Diesel smell in the cabin

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Colin
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by Colin »

I have chased that smell since I owned my plane. Over a thousand hours of flying, I guess. I believe it is a combination of factors.

The primary one is that 110LL evaporates and the smell is blown out of the cockpit and it's gone. JetA, if you step in a little puddle as you climb onto the wing, will get into the carpet off your shoe and it will be WEEKS of fuel smell in the cabin. So whatever the source, the smell is worse and lasts a lot longer.

Stupidly, the fresh air vent is downhill from the fuel fill spots so when the line personnel mis-fuel it or spill and it runs down the wing it is really easy for it to wind up in the pathway for "fresh" air to enter the cabin. I am certain this is the source of a lot of my complaints. Recently at MDW they were in a hurry to fuel my plane and get it off the ramp and they squeeze the trigger full, like they were fueling a jet. Fuel sprayed everywhere.

As pointed out, vapors will move from the nose compartment into the passenger compartment.

And there are a few fittings and hoses that run through the cabin under the seats. Apparently my fuel selectors for crossfeed were leaking a little.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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dant
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by dant »

Yeesh. I don't know if I'll ever be in a position to own a da42/62 but one can dream. However, my wife's sense of smell is extremely sensitive, and she gets nauseous easily. Being forced to smell a wee bit of jet fuel all the time will not help that!
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Colin
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by Colin »

I open the fresh air vent just a little bit and the smell is blown back into the luggage area. My wife doesn't ever mention the smell and she's pretty sensitive.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
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Chris
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by Chris »

My wife has a bionic nose as well but usually doesn't complain about diesel fuel smell in our DA42 unless I messed up and brought some in on my shoes or something. As Colin said, it can take weeks to go away when that happens.

I store the fuel tester in sealed plastic bags in the nose compartment and throw away gloves after I use them. I also never fill the outer tanks more than "three inches from the top".

For something as bad as what the OP is reporting, I would probably have somebody check out the fuel lines / selectors well to make sure something isn't dripping. It sounds worse than incidental contamination, especially if not sumping during pre-flight.
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Bavarian911
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by Bavarian911 »

I reported my “diesel smell” issue to my mx shop. They told me that this should not be normal. They will check the exhaust system when I drop the plane.
I will report back what they found.
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Davestation
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by Davestation »

Not sure what the exhaust would have to do with it. Like others have said, it’s generally fuel running out the vent and down to the wing stub or the filter drain dripping and obviously if there was a fuel line leak somewhere in the nacelle - I’d start with the boost pump pack
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photoSteveZ
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by photoSteveZ »

I’ve had a persistent slow leak in the left nacelle, behind the firewall, in the connections to the crossfeed selector valve. And my left Aux quick drain is prone to leaking, too. But I don’t have any diesel smell in the cabin.
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by Bavarian911 »

MX shop diagnosed leaking fuel selector.
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by BlueYonder »

Great thread. I just picked up the plane from annual (at Premier in Ft Worth) on Monday, and it's suddenly developed this issue. Could well be an overfilled wing or aux tank -- the ramp guys at Meacham were less than careful on the last fill. But it's not dissipating, over the course of four flights now, which is what I'd expect. Could be a leak in the x-feed/fuel selector system -- that was our first guess. Sump cup & fuel-handling gear has been stored in the left nose bay for over a year, and smells have never been an issue, so I don't know why that would change now.

The plane is still in the DFW area, so I'm getting it back to Dave to have him check it out before I take it home to Seattle.
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Re: Diesel smell in the cabin

Post by RDGUSLLC »

Over filling is common. Diesel odor is potent especially in a closed aircraft. Passengers may inadvertently step in overflow. Even a little bit smells real bad and can get on carpet and rudder pedals. Secondly, if they over fill, you may have drops ready to fall under the wing be careful not to get them on your clothes. Baking Soda and Vinegar for surfaces. Listerine and Fast Orange Hand Cleaner. Also try PureAyre Marine Odor Eliminator.
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