Mikuni my30 diesel heater

[frogster]

Hello,
New to this forum, so hello,
Iam looking for some advice about why my heating on my cruiser smells of diesel and its quite bad that when you go home you notice your clothes wreak of diesel.
I have only just brought the boat and not very savvy when it comes to knowing whats what.

The heater has had a good run but still has not cleared the system.
The engine does not give off any fumes when running, only when the heating is on.

Can any one give me any advice, this concerns me with health implications and not to mention the odour.
Kind regards
Shaun

 

[vyv_cox]

Welcome to the forum.
Diesel heaters comprise two totally separate circuits, combustion and heating air. Ideally combustion air and exhaust are taken from outside the boat, with heating air drawn from inside the boat or well away from the combustion exhaust so that fumes cannot be drawn in to the heating circuit. This is the first thing you should check.

If the smell is definitely diesel and not exhaust it would seem there is a leak inside the unit. I suggest you strip it and replace whatever is necessary (gauze, gaskets etc as I do not know the unit). Manuals for most equipment are available somewhere on the internet.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Are you sure it is associated with the Mukuni heater? The reason I say this is that when I bought my boat, diesel from the heater had been spilled by the previous owner, maybe during repairs or replacement of the standpipe and fuel line from the tank (which was new when I bought the boat). It took a lot of cleaning to get rid of it and the smell still lingered for a long time. Check for spills. Soak up and spills, clean with a degreasing agent and then wash with hot soapy water a few times. Test for lingering diesel by spraying on fresh water and checking for a sheen.

In my case it was in the bilge area, to the side of the main diesel tank where the standpipe was fitted.

 

[jdc]

I have a set of MY30 manuals (pdf); if you would like a copy, PM me.

 

[Bjoern]

Hei, I’m trying to see if the old Mikuni MY30D-6 can be serviced or to be replaced. Any chance I can ask for manuals?

 

[stu9000]

Check the fuel line from tank to heater unit. Should be fairly easy to eyeball at least the sart and the end. Look for streaks and drip marks. Does it start ok or does it generate plumes of white smoke (issue with glow plug and gauze).

Try to look or film under the unit when running. There are two pipes for the burner. Air in and exhaust out. If the exhaust out pipe is leaking the fumes could get sucked into the blown air intake.

There are two loops. One is the combustion. Think of a bunsen burner encased in metal. The narrow diameter pipes under the unit allow air in for the flame, and exhaust thr harmful gases. The second loop is the large diameter intake and output for the air that blows over thr hot metal fins, and into thr cabin. The two loops never mix.

I had an eberspacher d4 that never worked properly and in the end i replaced it with a Chinese diesel heater costing £65. Now, these cheap Chinese copies are built to a much lower standard but I've had mine in the boat for 3 years and it's still going strong. The one that heats my shed started to rattle after 3 years (bearings) so I have just replaced that unit. I could probably have swopped in a new turbo fan for £18.

As others asked, are you sure it is the heater? My wife always says i smell of diesel when I come off the boat. Its an old engine. Nothing really wrong. I might fit a fan and vent to create a negative air pressure in engine bay.

Is there oil in the bilge?

New boat. You will be ironing out gremlins for a while. All.part of thr adventure.

 

[stu9000]

In terms of health, if the exhaust gases are leaking, thst is not great. Get a co2 and co1 alarm. They are cheap, and give peace of mind.

It might just be an old dirty engine that gives off fumes when it gets hot. Give it a good scrub with an engine cleaner and wash out your bilges. That helps with my volvo vp2002 engine.

 

[billskip]

New boat. You will be ironing out gremlins for a while. All.part of thr adventure.

Wonder if he has ironed then all out yet

 

[billskip]

In terms of health

Post was nearly 2 years old...hope he is stihealthy

 

[jdc]

here: https://awelina.com/old_site/misc_files/MikuniMY30Installation Manual - Norwegian.pdf
and: https://awelina.com/old_site/misc_files/MY30 service manual.pdf