That rotten rotten egg smell

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frank arndorfer

Just finished comissioning my boat for summer. It a a one-year old Hunter 426DS. The boat came out of heated indoor storage, was put away with holding tank flushed and clean, water tanks mostly empty. The boat now has a lingering rotten egg smell. so far I've: Sanitized the water system as per Peggy's recommendations in her book. Cleaned and rinsed bilge (boat acculimates very little water in the bilge). Rinsed and pumped holding tanks. Cleaned both freezer and 'fridge. But the smell persists. One thing i did notice that may or may not be related is that my house bank batteries are warm...not hot but warm. Boat is connected to shore power so I assume the battery is on charge. Is this normal for a battery or could the battery possibly be 'gassing' and causing the odor.???
 
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AndyS

Smell is sulphur ...

and if you have lead-acid batteries, they are filled with sulphuric acid. It is reasonable to assume they might be "gassing". If you are on shore power and have a battery charger installed, you should have a breaker in the AC power panel for the charger. Shut it off and let the batteries cool down. Also, ventilate the area very well - sulphur dioxide can be dangerous. Once the batteries are cool and the area is ventilated, if the smell goes away you'll know the batteries were the source. If your charger is over-cooking the batteries, they might be damaged. Check the fluid levels, and proceed from there. - AndyS
 
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Richard A. Marble

Try this

I think half the reason the guy I bought my boat from sold it because of the smell. He had replaced all the hoses and it still smelled. The first thing I found was that the kitchen sink had a leak and there was a puddle of gray water below it that was pretty bad. After I cleaned that area I still had some smell but it was greatly reduced. I couldn’t find it so I lived with it till this spring. My boat had gate valves that I replaced this spring. I do not know how long they were in the boat and they appeared to be in good shape but I changed them for peace of mind. Anyway when I removed the gate valve that was the overboard discharge that puppy stunk and I do mean some smelly. Even after I laid it in the sun for a while it was still over ripe. I bet you can guess what I’m going to say now. That’s right after I put in the new valve I now have a boat that smells like nothing at all, that’s right no smell, nada, sweet nothing boy will my wife be proud of me. Good luck
 
Mar 1, 2004
351
Catalina 387 Cedar Mills-Lake Texhoma
Warm Batteries

Anytime that you have batteries that are hotter than the ambient temperture, you have a charging problem or a shorted cell. Of course a shorted cell will cause a charging problem because the charger will keep trying to charge the battery to the correct voltage and it cannot. The bad news is that it good be either the battery or the charger.
 
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Eric Lorgus

Overcharged Batteries Give Acrid Smell

Smells can be hard to describe, but last time I got to smell an overcharged battery, I would describe it as acrid, almost like burning rubber. I don't know about sulfur dioxide, but when lead acid batteries are being charged, they give off HYDROGEN gas -- that's right, the same gas that ignited the Hindenburg airship in 1937. It's very flammable, which is why batteries should not be charged in a confined space. If your batteries have been overcharged, the water inside is likely below the tops of the plates. Add distilled water to the recommmended level, and see if they will still hold a charge.
 
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robert taylor

seacocks

kathy and i live aboard a 2003 catalina 380. sometimes it would smell bad. a few months ago i found some trapped water that was not draining. i fixed that problem. every now and then we still get a strange odor. i am not completely sure what it is, it seems to help when we clean the seacocks. we do this by closing the cocks and filling the hoses with a strong solution of bleach. we let a little run through the cock and then close it quickly. we let this sit until we need the sink again, then we open the cock and drain the bleach. try smelling your sink drains. if that isn't it, you may have to pull up some floorboards and check for stagnant water.
 
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Gord May

Sulfur Doixide

Andy S said that the ROTTEN-EGG smell is sulfur (actualy Sulfur Dioxide), which is a symptom of "out-gassing" due to over-charging. The battery's electrolyte is Sulfuric Acid & Water, which is electrochemically converted to Hydrogen & Sulfur Dioxide. Low "water' levels indicates out-gassing (boiling). If so, you've got a battery-charger problem. HTH Gord
 
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AndyS

Gord has the right gas!

In my earlier post I mentioned sulfur dioxide, but of course it is hydrogen sulfide that is applicable in this case. Don't know what I was thinking of, sorry folks - and thanks Gord for getting it right :) - AndyS
 
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Tom

I wonder about hydrogen sulfide from batteries

I know that you can generate hydrogen gas from the breakdown of water but I've never heard of Hydrogen sulfide from batteries. Live and learn??
 
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Gord May

H2S is VERY Dangerous !!!

Further to Hydrogen Sulfide, due to Thermal Run-Away (overload) on over-charging batteries: Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is an EXTREEMLY TOXIC gas. It blocks the use of oxygen by the body’s cells. Properties: Colorless, Odor similar to rotten eggs at very low concentrations (0.003 PPM), Extremely flammable, Heavier than air, Highly soluble. Health Effects: 50 PPM Mild conjunctivitis, respiratory tract irritation in 30 to 60 minutes, through DEATH @300 PPM, and instant Unconsciousness & DEATH within a few breaths. Explosive Range: 4.3 % to 46 % Ignition Temperature: 7000 F A battery that emits a rotten-egg smell CANNOT be SAVED! The emmission of H2S indicates a serious over-charging problem (Alternator &/or Battery Charger! Sorry for the shout - but it's a matter of life-safety. Gord
 
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Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO

More on H2S

Just a note that H2S smells very bad at very low concentrations but at toxic levels it has already saturated your nose and you can no longer smell it. Toxic levels of H2S are odorless.
 
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Gord May

Thanx Gary

Thanks for emphasising the very important point - that when you've smelled H2S, if the odour goes away - GET OUT NOW (if you're still conscious) !!!
 
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AndyS

H2S is also heavier than air,

so it will collect in low spaces. If you ever look down into an enclosed space (like and engine compartment), smell a whiff of rotten eggs, and see an unconscious person laying down there - don't go in yourself, there may wind up being 2 people lying down there. Instead, call 911 and report a toxic gas emergency - that way they know to show up with breathing apparatus. - AndyS
 
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Tom

Gord under what conditions can you get H2S ???

As long as there is water the water will split into H2 and O2. If there is O2 present then any H2 present would go to O2. If there is sulfur present and oxygen then S would be oxidized and not reduced (H2S). The only way that I know of producing H2S is with anaerobic bacteria that reduce the sulfur to get the oxygen. I believe this is what happens naturally in coal seams and septic tanks. This process also produces methane and hydrogen gases. thanks Tom
 
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Gord May

Good question, Tom

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) can be produced by VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead-Acid) Batteries through the reduction of sufure-containing compounds. The phenomenon is well documented in cases of Thermal Runaway, but (apparently) can also occur under more normal operating conditions. The chemistry is really beyond my expertise, so I’ll let one expert speak. See: Hydrogen Sulfide in VRLA Cells by H.A. Vanasse et al. http://www.phlsci.com/VRLA_Catalyst/Int2001.pdf Regards, Gord
 
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Tom

thanks Gord followed your link

They were not talking about the normal deep cycle battery. The Valve Regulated lead acid battery uses a different chemistry than a flooded cell. Even in their experiment they only got 1 PPM H2S or less. They also used a pure lead plate whereas the plates in a flooded cell are lead oxide. Everything aside I agree that something is seriously wrong if your battery smells like rotten eggs.
 
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Gord May

Further reading

As an uneducated tradesman, I’m unable to provide the scientific explanation(s) you appear capable of (and interested in) understanding. Perhaps some of the following references will satisfy your curiosity. I’ve not “studied” all the listed papers, so perhaps you’ll be kind enough to report your findings on the subject. As all agree - a Rotten Egg smell is a BAD thing! Further to the first citation I offered (Harald Vanasse) - More Papers on the subject. http://www.phlsci.com/VRLA_Catalyst/Int2001.pdf Although the VRLA design provides improvements over its predecessors, it can be prone to a condition known as thermal runaway. Aside from the hardware damage, the overheating also can produce toxic and dangerous amounts of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. http://www.wirelessreview.com/ar/wireless_thermal_runaway/ Rotten egg odor: Possibly caused by a high temperature environment, overcharging or an excessively high recharge current, shorted cells of a combination of these causes http://www.csb-battery.com/Top/english/vrla_diagnosis.htm In extreme cases, batteries in thermal runaway can emit hydrogen sulfide, http://www.ewh.ieee.org/cmte/PES-SBC/Downloads/GettingResults.pdf ...thermal runaway is not limited to VRLA batteries. The high temperatures inside the battery cells during the thermal runaway events also may generate poisonous and corrosive gases (such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide). Susceptibility of a battery system to thermal runaway is usually a function of two parameters: effective float voltage per cell and battery temperature. http://telephonyonline.com/ar/telecom_flirting_disaster/ Evolution of Hydrogen Sulfide has been been reported during thermal runaway events. http://www.telepower.com.au/INT96b.PDF ... thermal runaway occur, it will be evidenced by permanent container distortion due to the heat and eventual emission of trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas ... http://www.dynastybattery.com/cd_dyn/contact/tech_support/7944.htm
 
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Garry @ S/V TASHTEGO

Another source

It appears that normally functioning batteries emit very little H2S (1 part per million inside the sealed battery case)there is another source of sulfur that may be emitting the smell. Rubber is made of a compound (mostly isoprene) which has a waxy smell when burned. But it is cross linked by adding sulfur hence the bad smell from burning rubber, tire spinning etc. A cushion or a gasket or even a rubber battery case somewhere in your boat may be damp and bacteria or mold may be releasing H2S.
 
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