Any ideas about what to use to clean heavy diesel smoke/soot off the teak in the inside of the cabin? I need something that won't just dissolve the soot and turn it into black stain. What happened was, the exhaust pipe on our Universal cracked recently and and I didn't notice, because the pipe is wrapped in insulation (does anyone know if it's fiberglass or asbestos ... it looks like fiberglass cloth) It was the last day of our vacation and we had 30 miles to go to get back home, so I kept going, and the cabin filled with black smoke, which is now all over the interior. What makes this especially sad is that I just spent 4 weekends sanding and oiling every bit of wood in the salon. I guess you could file this one under "no good deed goes unpunished"
By the way, I hope someone can learn from my misfortune ... check your exhaust pipe. Either unwrap the insulation and look for cracks, or at least give the pipe a good shove to see if it's ready to fail. Another question ... does anyone know the specs for the muffler? It seems to have a plastic top. One of the nipples broke loose from the top so the big exhaust hose is no longer connected. I actually have exhaust blowing out from two places!
Thanks in advance ... I'd be lost without this board.
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME
CD33 #117
cscheck@aol.com
Diesel soot in the cabin
Moderator: Jim Walsh
-
Larry DeMers
Re: Diesel soot in the cabin
Hi Chris,
What a mess, heh? What I have found to be very effective against oily products, especially diesel fuel is good old 409 spray cleaner. I would try this first. Next would be to call home restoration businesses in your area. This is a business that services the community of people that have fires in their homes, or say, a fuel oil furnace that burps and dumps oily residue all over the house. They have cleaners that they use for the walls and floors, carpeting, sofa etc. They would have some hints on cleaning the interior up, along with sources.
Good Luck, hope it cleans up well..
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30
demers@sgi.com
What a mess, heh? What I have found to be very effective against oily products, especially diesel fuel is good old 409 spray cleaner. I would try this first. Next would be to call home restoration businesses in your area. This is a business that services the community of people that have fires in their homes, or say, a fuel oil furnace that burps and dumps oily residue all over the house. They have cleaners that they use for the walls and floors, carpeting, sofa etc. They would have some hints on cleaning the interior up, along with sources.
Good Luck, hope it cleans up well..
Larry DeMers
s/v DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30
Chris Scheck wrote: Any ideas about what to use to clean heavy diesel smoke/soot off the teak in the inside of the cabin? I need something that won't just dissolve the soot and turn it into black stain. What happened was, the exhaust pipe on our Universal cracked recently and and I didn't notice, because the pipe is wrapped in insulation (does anyone know if it's fiberglass or asbestos ... it looks like fiberglass cloth) It was the last day of our vacation and we had 30 miles to go to get back home, so I kept going, and the cabin filled with black smoke, which is now all over the interior. What makes this especially sad is that I just spent 4 weekends sanding and oiling every bit of wood in the salon. I guess you could file this one under "no good deed goes unpunished"
By the way, I hope someone can learn from my misfortune ... check your exhaust pipe. Either unwrap the insulation and look for cracks, or at least give the pipe a good shove to see if it's ready to fail. Another question ... does anyone know the specs for the muffler? It seems to have a plastic top. One of the nipples broke loose from the top so the big exhaust hose is no longer connected. I actually have exhaust blowing out from two places!
Thanks in advance ... I'd be lost without this board.
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME
CD33 #117
demers@sgi.com
-
Boyd
Re: Diesel soot in the cabin
Hi Chris...
I had the same failure only much more tramatic.... had to rebuild the engine also. The "tape wrap" on mine is fiberglass. Bought some at the Westerbeke dealer. I used a mixture of TSP, dish soap, in water. Be careful not to make it too strong. The TSP will take oils out ... including the teak oil you just put on. A little bleach will kill off mold and other odors. Test a spot first...
Good luck... Boyd
Boyd@wbta.cc
I had the same failure only much more tramatic.... had to rebuild the engine also. The "tape wrap" on mine is fiberglass. Bought some at the Westerbeke dealer. I used a mixture of TSP, dish soap, in water. Be careful not to make it too strong. The TSP will take oils out ... including the teak oil you just put on. A little bleach will kill off mold and other odors. Test a spot first...
Good luck... Boyd
Chris Scheck wrote: Any ideas about what to use to clean heavy diesel smoke/soot off the teak in the inside of the cabin? I need something that won't just dissolve the soot and turn it into black stain. What happened was, the exhaust pipe on our Universal cracked recently and and I didn't notice, because the pipe is wrapped in insulation (does anyone know if it's fiberglass or asbestos ... it looks like fiberglass cloth) It was the last day of our vacation and we had 30 miles to go to get back home, so I kept going, and the cabin filled with black smoke, which is now all over the interior. What makes this especially sad is that I just spent 4 weekends sanding and oiling every bit of wood in the salon. I guess you could file this one under "no good deed goes unpunished"
By the way, I hope someone can learn from my misfortune ... check your exhaust pipe. Either unwrap the insulation and look for cracks, or at least give the pipe a good shove to see if it's ready to fail. Another question ... does anyone know the specs for the muffler? It seems to have a plastic top. One of the nipples broke loose from the top so the big exhaust hose is no longer connected. I actually have exhaust blowing out from two places!
Thanks in advance ... I'd be lost without this board.
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME
CD33 #117
Boyd@wbta.cc
-
Chris Reinke - CC330
Re: Diesel soot in the cabin
I had a similar failure on my CD330 with my Universal M-30. My failure occurred at the “Y” section where the water raw entered the system from the heat exchanger. My problem was compounded by the inability of separating the “Y” from the heavy cast SS pipe sections, which attached to the exhaust flange. I basically had to replace the entire system from the flange to muffler. I old heat wrap had masked the problems and hindered any visual inspection for many years. I was able to get replacement heat wrap at a local auto parts store that was a bit less costly than the same product from any “marine” suppliers.
I was also in the middle of a lengthy cruise when the failure occurred and was forced to run for about 2 hours with the fumes entering the cabin. I found Soft Scrub to be very effective on removing the residue from any of the non-wood surfaces.
I have also added on additional new piece of equipment on the boat, which I would never have considered prior to this experience – CO detector. If the failure had occurred while motoring overnight when the exhaust may have gone unnoticed and crew members may have been sleeping, the outcome could have been catastrophic.
chris.reinke@sac.com
I was also in the middle of a lengthy cruise when the failure occurred and was forced to run for about 2 hours with the fumes entering the cabin. I found Soft Scrub to be very effective on removing the residue from any of the non-wood surfaces.
I have also added on additional new piece of equipment on the boat, which I would never have considered prior to this experience – CO detector. If the failure had occurred while motoring overnight when the exhaust may have gone unnoticed and crew members may have been sleeping, the outcome could have been catastrophic.
Chris Scheck wrote: Any ideas about what to use to clean heavy diesel smoke/soot off the teak in the inside of the cabin? I need something that won't just dissolve the soot and turn it into black stain. What happened was, the exhaust pipe on our Universal cracked recently and and I didn't notice, because the pipe is wrapped in insulation (does anyone know if it's fiberglass or asbestos ... it looks like fiberglass cloth) It was the last day of our vacation and we had 30 miles to go to get back home, so I kept going, and the cabin filled with black smoke, which is now all over the interior. What makes this especially sad is that I just spent 4 weekends sanding and oiling every bit of wood in the salon. I guess you could file this one under "no good deed goes unpunished"
By the way, I hope someone can learn from my misfortune ... check your exhaust pipe. Either unwrap the insulation and look for cracks, or at least give the pipe a good shove to see if it's ready to fail. Another question ... does anyone know the specs for the muffler? It seems to have a plastic top. One of the nipples broke loose from the top so the big exhaust hose is no longer connected. I actually have exhaust blowing out from two places!
Thanks in advance ... I'd be lost without this board.
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME
CD33 #117
chris.reinke@sac.com
-
John R.
CO
The soot is a bad deal to be sure and like L. Demers mentioned a fire service company should be able to help you out. Keep in mind most of that teak is veneer and getting it overly wet or using a home brew chemical concoction is risky business. Do your homework before you grab any clean up tools or chemicals. Get some professional advice on the clean up.
The carbon monoxide issue from a cracked or failed exhaust system is a huge safety issue and should be of the greatest concern.
Your experience should be a wake up call for everyone to bone up on the dangers of exhaust problems and combustion source devices that can produce carbon monoxide poisoning. As a safeguard against such dangers from incidents such as yours a "UL" marine rated carbon monoxide sensor is a very appropriate piece of equipment to have on any boat with an enclosed cabin. It is not an exciting piece of gear to spend $$$ on but it just may save someones life and is worth every cent spent on it.
About twelve years ago three of us were working on a little Pearson Ensign that had a small 9 hp diesel and we had it running for quite some time while doing a run in test after replacing the injector, fuel line and installing a fuel/water separator. We were in the cabin fitting some sail storage netting in the bow and doing some other work. Unknowingly at the time we had a pretty good breeze coming over the stern and it was blowing some of the exhaust into the cabin which we weren't aware of and didn't smell. It only took a couple hours and all of us were feeling kind of sick when we left (after later discussions revealed). I had a horrible headache after leaving that job and was feeling weak, like I was coming down with the flu. I didn't think much about it at the time, just chalked it up to another gift from the winter tourists. The next day one of the guys didn't show up at work. Later that morning, we found out he wound up in the hospital the night before with vomiting and also a horrible headache. Later that same night after some testing he was informed he had an elevated carbon monoxide level in his blood. After hearing that news it didn't take us long to figure out what had happened. We were all quite lucky from that experience, many people are not so lucky and aren't here to tell their story. Lynn and Larry Pardy once had a very close call from carbon monoxide poisoning and they don't even have an engine. Be alert everyone, be very careful. Carbon monoxide is very deadly and sneaky, you can't smell it, see it or taste it. There is only one way to detect it and that is with a sensor. Be smart, be safe....buy one and install it correctly. Inspect all combustion equipment sources on a regular basis and keep the exhaust system in tip top condition. When using any equipment that is a combustion source make certain there is a good flow of fresh air through the cabin.
Good luck with the soot clean up. Be glad you avoided any health mishaps. See the link below for some CO poisoning information.
Any ideas about what to use to clean heavy diesel smoke/soot off the teak in the inside of the cabin? I need something that won't just dissolve the soot and turn it into black stain. What happened was, the exhaust pipe on our Universal cracked recently and and I didn't notice, because the pipe is wrapped in insulation (does anyone know if it's fiberglass or asbestos ... it looks like fiberglass cloth) It was the last day of our vacation and we had 30 miles to go to get back home, so I kept going, and the cabin filled with black smoke, which is now all over the interior. What makes this especially sad is that I just spent 4 weekends sanding and oiling every bit of wood in the salon. I guess you could file this one under "no good deed goes unpunished"
The carbon monoxide issue from a cracked or failed exhaust system is a huge safety issue and should be of the greatest concern.
Your experience should be a wake up call for everyone to bone up on the dangers of exhaust problems and combustion source devices that can produce carbon monoxide poisoning. As a safeguard against such dangers from incidents such as yours a "UL" marine rated carbon monoxide sensor is a very appropriate piece of equipment to have on any boat with an enclosed cabin. It is not an exciting piece of gear to spend $$$ on but it just may save someones life and is worth every cent spent on it.
About twelve years ago three of us were working on a little Pearson Ensign that had a small 9 hp diesel and we had it running for quite some time while doing a run in test after replacing the injector, fuel line and installing a fuel/water separator. We were in the cabin fitting some sail storage netting in the bow and doing some other work. Unknowingly at the time we had a pretty good breeze coming over the stern and it was blowing some of the exhaust into the cabin which we weren't aware of and didn't smell. It only took a couple hours and all of us were feeling kind of sick when we left (after later discussions revealed). I had a horrible headache after leaving that job and was feeling weak, like I was coming down with the flu. I didn't think much about it at the time, just chalked it up to another gift from the winter tourists. The next day one of the guys didn't show up at work. Later that morning, we found out he wound up in the hospital the night before with vomiting and also a horrible headache. Later that same night after some testing he was informed he had an elevated carbon monoxide level in his blood. After hearing that news it didn't take us long to figure out what had happened. We were all quite lucky from that experience, many people are not so lucky and aren't here to tell their story. Lynn and Larry Pardy once had a very close call from carbon monoxide poisoning and they don't even have an engine. Be alert everyone, be very careful. Carbon monoxide is very deadly and sneaky, you can't smell it, see it or taste it. There is only one way to detect it and that is with a sensor. Be smart, be safe....buy one and install it correctly. Inspect all combustion equipment sources on a regular basis and keep the exhaust system in tip top condition. When using any equipment that is a combustion source make certain there is a good flow of fresh air through the cabin.
Good luck with the soot clean up. Be glad you avoided any health mishaps. See the link below for some CO poisoning information.
Any ideas about what to use to clean heavy diesel smoke/soot off the teak in the inside of the cabin? I need something that won't just dissolve the soot and turn it into black stain. What happened was, the exhaust pipe on our Universal cracked recently and and I didn't notice, because the pipe is wrapped in insulation (does anyone know if it's fiberglass or asbestos ... it looks like fiberglass cloth) It was the last day of our vacation and we had 30 miles to go to get back home, so I kept going, and the cabin filled with black smoke, which is now all over the interior. What makes this especially sad is that I just spent 4 weekends sanding and oiling every bit of wood in the salon. I guess you could file this one under "no good deed goes unpunished"
Chris Scheck wrote: By the way, I hope someone can learn from my misfortune ... check your exhaust pipe. Either unwrap the insulation and look for cracks, or at least give the pipe a good shove to see if it's ready to fail. Another question ... does anyone know the specs for the muffler? It seems to have a plastic top. One of the nipples broke loose from the top so the big exhaust hose is no longer connected. I actually have exhaust blowing out from two places!
Thanks in advance ... I'd be lost without this board.
Chris Scheck
RAGTIME
CD33 #117
-
Olli Wendelin
Re: Diesel soot in the cabin
Chris,
A few years back I had a fire which covered the entire interior with soot. We scrubbed everything with a clorox and soap mixture. After repairs and painting I cleaned the teak using West Marine's two part teak cleaner, then oiled it with lemon oil. The teak came out great.
This does require liberal flushing with a water hose, so not something to be done lightly. The only area to suffer was the plywood sole, which was all ready starting to delaminate from normal use. I plan to install a solid planked ipe sole eventually.
Good Luck,
Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC
wendelin@spawar.navy.mil
A few years back I had a fire which covered the entire interior with soot. We scrubbed everything with a clorox and soap mixture. After repairs and painting I cleaned the teak using West Marine's two part teak cleaner, then oiled it with lemon oil. The teak came out great.
This does require liberal flushing with a water hose, so not something to be done lightly. The only area to suffer was the plywood sole, which was all ready starting to delaminate from normal use. I plan to install a solid planked ipe sole eventually.
Good Luck,
Olli Wendelin
BLUE MOON
Charleston, SC
wendelin@spawar.navy.mil
-
Robin Meigel
Re: Diesel soot in the cabin
Some friends of mine suffered a "total loss" fire when their boat was on the hard. (tung oil rags left aboard self-combusted). They decided to fix the boat up, with spectacular results. This is the email I received from Debbie. If you would like more info, email me directly and I will put you in touch with them:
Robin, upon checking w/ Dick re: the products we used following the boat fire:
1. Our "magic purple stuff" is a commercial industrial grade heavy degreaser, manufactured by Proctor/Gamble. We got the product from a friend of Dick's who worked for P/G, but is not retired. The product is not sold retail, as far as we know.
We can check the name if it when we go to the boat this weekend; the bottle is in our dock box. If your friend knows someone in Proctor/Gamble, perhaps he can get some that way. It IS truly great stuff.
2. The other product is not a cleaner, but a concentrated solution that helps eliminate smoke odor. We purchased it from the company that did the first "clean" on our boat following the fire. This cleaning company specialized in fire restoration.
Again, the bottle is in our dock box at the boat. We can check the name on the product this weekend. I'm not sure if we still have the name of the guy from whom it was purchased. If we can find it, I'll let you know. This is another product that is not available retail.
Not sure how helpful this info is except to let you know that we're working on it.
debbie
robin.meigel@alumnae.brynmawr.edu
Robin, upon checking w/ Dick re: the products we used following the boat fire:
1. Our "magic purple stuff" is a commercial industrial grade heavy degreaser, manufactured by Proctor/Gamble. We got the product from a friend of Dick's who worked for P/G, but is not retired. The product is not sold retail, as far as we know.
We can check the name if it when we go to the boat this weekend; the bottle is in our dock box. If your friend knows someone in Proctor/Gamble, perhaps he can get some that way. It IS truly great stuff.
2. The other product is not a cleaner, but a concentrated solution that helps eliminate smoke odor. We purchased it from the company that did the first "clean" on our boat following the fire. This cleaning company specialized in fire restoration.
Again, the bottle is in our dock box at the boat. We can check the name on the product this weekend. I'm not sure if we still have the name of the guy from whom it was purchased. If we can find it, I'll let you know. This is another product that is not available retail.
Not sure how helpful this info is except to let you know that we're working on it.
debbie
robin.meigel@alumnae.brynmawr.edu