Rotten egg smell

[wodpof]

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?

 

[MarkBC]

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?

 

[wodpof]

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.

 

[snuffy]

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

 

[wodpof]

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

 

[Advmoto18]

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.

 

[dorocks]

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.

 

[dorocks]

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.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

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?

 

[Old Crow]

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.

 

[BillM]

wod

I agree with Crow, if you have a slow leak then turning off the propane at the tank and airing out would stop the alarm. Even with the propane off the lines would still be pressurized and continue to leak which would lead to the alarm later. Check all accessible connections for leaks with a soap test. If you can't find and fix it then I guess you'll have to take it to a dealer. To rule out the battery turn on the propane but disconnect the battery so that it can't charge from any source. Make sure to disconnect the battery first in case it sparks.

 

[Advmoto18]

Make sure to disconnect the battery first in case it sparks.

"Always remove the battery's ground clamp before loosening the positive. If you remove the negative clamp and inadvertently complete a circuit to ground, there will be no current flow because the ground clamp is already grounded. Subsequent shorting of the positive terminal to ground will then produce no current flow because the current has no return path to the negative post. And, of course, always reconnect the ground last."

 

[Stalking Light]

I get the alarm going off when on shore power and the camper closed up but no smell. I think it's a battery charging issue.

 

[Timothy McGowen]

Overheating and or overcharging of certain types of batteries produced hydrogen sulfide which smells like rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide will cause CO alarms to activate. I would check the batteries and charging voltages to make sure they match. The battery cells may also be going bad.

 

[Advmoto18]

Are the batteries HOT when the alarm sounds?

If not, get a Multi-meter and check voltage at the batteries. Normal voltage will vary depending on the type of battery you have installed.

Do you know if they are flooded (acid/liquid) batteries?

Better yet, take a picture of your batteries and post here.

How old are the batteries?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Overheating and or overcharging of certain types of batteries produced hydrogen sulfide which smells like rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide will cause CO alarms to activate. I would check the batteries and charging voltages to make sure they match. The battery cells may also be going bad.

I didn't know that, and I didn't see anything on the web to confirm. I thought the would only alert on CO, and not H2S. If that's the case, my previous post was in error on that point.

 

[wodpof]

Wow, Thank you for a lot of great responses and trouble shooting techniques. I pulled the two propane tanks out and was going to test it for leaks but a wonderful dust storm blew in here in beautiful Fallon so I will do it tomorrow. I snapped a pic of my batteries and will post it below. I had planned to follow all of the tips posted above but will postpone until tomorrow due to the high winds. Thanks in advance I feel like I am asking a great deal and providing nothing useful. Story of my life. I have failed to mention that it is a 2012 model.

 

[billharr]

Are those AGM batteries? Look like they may be flooded cell deep cycle batteries. Only AGM or Lithium without having a vented battery box.

 

[snuffy]

if they are wet cell, without venting could go boom, dont ask how i know..

 

[PaulT]

From the data on the label, they look like these Deka AGM, 8A24, 12v, 79aH batteries.
What looks like wet cell electrolyte caps kind threw me at first glance.

Paul