It's not often I get perplexed

[Witzend]

but, this really has me stumped. Or second thought, may I spend most of my time confused and don't even know it.
Someone who is a chemist may probably understand what is happening. I found about (2) table spoons of the amber colored odorless, (oily fairly viscous to the touch substance) in my otherwise dry bilge. It appears to be coming from where my batteries are stored. Despite being oily to the touch it is soluble in water and has the same PH ~6 as my tap water. The vent holes in my caps for my 2005 batteries have become partially blocked so with the 13.25v I'm providing them from my solar cells, causes some seepage during trickle charging. I initially provided 13.7v when I installed the system, but the water usage was becoming pretty excessive, so I turned it down this year. I'm guessing the battery acid is reacting with something, but shouldn’t it be ending up as some sort of sulfate, maybe with a little iron in it, (causing the amber color, not sure where the iron would be coming from either), but shouldn't the PH be low? I have never had anything like this in my dry bilge before. If someone were to present this liquid to me, my first guess from touch and smell would be vegetable oil, but this is clearly not the case, we have not used or spilled any and of course it would not be soluble in water. If it is indeed coming from the batteries what is the sulfuric acid reacting with to produce what I have described? BTW, the engine is not leaking antifreeze (too viscous for antifreeze anyway), my engine bilge is dry. I’m baffled???.

 

[zeehag]

can water find a way to get in there from above??

 

[Ross]

syrup? not that I have a clue as to how it could get there. Oily but not sticky?

 

[RAD]

It maybe the staining from a deck leak....my boat had leaks from the stanchions and thats the color that runs down the inside wall from the deck down, looks like rust and I once left a Len's from one of the lights on the shelf and it filled up with rusty looking water

 

[Witzend]

It maybe the staining from a deck leak....my boat had leaks from the stanchions and thats the color that runs down the inside wall from the deck down, looks like rust and I once left a Len's from one of the lights on the shelf and it filled up with rusty looking water[/quote

Again, it's a quite viscous fluid.

Boy, I love pancakes Ross, but the admril has not made any yet on the boat, nor do we have a bottle.

I did think of another possibility. The most likely answer is usually the solution.
I did have to add some ethylene glycol a few weeks back. At the time since there were no visible leaks I thought, ok there was just some residual air in the systems from the system drain for the major damper plate replacement project last winter (BTW, seems to be working out just fine, runs smooth. no noises). What if where the hoses that provide engine coolant for the domestic hot water and which runs through the engine compartment bulk head have chafed and are leaking. Glycol would not show up in the engine compartment, but would make its way down the inside of the hull. After siting in the heat for sometime the water would evaporated leaving the glycol behind.

How's that for a story. I will investigate further and report back to the board, sir.

 

[Ross]

It fits the "oily" part of the discription. But the color is wrong.

 

[Brian L.20665]

Last year, I found a small amount of vegetable oil like liquid in our bilge and was similarly puzzled. Finally traced it as dripping very slowly from an oil-filled air conditioning pump - the 110V sea water pump. It was a Cal pump and it had to be replaced. Don't know if you have A/C, but thought I'd share that as a possible.

 

[Witzend]

Last year, I found a small amount of vegetable oil like liquid in our bilge and was similarly puzzled. Finally traced it as dripping very slowly from an oil-filled air conditioning pump - the 110V sea water pump. It was a Cal pump and it had to be replaced. Don't know if you have A/C, but thought I'd share that as a possible.

Yes we do, initially I though of that and checked around the raw water pump, no leaks. Again, oily substance is soluble in water, almost has to be glycol.

I just went out to the boat and checked the connections and lines going to the Domestic HWH, no detectable leaks around the engine bulkhead or at the HWH.
At this point I have to conclude that this is residual from when I drained the system sloshing around migrating down, evaporating the H2O and leaving the glycol. I cleaned under the cabin sole just aft of the bilge, and will keep track.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Hey Witz!

I've found a maple syrup collored fluid in my old boat's bilge and finally was able to determine it was the leaching out of the binding glue in the plywood used to build the boat, caused by leaking deck fittings and running down inside the hull lining until it reached the bilge.

Since your problem seems to be around your battery storage, is it possible that it's the out-gassing from charging breaking down the plywood that may be supporting the battery boxes or some other near-by wooden structure, and leaching out the glue? The resultant residue is what you're finding (though the PH factor doesn't reflect acidity). Or, with a PH of water, could it be due to condensation leaching out the glue?

 

[Witzend]

Interesting idea Don, I had not considered that possibility. I would think if it were deck plywood glue leaching out I would be getting some water with it. Bilge is dry. We just had a heavy rain and I went out to check, no water or new viscous fluid in bilge. If the battery is involved as I originally suspected due to the fact I could not locate any other possible source, than you're right the PH should be low and its not. The battery box is made out of fiberglass, at least from what I can tell from the side edges, don't know about the bottom.

 

[cfishman2]

but, this really has me stumped. Or second thought, may I spend most of my time confused and don't even know it.
Someone who is a chemist may probably understand what is happening. I found about (2) table spoons of the amber colored odorless, (oily fairly viscous to the touch substance) in my otherwise dry bilge. It appears to be coming from where my batteries are stored. Despite being oily to the touch it is soluble in water and has the same PH ~6 as my tap water. The vent holes in my caps for my 2005 batteries have become partially blocked so with the 13.25v I'm providing them from my solar cells, causes some seepage during trickle charging. I initially provided 13.7v when I installed the system, but the water usage was becoming pretty excessive, so I turned it down this year. I'm guessing the battery acid is reacting with something, but shouldn’t it be ending up as some sort of sulfate, maybe with a little iron in it, (causing the amber color, not sure where the iron would be coming from either), but shouldn't the PH be low? I have never had anything like this in my dry bilge before. If someone were to present this liquid to me, my first guess from touch and smell would be vegetable oil, but this is clearly not the case, we have not used or spilled any and of course it would not be soluble in water. If it is indeed coming from the batteries what is the sulfuric acid reacting with to produce what I have described? BTW, the engine is not leaking antifreeze (too viscous for antifreeze anyway), my engine bilge is dry. I’m baffled???.

Just check your water heater - particularly the fittings where engine coolant water enters and exits - the color and consistency are similar.

 

[Alan]

If you're using Global type anti freeze (yellow) in your cooling system and you suspect a coolant leak of any kind you could simply pressure test the entire system and check for leaks.

 

[Witzend]

Just check your water heater - particularly the fittings where engine coolant water enters and exits - the color and consistency are similar.

I checked it out and did not find any leaks, also no evidence of any antifreeze coming from the bottom of the heater.
Again I think this is residual antifreeze from when I drained the system migrating it way and the water evaporating off leaving the glycol behind, but only time will tell if it continues to show up.

 

[Richard Dwyer]

If you have an air conditioning system, and possibly a CAL circulating pump to cool your AC unit it is leaking oil and your pump will fail soon. I went through three CAL pumps in three years. Buy a March Pump they last much longer. If you do buy a March Pump read the instruction, you may have one of the pumps that require a simple application of oil at both end of the pump. My March pump has lasted for 4 years and runs perfectly.

 

[Momentum M]

Do you have a windlass?
I've got a Catalina 34 with a Maxwell 500 windlass. This summer I did find some fluid very similar to what you've described in my bilge and I traced it down to the windlass.
I had to remove the front panel in the V birth to access. I took the motor and the worm gear off and the bowl was empty of fluid.
I cleaned it, refilled and reinstall and so far all seems to be ok.
Good luck

 

[Witzend]

If you have an air conditioning system, and possibly a CAL circulating pump to cool your AC unit it is leaking oil and your pump will fail soon. I went through three CAL pumps in three years. Buy a March Pump they last much longer. If you do buy a March Pump read the instruction, you may have one of the pumps that require a simple application of oil at both end of the pump. My March pump has lasted for 4 years and runs perfectly.

Checked the pump, no leaks, the substance is soluble in water, it is not oil, but only feels oily to the touch.

 

[kloudie1]

I have seen stuff sort of like that. I found it to be rainwater that was wicking through some core and picking up stuff from the plywood. It would drip from something overhead, and the drops would sit and evaporate slowly, getting more amber and more viscous as it aged.. Look for traces where it might have been leaking from the underside of the deck, (dripping to where you found it) like inside a locker around winch bolts, for instance.. but really any through bolted thing close to where you found the stuff.. Mine was associated with my mast step leaking into the cross beam and slowly dripping out at the starboard side of the beam .. Good luck..

 

[packman]

crud

I've seen what you describe before, it was glycol antifreeze WAY past needing changed in a friends cars cooling system.

 

[BrianW]

Re: crud

If you still have the liquid, put it in a freezer and see if it freezes. If it doesn't freeze, it's likely the ethylene glycol. Being water soluble, it could pick up color from any other water soluble material. BrianW

 

[Interlude]

Check salinity (us an electrical conductivity or salinity meter) to confirm if it is a fresh, brackish or seawater solution. I would certainly follow Brian W's recommendation and see if it freezes, but remember if it is seawater, it may not freeze.

Try also a few drops of hydrogen peroxide with heating/warming to see if the colour disappears, and also check the pH after cooling. Also, note if the solution with peroxide froths on its own or when heated.

Come back with results and I may be able to help indicate if you are dealing with leaching of organics or inorganic substances.

Ther are also a few tricks using vinegar and sodium bicarbonate - but you would need more than a few spoon fulls.