10-21-2017, 09:07 PM | #1 |
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Contaminated Air Conditioning
This summer a strange slightly sweet chemical smell started coming through the air conditioner (both heat and cold, both recirc and fresh). A kind analytical chemist friend did some air sampling and found xylene, ethyl benzene, di and tri methyl benzene, and ethyl methyl benzene. I'm withholding my opinion about what this is. Question 1, has anyone experienced anything like this? Question 2, how do you get to the air intake both cabin and fresh? Does anyone have photos of these intakes? I have pulled off covers but cannot find anything that looks like an intake/hole. I know where they are supposed to be.
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10-22-2017, 09:53 AM | #2 | |
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10-22-2017, 10:58 AM | #3 | ||
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Why you ask? |
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10-22-2017, 02:12 PM | #5 |
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My EMF detector is starting to go off.
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10-22-2017, 02:32 PM | #6 | |
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Also noteworthy is to know the concentrations that these gasses have been found in?
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10-22-2017, 03:46 PM | #7 |
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Could just be an evaporator leak. There's a distinctive odor when there's a leak. Not sure what all is in refrigerant these days, so no opinion on how refrigerant matches up with the chemical analysis.
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10-22-2017, 08:22 PM | #10 |
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Yes, only outside control. Good question! I would like to find a another car to use as a control. I do not know the exact ppm because the pump we had to pull the samples was really old and not in calibration. The peak (signal) size was the same for 5 minute and 10 minute pulls which means that the tubes were saturated in less than 5 minutes. I thought about the coolant but it really does not smell quite "sweet enough" to be the coolant. Also no ethylene glycol found. The cabin air filter smells the same way.
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air conditioning, chemicals, intake, smell |
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