated! Thanks

[sailorboy1]

you get a "funky" smell anyplace that has gotten wet from a seawater drip etc

clean and flush the area

[gonesail]

did you replace the hose from the freezer? if so maybe you need to look at the freezer hose fitting and see if it is leaking or rotten. follow your nose.

[tkeithlu]

Hmmmm. Thinking out loud here. Not burning insulation, not volatile hydrocarbons, not sewage. Those are all readily recognizable smells. That suggests water-based organic. Expect it to be in a place that is wet, with the wet contaminated by organic material. The freezer itself would be a suspect because organic crud accumulates in them and may thaw. I think I would clean the inside, outside, and where the pipes go through the insulation, and if it's fiber insulation, I'd be suspicious of the insulation itself. Use bleach; nothing survives it. Could you have had a leaky package of chicken? Rotted chicken blood makes an absolutley nauseating smell.

[JPA Cate]

If you haven't already done so, check the drain line. Some fridges have a drain to the bilge, if that line is partially plugged with organic matter, it WILL stink. As the plug biodegrades, most of it will eventually get into the bilge, where the automatic pump will pump it out occasionally.

Many monos have shaft seals that drip a little sea water down to the bilge, and that can smell "funky" too. There is teflon packing that you can buy for the seal that does not drip, so you can get rid of that, if it is the source.

Ann