Diesel smell

[Pete]

And here I go...first night on the boat last night, wanted the full experience. When I first came on board I notice some residual diesel aroma. I opened some windows but there was no breeze, so it took a while for it to go away. Never fully went away.

I found a topic on this forum where people have had leaking aux tanks, etc. I did not see any leaks nor did the survey pick up any fuel leaks. When we did the sea trial I noticed a bit of the smell but I also dont know how long the boat was sitting closed up. After we drove it around, the only thing I smelled was residual exhaust, or so i thought.

How normal is this and does it really require a lot of cleaning? Curtains, carpets, bilge, etc.

Maybe I'm just being a little paranoid. The boat goes to the yard for survey punch list items on Monday. I will bring this up to them for further digging.

Any recommendations on what to tell them or what look at specifically? Thanks in advance!

[Midnightsun]

The smell must be coming from a certain area. The easiest way would be to open the engine compartment and see if the smell is more pronounced. If so you at least know where to start to look. Once you do find and fix, I would not worry too much about the lingering smell in the boat as it will disappear over time. The key is the fix and any residual clean up in the bilge. Could be as simple as a leaking fuel filter or fitting, no need to worry just yet.

[Viper]

Was fuel put into the tanks recently? If so and that seems to be when the smell started, check the fuel fill hoses from the deck fittings to the tanks, same goes for the tank vent hoses. Hans is right though, there could be a leak anywhere and it doesn't take a big leak before you start smelling fuel, it could be a very small leak, even a leak that's so small it doesn't drip but just sweats the area/fitting etc. Could be hoses, tanks, filters, fuel system components on the engines or generator, fuel transfer pump or lines, etc.

It could be a current issue or a previous one. In my experience, diesel smell in the cabin takes a while to go away, especially if there's been a leak for an extended period. The odour permeates all soft goods on board and is a pain to get rid of but can be done with commercial ionizers. As stated though, find out first what's going on then take it from there.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Cooler]

Definitely advise the yard. Just to be more optimistic, it may be exhaust. If the engines haven't run in a while, sometimes they are really smoky and result in more odor until they are run for a while. A friend of mine has this issue if his engines sit for a couple weeks without running, but it goes away when they warm to temp and he runs them for a bit. There was one time last summer when he did not run for a month. When he stated up, we all thought his boat was on fire based on the amount of smoke he generated, but it was just exhaust. If it is just an exhaust build up, get some Kanberra Gel deodorant. Place the container(s) in the salon. Odor goes way much quicker, and does not smell like a cover up odor. Works for all types of odors. er

[Pete]

No fuel has been recently added, I snuck out of the office early to do some work remotely. While on the boat (my remote location), I started sniffing around, nothing obvious and the odor was not as strong as the day before. I opened up windows to see what the breeze could do and 5 hours later it is there but a lot less pungent. Getting my punch list together for the yard and hopefully this gets resolved. To be continued...

[Viper]

Fingers crossed for you that it's not a condition that will linger forever. On that note, are you sure it's a diesel smell and not permeated waste lines or stagnant water from the bilge or shower sump? I've had people confuse one with the other.

[Pete]

Source of the post Fingers crossed for you that it's not a condition that will linger forever. On that note, are you sure it's a diesel smell and not permeated waste lines or stagnant water from the bilge or shower sump? I've had people confuse one with the other.

I dont know for sure, I am deferring to my broker to investigate further. My neighbors tend to stink up the air at times when they idle, but they are great neighbors to have.

[bud37]

Fun fact.....the odor threshold for diesel fuel is 0.7 ppm.....the human nose can pick that up..... ... Like has been already said , a very , very small amount will produce a detectable odor....lets hope its a line or valve.

[Pete]

We have a plan..going to inspect Monday at the yard, complete paint and repairs, on the way to the slip: pump out forward waste tank (mid-level), fill diesel on forward tanks (practically empty now), return to slip, open all hatches, inspect, clean the hell out of everything, fix whatever needs to be fixed, shampoo and detail, keep fingers crossed.

[Pete]

Well the plan worked, sort of, but now there is more..
Can anyone explain the fuel return lines from the engines to the tanks and fuel tank selector manifold plumbing? Or maybe is there a diagram? We fixed a few small leaks at the manifold but there is still fuel appearing in the cockpit lower bilge. No fuel in the engine compartment bilge. There is also a weeping from the starboard aux tank sending unit but I don't see that traveling down anywhere, probably about a cup of diesel in the bilge. I will dig through my manual but a good explanation of how its supposed to be used might point me in the right direction. Then there's the fuel transfer pump plumbing. Trying to get an understanding of what's supposed to take place. Thanks.