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Getting fuel odor out of cockpit

Bill Boyd

Bill Boyd

Well Known Member
I have under-seat fuel filters in the RV-10 with associated compression fittings. On the seat pan floor today during my conditional inspection I noticed a sticky puddle of varnish/residue from what must have been a very slow seepage from one end of the filter. The plane has often had a gasoline smell inside when sitting with doors closed and it's now worse after opening up the seat pans and airing this space out. I want to clean this residue out well enough that the smell doesn't return, but it has seeped under fay surfaces in the belly where stiffeners, spar web and bulkheads attach. The inevitable fuel spill from loosening and removing the filters for service has wetted and carried the residue still further into the recesses of the space beyond where it was forming a small stain before. I've wiped and blotted up as much as I can access with a rag over my fingertips. I can't get it all that way, though.

Wondering if there's an old-timer's gouge for getting gasoline residue out of closed compartments like this without damaging paint or otherwise making maters worse.

A tiny seep like this was and its associated odor doesn't really bother me - smells like my first car and just about every boat I've ever been around, but the wife is sensitive to the smell of gasoline on a whole different level - it can spoil the enjoyment of a cross-country for her from the minute she boards. To make matters worse, it's mostly mogas - which we all know smells awfully worse than 100 LL.

Thanks for any cleaning agent/technique hints.
 
Try cleaning a sample surface with parts/brake spray cleaner, followed with compressed air to flush from between riveted flanges, than rinse clean with dish soap and water. Have your wife sniff test for acceptability.
 
Wow, you smelled gas in the cabin but ignored it, really bad idea, especially in the tunnel of the 10,
Not trying to be critical but if you smell fuel in the cabin when you open the door, you have leak.
 
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Hair of the dog. Use a little mogas on a rag to dissolve the varnish then follow up with mineral spirits. Leave open and blow a fan in there for a few days.

You might also try a product called nature’s miracle which contains enzymes to neutralize pet odors. Fuel is an organic compound after all. 🤷‍♂️

It’s tough to get that smell out completely without setting the whole thing on fire. Good luck!!
 
Walt said:
Wow, you smelled gas in the cabin but ignored it, really bad idea, especially in the tunnel of the 10,
Not trying to be critical but if you smell fuel in the cabin when you open the door, you have leak.
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Spot on. I smelled fuel when I first started flying my 8. I looked, but could not find anything leaking at all. I knew something was wrong, but I just kind of started thinking it was normal. Got tired of the smell, and at some point, I just went in and put a wrench on every single B nut I could find, and found one that gave me about a 1/8 turn - smell was gone shortly after. No blue stain, no drips, even an e-bay gas sniffer didn't find anything. Don't ignore that smell.
 
I agree that if you can smell it, it's coming from somewhere - probably a leak but not always. Sometimes it's a tank vent overflow event or a leaking vent line B-nut flare inside the tank (I have experienced both) that is dripping in the wing root area and smelling up the confined cockpit space. My philosophy is if you've looked everywhere and can't identify it until it's been seeping for months, it's a pretty small leak and you've done what you can do. Risk is real, but relative. I'm accustomed to smelling gas when I get into the RV because it's darn near impossible to fuel the thing with jerry cans and Mister Funnel without getting a single drop on your person. With mogas, that's all the cologne it takes. I become the air-unfreshener as soon as we board.

I have identified the flare connection that was the culprit this time, and have a specific spill I'm trying to decontaminate. Appreciate Ralph and Jeremy's suggestions.
 
I used an Aerolab gascolator so I could hopefully avoid getting any fuel smells in the cabin from routine filter inspections and to date its been the perfect solution. The only "residue" smell of avgas is from the dipstick which I keep in the sidepocket beside my left knee.

As for getting rid of that smell, you can try your best but just like the smell of fabric, dope and leather in an old Cub, that smell of avgas becomes part of the bettina of your aeroplane. I don't know about you but if I poke my head into a Cub it brings back childhood memories. Same with a Cessna, same with the Bolkow. Each has its own comforting and all-embracing smell. I'm not saying you should fly around witih the stench of fuel in your cabin - I'm just saying that even your best efforts to clean it up might result in a background flavour that forms part of the reason why you love hopping on board to go flying.
 
planenutz said:
I used an Aerolab gascolator so I could hopefully avoid getting any fuel smells in the cabin from routine filter inspections and to date its been the perfect solution. The only "residue" smell of avgas is from the dipstick which I keep in the sidepocket beside my left knee.

As for getting rid of that smell, you can try your best but just like the smell of fabric, dope and leather in an old Cub, that smell of avgas becomes part of the bettina of your aeroplane. I don't know about you but if I poke my head into a Cub it brings back childhood memories. Same with a Cessna, same with the Bolkow. Each has its own comforting and all-embracing smell. I'm not saying you should fly around witih the stench of fuel in your cabin - I'm just saying that even your best efforts to clean it up might result in a background flavour that forms part of the reason why you love hopping on board to go flying.
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when i built a tank i made several trips to the welder for leaks. i would empty the tank of fuel and let a very small pancake fan [computer cooling] run in the filler neck for a week. absolutely no smell afterwards.
 
I suspect any upholstery and carpet or other fabric in the cabin is hosting the fragrance and will need a thorough cleaning (maybe professionally?) before all the scent is eradicated.
 
Concur w/ Sam: thorough cleaning of all the porous surfaces should help both a) mask the smell immediately, and b) remove the odor.

For the long term... you might consider asking Aircraft Specialty Flightlines about a wing root fuel filter retrofit: easier to get to filter, and less likely to release fuel in the cabin again.
YMMV.
 
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esco said:
Concur w/ Sam: thorough cleaning of all the porous surfaces should help both a) mask the smell immediately, and b) remove the odor.

For the long term... uou might consider asking Aircraft Specialty Flightlines about a wing root fuel filter retrofit: easier to get to filter, and less likely to release fuel in the cabin again.
YMMV.
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Another reason why we opted for wing root filters. We saw from experience that builders would have leaks in their connections, and we certainly didnt want fuel leaking into the cabin. Some of you may remember the RV10 explosion and fire at 3J1 many years ago----fuel fumes in the tunnel, sparked flap motor, destroyed airplane. Obviously the best solution is PROPER, tight, leak free connections. Thats 90% of the problem.
 
RV7A Flyer said:
Just don't spill it. If you do, I'd worry about aluminum being corroded by galvanic reaction with the carbon.
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The packages will keep the granular carbon well contained. You might be thinking about loose powdered activated carbon. And yes, that is a problem, even for steel. Ask me how I know. :)

Additionally, the product I linked keeps the carbon very well contained. How, I'm not at liberty to discuss. ;)

My opinions are mine alone, and do not represent those of my employer.
 
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