Ozone? CO?

I have an “Ozone sensor” in my engine room. What is the purpose of this? I have no idea if it even works, or what it would be “protecting” me from.

I also have multiple carbon monoxide detectors. I know what these are for, but I was surprised during some recent work on my diesel air heater that released a large amount of diesel exhaust into the engine room, and yet no alarms sounded. How can I test that my CO detectors actually work?

schrater said:

I have an “Ozone sensor” in my engine room. What is the purpose of this? I have no idea if it even works, or what it would be “protecting” me from.

I also have multiple carbon monoxide detectors. I know what these are for, but I was surprised during some recent work on my diesel air heater that released a large amount of diesel exhaust into the engine room, and yet no alarms sounded. How can I test that my CO detectors actually work?

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This is to protect you from a hole in the ozone layer of your engine room so you don't get burned when going down there and you get out of it with a nice tan. This is an essential device on a boat ( it is essential to gt a nice tan).

L

You may also have an ozone generator, which is sometimes used to kill any viruses or bacteria that make it through your water maker or otherwise into your freshwater tank.

OK, we may be getting somewhere on the ozone. It turns out it may in fact be an ozone generator, which is actually an air deodorizer (it sits directly above the waste tank).

I’ve got to say it works quite well, since I do not have musty odors despite the old boat. One minor side effect is it appears to eat away at or soften the vinyls in the immediate vicinity.

schrater said:

How can I test that my CO detectors actually work?

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https://inspectusa.com/product_mobile.php?products_id=1838

First question, how old is all the stuff?

schrater said:

OK, we may be getting somewhere on the ozone. It turns out it may in fact be an ozone generator, which is actually an air deodorizer (it sits directly above the waste tank).

I’ve got to say it works quite well, since I do not have musty odors despite the old boat. One minor side effect is it appears to eat away at or soften the vinyls in the immediate vicinity.

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Yes, ozone attacks rubber. I have had some minor success with ozone killing musky mildew smells but I have been disappointed with the longevity of the machines

Ozone may do damage to the rubber hoses in the boat. I would do your own research about ozone generators and decide if you want to continue usng it or not. There are people that support the use of them and people that don’t agree on the usage.

There was a "Bilge Buster" installed in the bilge when I bought my boat. It didn't work, but replacing the generator element brought it back to life. It worked for almost 10 yrs until the generator element finally gave up. The company that made the device was long defunct, and with no parts available, I removed it.

It was located in the bilge where the shower sump, the vacuflush pumps, waste piping and holding tank all reside; an abundance of potential odor sources. It was quite effective in eliminating all odors. There was never any odor in the cabins, all very fresh smelling. The ozone is an oxidizer, so items stored in that area would be affected by that oxidizing property, and yes, it's hard on plastics and rubber. I believe it was a bit more capacity than was really needed. With it gone, there's some odor; but I possess a very keen sense of smell, so I'm aware of odors that most folks simply don't detect. So the ozone generator was an effective device, despite the downside of the effects of the oxidizing properties.

I have a medium size ozone generator that I use to eliminate odor at home and boat. I'll use it for a few days until the odor is gone then turn it off.

Ozone supposedly can hurt your lungs when it is concentrated and degrade rubber and some plastic.

I only use the ozone generator for major odor removal.

I remember back in the bad old days when smoking in bars and restaurants was allowed and large ozone generators hung from the ceiling removing smoke.

schrater said:

I also have multiple carbon monoxide detectors. I know what these are for, but I was surprised during some recent work on my diesel air heater that released a large amount of diesel exhaust into the engine room, and yet no alarms sounded. How can I test that my CO detectors actually work?

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CO detectors have a shelf life, I think older ones usually five years from the date of installation. If your's are older than that, I think I'd assume they're no longer viable... without even bothering to test.

-Chris

ranger42c said:

CO detectors have a shelf life, I think older ones usually five years from the date of installation. If your's are older than that, I think I'd assume they're no longer viable... without even bothering to test.

-Chris

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Yes, and the CO detector elements can also be poisoned by strong chemicals in the air like some kinds of oil based paints. Unfortunately, there is no internal detector test that can verify the detecting element is still good. If in doubt, replace the unit.


Ken

Modern CO detectors have a sensor life. Once that life has been reached, the units will start to beep periodically. This ensures that they will be replaced (or disabled). Replacing them is more expensive than I think they should be, but recall I am a former sailor.

schrater said:

OK, we may be getting somewhere on the ozone. It turns out it may in fact be an ozone generator, which is actually an air deodorizer (it sits directly above the waste tank).

I’ve got to say it works quite well, since I do not have musty odors despite the old boat. One minor side effect is it appears to eat away at or soften the vinyls in the immediate vicinity.

Click to expand...

and hoses.
You might consider turning it down a bit so it no longer mess with your vinyls.