Any AC experts out there?
There's an oily smell coming out of the AC / Heater ducts in our sailboat. It's mostly noticeable in heating mode. It's a Mermaid model M-16CHP-L unit.
The smell is like vaporized oil mist. Not hot engine oil or diesel (the engine compartment smells different, but it's pretty clean). The AC air intake is in the forward cabin, so it wouldn't be getting air from the bilge or engine compartment.
The bilge is clean. The drip pan is clean. The unit (under the saloon settee) doesn't have a noticeable oily smell. It's as though it's leaking a tiny mist of compressor oil out of the heat exchanger into the air stream as it circulates through the ducts.
Upon explaining this, the repair rep at Mermaid said to send it in to be checked out. That will be some work to R&R the unit plus repair & shipping costs, so I want to be sure this is the right thing to do. Maybe the heat exchanger just needs to be cleaned, but how would that get oil on it in the first place?
I'm skeptical that the unit could leak oil without also losing enough freon to quit working. On the other hand, I can't imagine what else it could be. If anyone has or solved a similar problem, please advise.
There's an oily smell coming out of the AC / Heater ducts in our sailboat. It's mostly noticeable in heating mode. It's a Mermaid model M-16CHP-L unit.
The smell is like vaporized oil mist. Not hot engine oil or diesel (the engine compartment smells different, but it's pretty clean). The AC air intake is in the forward cabin, so it wouldn't be getting air from the bilge or engine compartment.
The bilge is clean. The drip pan is clean. The unit (under the saloon settee) doesn't have a noticeable oily smell. It's as though it's leaking a tiny mist of compressor oil out of the heat exchanger into the air stream as it circulates through the ducts.
Upon explaining this, the repair rep at Mermaid said to send it in to be checked out. That will be some work to R&R the unit plus repair & shipping costs, so I want to be sure this is the right thing to do. Maybe the heat exchanger just needs to be cleaned, but how would that get oil on it in the first place?
I'm skeptical that the unit could leak oil without also losing enough freon to quit working. On the other hand, I can't imagine what else it could be. If anyone has or solved a similar problem, please advise.
