A/C giving off rotten egg smell

MandT · 08-05-2008, 11:31 AM

Seems weird to me but I've just about ruled out every other option. And what really seemed to confirm it yesterday was when we had the A/C units off for half of the day but turned them on at night to sleep. The smell came back but we hadn't smelled it all day.

Any ideas?

MandT · 08-05-2008, 11:31 AM

Seems weird to me but I've just about ruled out every other option. And what really seemed to confirm it yesterday was when we had the A/C units off for half of the day but turned them on at night to sleep. The smell came back but we hadn't smelled it all day.

Any ideas?

quikduk · 08-05-2008, 01:02 PM

Eeewwwwwww!!!!

Anyway, Generally speaking, rotten egg smells are either from...er...rotten eggs...

or leaking propane gas.

The roof AC units are a sealed absorption type that have no gas connections. If your thermostats are tied to your heaters, the heaters have gas connections.

I realize this is digressing a bit but I have never has rooftop AC units on RVs smell like rotten eggs. Obviously, something isn't right and needs to be addressed right away.

1. Turn off the propane supply at the tank JIC.

2. Make sure that only the "max" cool circuit is selected on the thermostat with the highest fan speed.

3. Open the windows and roof vents

4. Start the unit(s) and start smelling around the ducts (if it is ducted) or the ceiling diffusers.

If the smell goes away quickly, run the units for a good 20-30 minutes and see if they still smell. Shut them off after that and check the filters for contamination. If all is o.k., wait about 30-45 minutes and start it/them up again and check once again for the smell.

You could have bacteria in the ductwork...or a dead critter...

or you could have a propane leak from the heater(s), refrigerator, hard and soft lines etc. that is leaking into your AC ducts. These connections (stove, refer, heater, tank, lines etc.) can be checked with soapy water once the propane is turned back on but be carefull or have a professional check it out.

**RV Wizard** · 08-05-2008, 04:49 PM

One other possibility of rotten egg smell is off gasing of the house batteries. If they are under the step and are not in good shape the charger will boil them and give this smell.

MandT · 08-05-2008, 05:44 PM

Thanks for your replies.

I haven't had a chance to do anything mentioned yet. I'm the one who does them (not dh) so I need a moment to figure out what the heck I'm doing.

Interesting enough as soon as dd took a shower I smelled it again. I just don't understand. It only happens at night (now maybe related to the hot water tank??).

I am SO new to this and the simplest things are complex to me when it comes to all of these technical terms.

TXiceman · 08-05-2008, 06:20 PM

Sometimes folks will mistake the oderant in propane as rotten eggs. Do you have a pilot light on the stove or possibly a small leak. The propane detector should go off if it is working.

Just another thought.

ken

MandT · 08-05-2008, 06:29 PM

See that's why I wasn't thinking it was an actual propane leak cause the detector has not gone off and it's done this for the last couple of nights.

I'm going to run another test. As soon as I turned on the water heater via gas, that's when I smelled it (tonight, didn't put 2 and 2 together the other nights). Turned it off, no smell. So I'm going to turn it on again and see if I notice it again.