Its not my tanks... I run the 20k genset for hours with the compartment door closed... Trying to find where or what this could be.. mostly in the front of the bus... 98 prevost entertainer?
Sounds like a or some batteries are being overcharged!
Like Ace said...
I'll bet you find one of your batteries has a top either cracked or blown off completely.
The smell is one or more of your batts sulfafing and it's getting into your coach.
Good Luck
Nick-
As was mentioned, probably battery overcharging, another possibility is LP leak. Since LP is odorless, Mercaptin is added to LP to give it a rotten egg smell. The rotten egg smell from a battery will usually create more of a burning sensation in your nose from the battery acid than an LP leak. Jack
i had a similar problem a few months back. i kept looking for the gray water tank leak because it was a similar smell and i thought the wind was catching it just right. one day, it was particularly strong, so i really followed it. My center 31 on my bank of 3 starting batteries was just spewing battery acid spray out the top. as i tried to unhook cables and get it out, i had to get a rag to lift it becuase it was too hot to hold.
go out and find it now, before you have a huge mess or a small explosion. batteries that explode can be dangerous, and so is a potential fire from a shorted out battery.
I wrote a long explanation computer dumped post: On my 98 the gen set is left rear driver side compartment. In roof of that compartment id exposed ducts/maybe covered with sound deadning. going length of coach . There were batteries there also. slots for wires etc are cut in them fumes enter there and travel in open ducts to front they dump out un capped just to right of driver seat behind top step landing fumes of any kind can get in any of the bays and travel. Bob
Have to tell this story! I have had the Parallel battery meltdown and overcharge blues more than once. About an hour into the trip to Arcadia I smell strong rotten egg smell! I pull over and check coach battery's, house battery bank box and no odor, no heat all is well. First thought is why Me but I decided not to ask the question for fear of a frank answer. Hours later the same thing again, same check again. Get back in bus and decide to get Myself a drink before proceding and upon opening the frig was bowled over by the smell. A dozen hard boiled eggs some with broken shells prepared by My loving wife!!! I will let You guess at the ensuing conversation. Should have realized that smell was after wife got up to get drink! All is well that ends well. John L
You all have done it again... THANKS THANKS yes its my batteries... I have been charging them excessively.... They charge up but 4 hours latter they are dead.... Now i will remember a post a few weeks back about label the cables... 4 31 batteries are new to me.... mci-9 had 2 8Ds... less cables and cheaper too... thanks I thought this was a DUMB question and would get some silly replies... Thanks
no dumb questions except one not ask!!! let you think thru it..rite! Bob
Back when I was a kid, I started in this business as a cleaner/fueler. We had a fleet of secondhand transit buses (old looks), and several times they came back to the garage at night with overcharging -- cooking batteries. It is a unique smell that I remember 40+ years later. I also remember the battery acid burning holes in my dungarees (we didn't call them "jeans" then). So, your experience is also beneficial. If it ever happens again, to you or someone around you, you'll know right away what it is. Good for you, in finding the problem.
Arthur
Tom,
Another example of the need for a separate manual battery cutoff switch on each battery. Ganged battery cutoffs don't help when one battery decides to blow up because the other batteries feed power to it.
i will have to add individual ones, i guess. I use the equipment battery cut off switches cause thats what i work on sometimes... they are expensive, but i get the point.. thanks for the information.
A starting capacitor in a roof A/C will also smell that way when its starting to go, Mine smelled like a dead animal , took me a few days to find it, Easy and cheap fix if thats it
'49,
You can buy "green knob" battery cutoff switches at WM for around $7, these are the ones I use.
I stopped using the green knob battery cut-offs because they can have contact problems, and i only use master disconnect switches now - like the ones i have to buy for equipment. I did start using the knob ones many years ago on street rods but had some problems with them. Have had no problems with the others.
I've had one, maybe two fail of about 20 I've used over the years. But, for the price, they are hard to beat. There are better ones but they cost 2-3X as much. The green knobs can be found almost anywhere, even in WM so that is a big plus for me.
They have to be installed so there is not a lot of mechanical strain on the connection since they are not heavy duty, probably not meant for heavy equipment or vibration anyway..
Where do you get the master cut of switches? I am having contact problems with green knob Thanks for any info. Rod
Napa,online stores, eBay, etc. also the equipment dealers have them, but they usually cost quite a bit more for the same thing.