Odor is driving me crazy!!!!

[sorendach]

Hoping that someone else has experienced this! We bought a 2005 Jeanneau 40.3 last year which had been used very little the prior two years. The boat was, and is spotless but.....when I first open the gangway hatch there is a strong odor with a "chemical" tint to it. I've stored all cushions/mattresses at home and scrubbed every square inch inside and sprayed a biocide/mold killer everywhere to no avail. I've installed a solar powered vent exhausting, a powered fan blowing into the boat, all to no avail. We needed new batteries so installed 4 AGM's. We leave fans running in the forward and aft cabins when not on the boat, as well as the AC. The holding tank has 1 gallon of water and chemical in it, and the vent is clear. The odor was there last year and at the beginning of this year with an empty holding tank.

None of my dock neighbors have any idea what is causing this. I would think that any chemicals/VOC's in the materials would have gassed off well before now.

The odor drives my Admirals asthma crazy to the point she can't spend the night on the boat and I'm fresh out of ideas.

Thanks in advance, fingers crossed!!

[Tafika II]

Have you replaced the "rubber" piping in the heads? They tend to get nasty and retain odors if not flushed with freshwater. The only real way to tell if they are creating the odor is to remove one end...then you'll definitely know. Any dead decaying animals in the darkest reaches of the bilges?

[sorendach]

Have not replaced head hoses. Former owner installed electric head with new hoses 3 years ago. I did place a damp rag on the hoses a let it sit a few days. It did not smell. No dead critters. I have stuck my nose in every nook and cranny on the boat and can not identify any "hot spots". I also installed a sump with condensation to handle the AC condensate drain. I've flushed every drain including shower sump with biocides/mold killer.

thanks for the suggestions. I take it there are no known problems with this vintage of Jeanneau relating to my issue?

[puravida35]

Our 2005 vintage SO35 also had a very strong "plastic" odor for several years. It is still noticeable if the boat has been shut up for an extended period of warm weather (have a lot of that here is Texas). It can cause your eyes to water when at it's strongest. A sailing friend once commented that he liked the smell, but he owned a fiberglass repair and was very much at home with the odor (probably smelled like money to him). He said the resin must still be "kicking"... what ever that means. I assumed it must have been dissipating VOC's from original build... But was surprised how strong and long the odor lasted. Just hope my life span will not be shortened by the amount of time spent breathing the sir in the boat

[rjet]

Had much the same experience with my 2001 SO 40 which was pre-owned by only 6 or 7 months, so virtually new. My wife could not stand the odor and commented on it each time we entered the salon.

My broker felt it was due to the "mold release agents" or some such, I think he referred to it as "wax."

I wish I could say we found a solution. It took lots of cleaning of EVERYTHING, every surface we could reach, installing air conditioning and most obviously, the passage of time. Things seemed to be acceptable to my wife about 2006 or so if I remember.

I am watching a marina neighbor literally emptying his SO40.3 of everything and cleaning all surfaces for the same reason. Not sure yet if he is successful.

I wonder how common this problem truly is. An explanation and/or solution proposed by Jeanneau, if indeed it is a function of manufacturing, would be a breakthrough.

[sorendach]

Greetings Roger. I have literally emptied haven't I.

[patryk221]

I've replaced the cheap and nasty hatch vent with a solar vent, keeps the boat free from any smells and humidity, best investment ever 

[dolphinchaser]

You might check coolant hoses and cap on coolant tank.

[Deleted]

I think it has to do with the resin. When I did an anti osmose threatment to my previous boat I was told to add parafin to the final layer of resin in order it to cure. I think you can compare it with houses which are threated with poly urethan for insulation. It sometimes happens that it won't cure and the house becomes unuseable.

I think it will simply need time because you probable cannot reach any bare grp which is breathing this oder. This probably also the reason why the previous owner sold the boat after hardly using it.


Could this be a warranty issue towards Jeanneau. Perhaps there are some legal options.

[Xlnt]

I have heard that a small bowl of vinegar removes nasty smells fast and effective. Put a bowl in each room for a week and see if that helps.

Rgds

-XLNT

[rjet]

To: Sorendach:

Hi Scott, didn't realize this was you. How is the battle? Any improvements? Keep us up to date especially if you have stumbled on a solution or demonstrated one recommended by the board.

[alenka]

Maybe, it's your shower drain hose that had split allowing shower water to drain into bilges!?!

[tedp]

One source of a 'chemical' smell in my boat is the hot air ducts of the heating system. Even though the heater has been installed for several years, when switched on in chilly weather the hot air ducts produce a faint acrid smell. This persists for a long time even after the heater has been switched off. I don't even notice it any more.

[chuckr]

first sorry to hear about your problems -- we have a Jeanneau ds40 built in 2000 launched in 2003 and never an issue --
we have been out now 7 years and when we put the boat in a marina and go home to visit the kids, when were in the caribbean where the heat and humidity will turn a boats inside a mess quickly,  we put a lot of vinegar in bowls all over the boat and then when we get back we wipe down the entire inside of the boat with a combination of lemon juice and vinegar --

you might want to try leaving open containers of vinegar all over the boat when you leave and see if that helps -- it worked for us

good luck and let us know

[5124woodje]

Hoping your problem is fixed.??
i am having the same issue .... 2006 SO40.3
really bad bilge smell  throughout the cabin and can even smell it prior to going below deck
cleaned every inch of the floor and bilge below the floor boards

help!?

[ianpowolny]

Jeanneau set up the fridge drains to run in to the bilges. Are fridge stoppers in place? We never take ours out now but use the engine oil vacuum pump to drain the fridge.

[sailbleu]

Jul 6, 2015 12:39:50 GMT ianpowolny said:

Jeanneau set up the fridge drains to run in to the bilges. Are fridge stoppers in place? We never take ours out now but use the engine oil vacuum pump to drain the fridge.

Bad move Ian , this way you get far more ice on the evaporator. And inside it aswell. .
More ice means less freezing and therefor more energy consumption

Regards

[ianpowolny]

Sailbleu, I don't understand why keeping the fridge drain stoppers in, increases the amount of ice built up on the evaporator plate . Please give more detail. Ian

[vasko]

Jul 7, 2015 18:54:33 GMT ianpowolny said:

Sailbleu, I don't understand why keeping the fridge drain stoppers in, increases the amount of ice built up on the evaporator plate . Please give more detail. Ian

It is like at home if you leave the fridge door little bit open the fridge builds ice.,. I do not know the sciantifuc explanation

the effect of open drain on the bottom of the fridge is like door not closed properly at home fridge and the cold air is heavy and it escapes throughout the drain...

[dublin]

Sailbleu and Vasko
you need to read what Ian said.
He leaves the bung in at all times thereby stopping the cold air spalling out the bottom

[hoppy]

This thread is a timely reminder for me

Over the past month I've had a slow build up of ice around the evaporator plate killing the fridge performance. So a on the weekend I got a couple of bags of ice to keep everything cool whilst I defrosted. After it was all done I opened up the drain plug. Today I noticed that the performance already dropped and ice built up. Had to do another quick defrost and put the plug back in.


On the smell issue... Isn't there a the potential for odours to come from the toilet system if the holding tank or hoses are made of the wrong materials? I think some materials are water tight but porous enough to let through odours

[sailbleu]

Jul 7, 2015 18:54:33 GMT ianpowolny said:

Sailbleu, I don't understand why keeping the fridge drain stoppers in, increases the amount of ice built up on the evaporator plate . Please give more detail. Ian

All has to do with fysics Ian.
Ever heard of freeze-drying ?
This is where you use a (very very ) cold surface to dry food . Yes even cold can dry something completely .
The principle of a deumidifier , or an airco.

Leaving the water in the fridge will create a kinda humid enviroment in your fridge , that humidity will condensate an freeze on the evaporator , building layer upon layer.
As you well know , ice is an isolator ( think about the eskimo's igloos) , much ice on the evaporator will reduce the absorbance of heat , because that is what is happening in a fridge , you take away the heat.
Now there is a bit of a catch here , normally the thermostat is hard connected to the evaporator thus feeling at all times the real temp of the expanded refrigirant , but due to much ice built up the heat inside the fridge ( comming from the casing/walls and food/drinks you put in) will not be taken away . Thereby increasing the around temp inside.
After awhile , eventually the thermostat will warm up and the compressor will start up.
That will repeat itself over and over and over.
If however you have the thermosthat on a different spot , as I have done ( see H & T topic problems frigoboat ) the effect will be immediatly.
In both cases the comp. will work more and the cooling effect will be less , all because of ice on the evaporator.
Ice that got there , from vegetables , fruits , often opening the fridge and so on. But also water inside the fridge !!

Back to the water in the fridge now , the bigger the surface - meaning a large amount on the bottom - the more water gets to the evaporator.
This is osmosis. , nature finding a balance. The air in a fridge is normally very dry (water freezes on the evaporator remember) therefor watermolecules will transfer from the puddle of water in the fridge to the dry surrounding atmosphere in the fridge all finding its way to the evaporator.

I could be mistaken of course , but I have my serious doubts much cool air will be evacuated through the small drain underneath.
But I do know for sure much water in a fridge will be drawn to the evaporator like iron to a magnet

Regards

[erkan]

So Sailblue do you reccommend to leave the bottom hole open for better and efficient cooling? So far I was doing just the opposite...
Brgds, Erkan

[sailbleu]

Hello Erkan ,

Who am I to recommend , but I do keep the drain open.
Maybe this issue is worth an experiment , having an analytical mind myself this becommes intriguing .
What if we , or I , could slide a temp sensor in the fridge drain all the way up to where it's connected to the fridge.
Check the temp on a regular basis for lets say 24 hours.
Do that on both accounts , plugged and unplugged , and see if there is a substantial difference in temp. between the two options.
That way we would know for sure if cold is leaking away through the drain at a serious rate.

Having the kids onboard for the rest of the month leaves me absolutely no time for personal pleasures such as fiddling around and investigating whether ' to be plugged or to be unplugged '
No , but as I said , it's intriguing and would be intresting to find out .

It would be great if someone already has done the test

Regards

[hoppy]

After the quick defrost this morning the fridge very quickly dropped from 9.2c down to 4.9c. After a long hot day it's back up to 7.4c and there is a very noticeable ice build up already.

Whilst I agree with SB's evaluation about why the condenser freezing over because of the water in the fridge, I don't think it matters whether the plug is in or out. I've never really found much water in the bottom of my fridge, certainly not enough to warrant opening the plug to let it out.

I started with a bone dry fridge with plug in and it took 3 week until the ice built up to cause unsatisfactory temperatures . Recently when I had to empty out the water from the ice used to keep the food cool during defrosting, water remained around the plug area anyway.

Whilst I've never accumulated water on the bottom, In my fridge however, there has always been small amounts of moisture on the shelves and on the food and bottles and I think it is this moisture that is sufficient enough to cause the freezing over.

Unless you always get a regular buildup of water on the bottom of the fridge, I think you are best off leaving the plug in to prevent cold air escaping and maybe smell (attempting to connect to the threads subject ) .

To minimise the condenser freezing over you need to keep it as dry as possible. If you wash food before putting it in the fridge, dry it. Perhaps it's also a good thing to regularly use a sponge/towel and dry the fridge out .


I have defrosted once again (now know how to do it quickly) and then emptied and dried the fridge and it's contents. I would rather make it bone dry leaving it open for a few hours, but that's not an option. The plug will remain in and I will try to follow my own advice from now on