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techntrek View Drop Down
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Posts: 9059 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: A warning - propane may not smell like rotten eggs
    Posted: 09 Aug 2015 at 10:27pm
Most of the time LP is odorized with ethyl mercaptan, which to many people smells like rotten eggs.  But, in some cases it can have different chemicals added.  I learned that last week the hard way.

We just wrapped up a long trip, and as we were cleaning up the camper before leaving our final campsite we started smelling something foul which we couldn't figure out.  Since I had just emptied the black tank I figured that was the cause somehow, so we closed it up and drove home.  The smell was still there when we opened it up to unpack.  So I turned on the vent fan - after sticking my nose in every cabinet and nook.  I started wondering if I had picked up some road kill and it was filter up through the floor, because it smelled like a rotten mouse and not like rotten eggs.

Fast forward almost a week.  Same smell, and I'm getting ready to crawl underneath to look for rotting stuff.  A friend stopped by to pick up her kid as I was nosing around in the camper for the 5th or 6th time.  She started looking around and within a minute found one of the knobs on the stove was slightly on.  We had been leaking propane for nearly a week and never figured it out because it didn't smell like rotten eggs like we were used to.  We were fortunate that it never built up to a dangerous level because it vented while we were driving home, and then I turned on the vent fan (which is new with a sealed assembly so no sparks).

Make sure you know what the propane in your area smells like.  I filled up the tank we were using while we were on the road.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 120 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Aug 2015 at 10:30pm
Thank You for the important info !
Ina & Philip Kennedy
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Posts: 122 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Aug 2015 at 10:41pm
Originally posted by techntrek

Most of the time LP is odorized with ethyl mercaptan, which to many people smells like rotten eggs.  But, in some cases it can have different chemicals added.  I learned that last week the hard way.

We just wrapped up a long trip, and as we were cleaning up the camper before leaving our final campsite we started smelling something foul which we couldn't figure out.  Since I had just emptied the black tank I figured that was the cause somehow, so we closed it up and drove home.  The smell was still there when we opened it up to unpack.  So I turned on the vent fan - after sticking my nose in every cabinet and nook.  I started wondering if I had picked up some road kill and it was filter up through the floor, because it smelled like a rotten mouse and not like rotten eggs.

Fast forward almost a week.  Same smell, and I'm getting ready to crawl underneath to look for rotting stuff.  A friend stopped by to pick up her kid as I was nosing around in the camper for the 5th or 6th time.  She started looking around and within a minute found one of the knobs on the stove was slightly on.  We had been leaking propane for nearly a week and never figured it out because it didn't smell like rotten eggs like we were used to.  We were fortunate that it never built up to a dangerous level because it vented while we were driving home, and then I turned on the vent fan (which is new with a sealed assembly so no sparks).

Make sure you know what the propane in your area smells like.  I filled up the tank we were using while we were on the road.


Where EVER you purchased that propane I would call them, questions them, file a complaint and also with the state in which you purchased it.  I'm not positive but from my past in a Fire Dept I believe that it is required by law to smell like it does and not like anything else.
I have heard of over fumigating gasoline but not the wrong stuff. We had a fire instructor from the Twin Cities of MN tell us one time when the local refinery had over fumigated their gasoline.  He said there was an absolutely unbelievable number of fire runs because every one was smelling gas everywhere!
Bruce & Donna in the Sno Pod
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Posts: 9059 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2015 at 11:04am
From what I've read online, the only requirement is there is an odorant of some type, it doesn't need to be the usual chemical, though.


According to this, only 95% of the companies use ethyl mercaptan.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 122 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2015 at 2:18pm
Hmmm interesting!
Well that's what we come here for.............. Edgeucashun.  Tongue
Bruce & Donna in the Sno Pod
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Posts: 9059 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 10 Aug 2015 at 3:36pm
I definitely got an education.  Rotten mouse can = gas!  We are also very lucky the camper didn't explode.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 18 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2015 at 12:33am
Didn't the LP detector go off?  Heck ours goes off with sewer and even opening the sink the first time after long storage.

Skunks also have mercaptans in their juice.  So yeah it could have been road kill too!

CNG and LNG used in cars/trucks/buses are often un-odorized as well.  Only the consumer stuff gets the stink.
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Posts: 193 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2015 at 5:45pm
We had a somewhat similar (although probably not as dangerous) incident when we were camping last month.  After nearly two weeks on the road with no issues, we returned from a walk one evening to discover a foul odor inside the camper.  Like you, I sniffed around in every nook and cranny.  It seemed to be coming from under the bed, near the furnace area of our 177. 

My wife thought it smelled like propane.  I thought it was a vent issue with the black tank or maybe the gray.  To be safe, I turned off the propane bottle, opened all the windows, etc., and went to bed. 

Next morning, it was still there, although somewhat better.  I figured it couldn't be the propane, so I turned it back on.  The next day, it was a better, but still there.  Then I opened the outside storage (which is under the bed in the back) and the smell was VERY strong. 

After pulling everything out, I discovered the cause:  A small propane canister for our grill had leaked.  It was probably 1/2 to 3/4 full when I put it away, but was now empty.  I left both doors open on the outside area for several hours.  I believe the smell had permeated the wood, but within two days, it was completely gone.

The reason the canister had leaked was that I had foolishly left it attached to the regulator (although I had removed it from the grill).  The knob must have gotten pushed in when I stored it.  That's a mistake I'll never make again.  I am surprised that the propane detector didn't go off.  It's located on the opposite end of the camper under the dinette, but the smell, although strongest in the bed area, was everywhere.
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Posts: 9059 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Aug 2015 at 9:03pm
Nope, the LP detector didn't go off.  In our pod just keeping the toilet open during a good tank flush would set it off.  The Salem is much larger and the detector is forward of the stove relative to the exhaust fan, so once that was on I'm sure it kept the area around the detector clear.  It is possible the detector went off after we closed up and started down the road, but with the vent open it must have cleared out and was ok until we opened it up and turned on the fan.

That said, I will test my LP detector somehow.  I just replaced it 2 months ago because the original one aged out.

The odor in the camper completely went away after 2 days.  I'm sure a lot of mercaptan had soaked into the fabrics.  Relatively a lot - the stuff is very potent.  They only add 1.5 pounds of it to 10,000 gallons of liquid LP, so the amount in the gas floating to your nose must be measured in parts per million.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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