Ozone Generators?

[Latitude9.5]

Anyone ever used one in their boat? I am wondering what it would do to keep the odors down, I know they use it to kill odors in mold in houses, it was about the only way to rid the 'cane damaged houses of mold.

I am wondering if it would be a nice addition as far as keeping mold and odors at bay, I am just willing to spend the cash on it if it won't!

This is one of the more informative sites i found, kind of hard on the eyes, but it has a lot of info.

http://www.air-zone.com/

[Alan Wheeler]

Do a search. A long time back we had discussion on Ozone Gens. Nothing really conclusive, but some interesting discussion.
It would be interesting if they worked, but my fear is that enough ozone in a damp confined space will enhance corrosion of anything that can corrode. Ozone will corrode anything and everything. Including your lungs. you don't want to be breathing the air from these things in a confined space. There are a lot of cases in the medical world of people having sevear respretory issues from breathing Ozone enriched air in offices with photocopy machines.

[Lodesman]

I agree with Wheels - as I recall, ozone "eats' rubber and plastic. I would wonder what that would do to fibreglass?

Kevin

[irwinsailor]

A bilge buster is a ozone generator marketed for boats.
I have a Alpine air that I use. It is not a cure all. If your head hoses are bad it will not overcome it but it does a nice job freashing up my boat. Our boat smells so much better that I rarely us it any longer.

[Rick]

I've used ozone generators in vacant rental houses to rid any lingering pet odors or that "closed up" smell that can develop. It definitely works. Like Wheels I am very reluctant to install one for any time on my boat for the reasons cited.

Yes, vinegar works for me as well and I leave a few slow speed fans turned on in the more confined spaces with 3-4 fans running in the winter to keep condensation down and it works, including one that blows along the top of the bilge area (with a good air exit point). The "stock" fans come with those plastic guards to keep fingers out so I cut most of the guard pieces off of the back guard and totally remove the front guard. The result is about 2 to 3 times less air drag for the fan overall to give you much better cubic feet per minute flow. Try it.

[Alan Wheeler]

Cpn Scott, perhaps if we approach this differently. So what is causing the odors, is it just dampness? Rick has suggested some good tips. For me, having the luxury of shore power, I have a dehumidifier operating all the time. It is simply magic.

[Latitude9.5]

Yea i was planning on going the dehumidifier route, not really any particular smell, just the usual boat smell from moisture and of course there's always a bit of water in the bilge.

What kind of dehumidifier do you run? Something portable?

[Alan Wheeler]

Yep it's portable, but it has uses a compressor for cooling. There is a mini version around now, that uses those peltzier devices to do the cooling. Maybe they work, but I can't see how they can be efficient enough.
We plug our drain into our water tank">fresh water tank and all the moisture drains back to a tank. Some people plug it into a sink drain, but seeing as it is "distilled" water, why wast it. I also occasionaly collect the water and use it for battery top up. Some say you shouldn't as there will be airborne particles in it, but I don't see it as any different to rain water. In fact, from inside a boat, the air should be particle free anyway.

[Pun Pun]

From doing years of HVAC service work, the ozone smell is not new. any electronic air filter or Ion filter produces it to some degree. the most noticable was the Honeywell electronic air filter in home units. when installing new units in houses the biggest complaint was a "wierd" smell, it was ozone, Honeywell had a fix. cut a jumper wire, which reduced the effectiveness of the unit, so it would not produce so much ozone. Newer buildings that are being built as Green buildings have the same issue.
My understanding is ozone is a natual gas, but can "displace" oxygen, not real sure on that one.

[hellosailor]

Scott, I think the end question is always one of balance. Ozone is good for killing things--but too much kills the rubber and plastics and larger critters too.<G> Then there's the New Age Cult Gizmo side of it, making it out to be magic beyond chemistry. If ventilation and such won't kill the critters...by all means, ozone is an option, just try to phase in "just enough" of it.

[Alan Wheeler]

Ozone = 03
It has a spare oxygen atom, making it what is called a triatomic molicule and this makes it extremely reactive in oxidising just about anything. Gold, iridium and I think platinum are the only metals it won't react with.
Any other metal it reacts with readily.
Ozone also reacts highly with rubber and is used in industry to test rubber.
It is a strong bleaching agent and is used extensively in industry for controll of Bacteria and yeasts. At ground level, Ozone is highly toxic to just about everything. It damages plants and animals. It affects our lungs and would you believe, it turns cholesterol in our blood to plaque causing the hardning and restriction of arteries.
Yet without Ozone in our upper atmosphere, nothing on the earths surface would survive. It filters UV radiation.

[hellosailor]

Wheels, isn't that incredibly just like water? Can't live with it, can't live without it. <G>

[Alan Wheeler]

Yeup!!
I see it as the miricle that our planet actually is. Just enough of something, not too much of something else, just far enough away, just close enough, spins just right. When you look at the complexity of what is required to support life, it is actually mind blowing how complex the planet is in it's make up. Even down to the fact that it has a molten iron core that produces a magnetic field above it, that without that, life would be litteraly blown of the face of the planet. This plante we live on, is nothing else other than a miricle.