Air conditioner makes the boat smell

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ChesapeakeGem

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2012
Messages
138
Location
Maryland
We turn on the AC while at the dock. A strong odor of a fuel smell is in the air.
Your help on this topic will be most appreciated
 
First ignorant guess....

AC doesn't have fuel. My guess is that it is moving air around from an area that does have fuel. Look for any sign of a fuel leak around tanks/filters/engine. I hope you have diesel.
 
Agree with dhays. Your AC system pulls interior air from throughout the boat, re-cooling it and blowing back into the cabin. The fumes are likely being pulled up from below deck when the unit(s) are running. When off, the fumes stay low.
It would not take much fuel - diesel has a pretty strong odor - but this should certainly be corrected.

I suppose it's possible that you could have someone turn on your bilge blower and see if you smell the same thing wherever that air exits.

Don't know the age of your boat so a leak could be at a fuel fill line, a fuel tank, etc. etc. Unless there's a diesel-y rag laying around.
 
Another thought. Have you turned on your sump pumps when running the AC? Depending on design your condensation may run into your sump pumps to be pumped overboard. If you have not turned on the sump breakers while running the AC (thinking they are only used for showers) it will then run into the bilge and mix with whatever you have there.
 
My long earlier note was slow to post, but I'm glad it's just on the carpet.
There is a product at Lowes and/or Home Depot called Capture - a "dry cleaning" powder for carpet. Comes in a small bucket. I have had good luck with it but diesel might be beyond its capability. Still...it's under $10.
 
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