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Rotten egg smell


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#1 wodpof

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 03:24 AM

I had the camper plugged into shore power and had the refrigerator on while I was spending the night in it in my back yard. Trying to figure how everything works before I take it on the road.  The propane alarm went off in the middle of the night so I closed the propane valve, opened some windows  and waited outside for the alarm to silent. The propane light extinguished so closed it up and went inside my house to get some sleep. When I opened it up hours later the propane and carbon monoxide alarm was beeping and it smelled like rotten eggs. I turned off the fridge, opened up the windows and turned off the fridge while disconnecting the shore power. After letting it air out for 15 minutes the alarm was off and the red lights were no longer illuminated. 

 

What could be the issue? 


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#2 MarkBC

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 03:49 AM

You mentioned being plugged into shore power with the fridge on.  Was the fridge running on AC or on propane?

 

"Rotten egg smell" -- sulfur compounds -- sure sounds like the odorant added to propane.  But was the propane already off in the "hours later..." incident?


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#3 wodpof

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 04:36 AM

You mentioned being plugged into shore power with the fridge on.  Was the fridge running on AC or on propane?

 

"Rotten egg smell" -- sulfur compounds -- sure sounds like the odorant added to propane.  But was the propane already off in the "hours later..." incident?

The fridge was running on AC power.  The propane was turned off after the alarm went off the first time. Only the propane light was illuminated and there was no smell. Hours later was when the smell along with both the propane and carbon monoxide lights were illuminated. 


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#4 snuffy

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 04:43 AM

Check your battery in the camper it may be over charging.


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#5 wodpof

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 04:59 AM

What am I looking for? Is it just a sniff test?


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#6 Advmoto18

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 11:34 AM

If your camper is still under warranty, take it to your nearest dealer for troubleshooting and corrective action.

 

If not...

 

If propane was off, check to ensure tank is not leaking at the shutoff valve,  

 

How to check for a leaky valve at the tank?  Remove tank from camper, mix a strong solution of dish soap (such as Dawn) and water, pour over valve assembly and look for bubbles growing due to leaking gas.

 

Leaking gas not the issue, I would troubleshoot the camper's batteries and charging components.

 

Did you touch the batteries to see if they were hot?  If you have AGM batteries in the camper, they require a very low and slow charging current.  FWC installed components should regulate the charging current.  Ensure the control panel displays the type of battery installed. 

 

Be very careful if you engerize systems while troubleshooting.  One can easily start a fire or worse, if unfamiliar with procedures.


Edited by Advmoto18, 04 May 2015 - 11:38 AM.

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#7 dorocks

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 01:08 PM

May seem unrelated but if you have a water heater and turn it off and let it set it can build up a bacteria or something that smells just like rotten eggs. Happened in a regular RV I had.


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#8 dorocks

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 01:12 PM

I also had a battery in the FWC that got really hot when it was dying of old age, Some smell like sulfur but the battery was really hot due to a short I guess. Could feel the heat while sitting on the shelf near the bed.


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#9 Wandering Sagebrush

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 01:38 PM

May seem unrelated but if you have a water heater and turn it off and let it set it can build up a bacteria or something that smells just like rotten eggs. Happened in a regular RV I had.

Actually, that's a chemical reaction between water with small traces of sulphur and the water heater materials, and that's why I drain the water heater in my travel trailer after every trip. However, if that was the culprit here, you would normally only smell it when the water had been running. I don't think it would make the CO alarm or the gas detector sound off.

I think you have either a propane leak, or more likely, you are not getting complete combustion from one of your appliances. The refer would be my suspect. That happened to Smokecreek last year, and it was the refer. I believe the burner and flue just needed cleaned, but Smoke replaced it with a compressor model. As mentioned above, a leak test would still be wise.

Is this an older camper?
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#10 Old Crow

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Posted 04 May 2015 - 01:59 PM

wodpof-

 

If the tank valve tests OK, I wonder if the second alarm came from residual propane from the lines after closing that valve. Opening the door and windows would allow accumulated propane to flow out and the alarm would clear.  But then you closed the door and windows and went in to bed.  If there's a leak in a line fitting somewhere, I'd think it would continue to leak until line pressure goes down, perhaps accumulating enough to set off your alarm. 

 

Failing any obvious problems like an overly warm battery or a stronger rotten-egg smell near the battery compartment, I'd continue looking for a propane leak with soapy water (perhaps in a small spritzer bottle to make it a little easier to use).

 

I also see you say there was no smell the first time but there was the second. The first time the alarm would have just encountered a high-enough concentration to go off.   The second time the alarm may have been going off for some time and concentration had time to rise to the point you could smell it. 


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