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Old 07-16-2014, 09:16 AM   #1
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Unknown air in our 21?

We are near the end of a 4 week adventure in our 21 which has stretched to over 3500 miles so far. We're now in Sequim Wa. where it's finally cooler. Last night we closed up the trailer, set the thermostat for 62 and went to bed. I sleep next to the bathroom wall. I woke up at 2am to an unpleasant smell. With a fuzzy mind I rolled over and went back to sleep. About 30 minutes later I woke again, this time with a little clearer head and got up. I thought it smelled like urine at first so I checked the bathroom. It was the only place in the trailer that smelled good. It didn't smell like propane and no alarms were active, so I opened the Max-fan and kitchen window and turned on the fan. It cleared in no time. I know we made a mistake by closing up the trailer, but what was that smell? Any ideas?.
Tom
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:25 AM   #2
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We are near the end of a 4 week adventure in our 21 which has stretched to over 3500 miles so far. We're now in Sequim Wa. where it's finally cooler. Last night we closed up the trailer, set the thermostat for 62 and went to bed. I sleep next to the bathroom wall. I woke up at 2am to an unpleasant smell. With a fuzzy mind I rolled over and went back to sleep. About 30 minutes later I woke again, this time with a little clearer head and got up. I thought it smelled like urine at first so I checked the bathroom. It was the only place in the trailer that smelled good. It didn't smell like propane and no alarms were active, so I opened the Max-fan and kitchen window and turned on the fan. It cleared in no time. I know we made a mistake by closing up the trailer, but what was that smell? Any ideas?.
Tom
Hi: TAfraser... Oh NO!!! A strong odour of ammonia usually signals a leak in the fridge cooling unit. Hope the fridge is still cooling OK? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:49 AM   #3
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What did you have to eat or drink the night before?

In our 19 we have rarely had a smell like that inside, but outside near the vent for the grey tank we have had an 'off' smell. We not add a bit of grey tank treatment much of the time, and the smell has dissapeared.
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Old 07-16-2014, 09:51 AM   #4
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Check to be sure the drain in the shower is fully tightened. On our 19 we could get nasty smells if loosened or was left open.
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Old 07-16-2014, 10:27 AM   #5
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Alf, I thought about the fridge first but it still seems to be working, albeit poorly. I don't smell it at all with the trailer vent open, and the bathroom was the freshest place in the trailer. Could I have a small leak that only shows whenever we close up. And could that be what's giving us the operational issues?
Tom
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Old 07-16-2014, 11:08 AM   #6
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Alf, I thought about the fridge first but it still seems to be working, albeit poorly. I don't smell it at all with the trailer vent open, and the bathroom was the freshest place in the trailer. Could I have a small leak that only shows whenever we close up. And could that be what's giving us the operational issues?
Tom
Hi: TAfraser... A good RVTech could do a leak check on the boiler/coils for not to mucho $$$'s. If the ammonia is leaking out eventually the fridge will not work at all!!! To bad we don't have smell-o-forum!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie
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Old 07-16-2014, 11:33 AM   #7
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Hi Tom
We got the same smell a couple of times and after researching it online I added some water tank cleaner/freshener and never had the smell again.

Note: I added it each time I dumped the tank.

Cheers
Doug
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Old 07-16-2014, 11:51 AM   #8
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You said you closed up and set what to 62? Heat?
I had a strong odor after towing and the unit was closed up except for the bath vent, if you tanks have contents, the exhaust for the black is right next to the vent in the bathroom. Once I emptied, smell was gone.
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