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Strong Fuel smell in the bays.

February 24, 2011, 12:06:42 am

Since I purchased my 2006 42' Phenix in August '10, there has been a strong diesel odor in the bays.  I had it at Foretravel last Nov., they fixed a loose vent hose connection on top of the curb side tank.  It diidn't change the odor.  They then fixed a previous repair to one of the fuel line.  It didn't change the odor.  If I were dealing with a gasoline problem, I would be at FT until we found the leak.
I know diesel fumes are corrosive so I open all of the bay doors every day to air out the basement.  The odor seems to be the strongest, I mean really strong , in the forward most pass through bay.  It doesn't seem to change with the level of fuel in the tank.
I thought it might be the fuel line to the generator. However having just read the posts and replies on generator issues I don't think that is the problem.  I have no problems with generator operation.
There is obviously a fuel leak somewhere down there.
Any experience with this problem???
Thanks much,
Bob Raab 

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Re: Strong Fuel smell in the bays.

Reply #1 – February 24, 2011, 10:10:07 am

Hey Bob,
I would not take for granted that the generator fuel lines are okay. I had a fuel leak I chased for a while and found out that my generator fuel supply tank connection was loose.  The generator never missed a beat. Check the top of your tank for any signs of a leak.

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Re: Strong Fuel smell in the bays.

Reply #2 – February 24, 2011, 10:41:05 am

And check under your tank  to see if there is any in the pan or anywhere else in that area.

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Reply #3 – February 24, 2011, 11:25:40 am

Bob,

After the compartment has aired out and with nothing in it, you might crawl in and smell the carpet with your nose almost against it. Possibly the smell is a result of the previous hose problem. Once diesel gets into carpet, the odor really lingers. It only takes a little bit in a small area to make a big odor.

Pierce & Gaylie
93' U300/36

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Reply #4 – February 24, 2011, 12:12:15 pm

Bob, My wife has complained about diesel odors in our storage bay in each of our coaches on different occasions. Every one was associated with a small leak somewhere in the fuel system to the Aqua-Hot. She kept pestering techs to search and after repairs the odors stopped. Just another place to look!

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Reply #5 – February 24, 2011, 01:31:24 pm

Bob  ,  When we fist bought  our coach we had fuel smell in the basement. What I found was the Aqua Hot compartment was saturated with diesel. This was my first time working on Aqua Hot and I found the fuel shut off  solenoid was leaking fuel . I put a new solenoid and a echo valve in, the echo valve is a pressure regulated valve that goes on the inside of the diesel jet , so it takes X - amount of pressure to get by the jet,  That took care of the smell.  Good Luck                    Art            PS  Check all hoses and fuel pump on Aqua Hot for leaks.

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Reply #6 – February 24, 2011, 02:41:53 pm

Art,

I have not heard of the echo valve and would like to learn more about it.  Do you have a link to the valve?

Thanks,

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Reply #7 – February 24, 2011, 03:44:31 pm

Rudy      I bought it from a recommendation  from  Sure Marine Service  ,They  manufacture  the  Webasto  diesel burner  for Aqua Hot .  Simple to install,just remove jet the jet and screw off the filter on back side and and screw on echo valve and replace jet back in. They said you could use the same valve for 3 jet changes  app ( 3 years ).  It was cheap to I think it was under  $ 5.00 bucks . I not sure how to do links yet, I will soon.      www. suremarine.com  Part # for echo valve  003-104        Art

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