Heater - Mystery Smell (1 Viewer)

[WillH]

Did you buy any cheese in France? Years ago we came back home and didn't quite unload all the stuff we'd bought, comes back to haunt you.

Bill

 

[dave newell]

hya how far is the waste water outlet from heater air inlet ?? ours are next to each other and we can sometimes draw foul smell in with heater blower on

The heaters outside air intake should only be for combustion air, it should recirculate the air inside the motorhome so there should be no way outside air can enter the vehicle through the heater.

D.

 

[Armytwowheels]

What are you saying ?. Does waste water smell . Am continually being told on here it doesn't. Can we have a definitive answer on this please :thumb:

My waste water never smells

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[FULL TIMER]

Look in your cupboards for a stray spud, the smell from a rotting spud is unbelievable might be one trapped under one of the heater ducting pipes.

 

[Snowbird]

My waste water never smells

Thats definitive enough for me :thumb:

 

[John745]

Heater smells lije this

We recently had a "similiar" thing occur, our heater/boiler is in a cupboard, vented into the habitation area... when things were switched on there was a very odd "odour/smell"..everything checked out ok.. but we did find that between the top cover and heater/boiler had rubber/silicone spacers missing so that the plastic cover was tight against the boiler, so when it got hot the plastic started to melt and it smelt badly which we have now fixed .. just a thought maybe something similar in your case

Thanks Champers, we have this very problem with an acrid plastic/paint smell.
It's been in to have the heater checked, etc, but no resolution. It smells on heating and/or hot water. I will check this out, thanks again !

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[Armytwowheels]

Mystery Solved

Found 3 little doggy treats in the air duct by the hab door. Took a while to heat them up but they really smell bad. Possibly been there since Malvern as they look like the ones the pet feed store were given out free.

Now the question is did I drop them and can't remember or did a little furry creature carry them in there? There is still no sign of mice but I might just get a trap anyway, to be on the safe side.

 

[Snowbird]

Dead mouse.

Sounds more like my original diagnosis by the minute :thumb:

 

[tofo]

Used to be the bane of my working life

Get called for a gas escape

And it was an ex rodent

Had to go through all the procedures for an escape

Then assist in finding the rodent if possible

One fella showed me a broom cupbord with a jacket on a hook

It was his gardening jacket only thing that went in the cupboard

He Insisted it was a smell of gas I couldn't find a thing

Despite trying but it did smell

In the end the consumer accepted it wasn't gas

I knew it wasn't but probably rodent related

While I was filling in a report in the van

Fella came out of his house with smile as big as a Cheshire Cat

Found it he said you're right it was a dead mouse in the jacket pocket

Made my day as well

It's a horrible smell gets in your nose and you can't move it
Also gets in back of your mouth

When the mouse dries the smell seems to go :thumb:

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

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[Wildbill]

theirs a mouse lose abut the van

 

[Armytwowheels]

Maybe, but the treats were not chewed and still in the original heart shape. I removed them and the smell has gone. Will still put a trap in just in case this is a new resident.

 

[Snowbird]

If it is a mouse you will not believe the damage they can do. Nesting in upholstery is not the only thing they do. They have a taste for the plastic covering of wiring and some other plastics, some like rubber gas pipes and will chew through that. Now the weather has gone colder they are all looking for somewhere warm and they don't need the door left open to get in. They will get in under the engine compartment or even fridge vents. The best deterrent I have found is one of the squeakers permanently plugged in.

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[Chris]

If it is a mouse you will not believe the damage they can do. Nesting in upholstery is not the only thing they do. They have a taste for the plastic covering of wiring and some other plastics, some like rubber gas pipes and will chew through that. Now the weather has gone colder they are all looking for somewhere warm and they don't need the door left open to get in. They will get in under the engine compartment or even fridge vents. The best deterrent I have found is one of the squeakers permanently plugged in.

We have got one of those squeakers plugged in at the front and a battery one at the back.

Our van is stored under cover now with EHU.

Our mice in the old van didn't actually do much damage thankfully:thumb:

 

[dave newell]

Sounds like a mouse has tried to make a food store in there. Several years ago our then motorhome was off the road for over 9 months for major repairs to the body. Once it was all done and I took it down the road the performance was absolutely gutless so I decided to service the motor. Imagine my surprise when I removed the air filter to find two good fistfuls of dry dog food in there. The mouse is probably not in the heater ducting but it is, or at least has been in the motorhome somewhere.

D.

 

[Chris]

Maybe, but the treats were not chewed and still in the original heart shape. I removed them and the smell has gone. Will still put a trap in just in case this is a new resident.

If you do catch a mouse, just bear in mind he will probably have brothers and sisters. We caught 6 in our van.

I think I read somewhere that if 2 days pass without the trap going off then its clear.

Good luck:thumb:

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[Armytwowheels]

Sounds like a mouse has tried to make a food store in there. Several years ago our then motorhome was off the road for over 9 months for major repairs to the body. Once it was all done and I took it down the road the performance was absolutely gutless so I decided to service the motor. Imagine my surprise when I removed the air filter to find two good fistfuls of dry dog food in there. The mouse is probably not in the heater ducting but it is, or at least has been in the motorhome somewhere.

D.

I think you are right Dave. I'm going to have a good clear out this weekend and empty the van of everything, clean throughout and set a trap. I don't always empty the food cupboards out if we are going away again in a couple of weeks, mind you it didn't go for the rice, flour or current dog treats that are in there. We have been organising our firewood for the house too, moving stored wood nearer the house, so could have disturbed many a cosy mouse and set them off looking for a new home.

 

[Armytwowheels]

If you do catch a mouse, just bear in mind he will probably have brothers and sisters. We caught 6 in our van.

I think I read somewhere that if 2 days pass without the trap going off then its clear.

Good luck:thumb:

I have heard that peanut butter is a good bait for a mouse trap, someone also said chocolate, not sure I could bring my self to waste chocolate in such a way :Sad:

 

[Chris]

I have heard that peanut butter is a good bait for a mouse trap, someone also said chocolate, not sure I could bring my self to waste chocolate in such a way :Sad:

We used chocolate (Dairy Milk) and it did the trick:thumb:

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[icantremember]

Maybe, but the treats were not chewed and still in the original heart shape. I removed them and the smell has gone. Will still put a trap in just in case this is a new resident.

In the garage at our previous home we used to store bird nuts in an a hessian sack oh: .... it was winter, so Joyce went to get her calf length fur lined boots only to find one was full to the brim with fresh nuts

Until then we didn't realise we had a micky problem but set traps and caught 7 or 8 of the little darlings.

 

[Armytwowheels]

We used chocolate (Dairy Milk) and it did the trick:thumb:

I could possibly sacrifice a bit of Dairy Milk but it's not having my Green & Blacks

 

[Scout]

Ew I hope not. No sign of any mice in the van and no smell when the heater is not on. If there is a dead one in the air vent pipes how the hell we are going to get at it or even find out where it is?

send in a slim cat

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[lee52]

this is what a mouse / mice did to my motorhome
Broken Link Removed

 

[Armytwowheels]

Good grief! I'm getting one of those squeaker things mentioned earlier. I certainly don't want that to happen in my van! Where had all that insulation come from?

 

[lee52]

Good grief! I'm getting one of those squeaker things mentioned earlier. I certainly don't want that to happen in my van! Where had all that insulation come from?

lol dunno yet still stripping the bus but that what happens when the previous owner parks it up for 4 years and with all the cupboards full of food
they get everywhere
Broken Link Removed

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[Jandek]

Good grief! I'm getting one of those squeaker things mentioned earlier. I certainly don't want that to happen in my van! Where had all that insulation come from?

What are these squeaker things? Would like to keep the little darlings at bay too!

 

[Chris]

What are these squeaker things? Would like to keep the little darlings at bay too!

This is the one we have got.

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We also have a battery one like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0072H60MG/?tag=mhf04-21

 

[rolyk]

On a serious note - our Combi has had this slightly acrid metallic smell since new, only on water heating. I phoned Truma who said it's normal and nothing to worry about! Nearly five years later it's still smelling, the van hasn't gone up in smoke and it no longer worries me. However, when the smell gets bad the water is usually hot enough to turn off the heater.

I think it is caused by the the metallic aluminum liner to the duct (where it goes into the heater) getting very hot. But that's only my theory!

Roly

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