Aaaargh!

I agree with Peggie, but as I said back on page one, why should you have to accept a cleaning?

Sorry but I want a new tank, regardless if they think they can clean it or not. I don't want to be a test case as to how well their ideas work as to cleaning my water tank.

We freaking DRINK from that tank and I don't want it cleaned I want it replaced.

They can use my old one to store their scotch in it if they want to but I don't and would not accept it cleaned.

You did nothing wrong why should you not be returned to whole???

Where were you guys when I was building million dollar homes? I replaced carpet when soiled by idiot workers, I guess you guys would be OK if I just cleaned it.

Right! :lol:

It's a stainless steel tank.

Deep breath now ------

The SS tank will be fine, as previously stated it is the plumbing that will suffer if diesel got that far. Most water tanks though have an accumulation of silt and other deposits on the bottom, that stuff may retain a taste and odor - thus it should be removed too.

Years ago I was at a street party on the Kyrgyz Kazak border where beer was being served from a 250 gallon wagon pulled by a small truck. I asked one of my friends what the Cyrillic word on the side of the tank said, "Diesel Fuel" was his answer. The beer was flat and warm but much better than the fermented horse milk I drank from time to time, served from goatskin gourds.

Whatty and his neighbor will figure this out, but maybe as Paul Harvey was heard to say, "Now for the rest of the story."

My wife just reminded me that we have "lost" about 50 gallons of fuel. We should at least have that amount (if not maybe even a complete fill up) credited to our yard bill when we go to fill up at the yard's fuel dock Wednesday. I will raise that very valid point tomorrow.

I also told the service manager I would be satisfied with the remediation job when: a) he drank a large glass of water out of the tap after running tank water through the pipes for awhile and b) a water test for hydrocarbons came back negative. He tried to hedge on the drinking test by saying he'd like it with Bourbon. Ixnay.

dwhatty said:

...
I also told the service manager I would be satisfied with the remediation job when: a) he drank a large glass of water out of the tap after running tank water through the pipes for awhile and b) a water test for hydrocarbons came back negative. He tried to hedge on the drinking test by saying he'd like it with Bourbon. Ixnay.

Click to expand...

Since it is a metal tank, I would drink water out of said tank after it had been cleaned and the water test had come back negative. BUT, there has to be a but, , I would want to pull a test from the water tank as well as each and every faucet on the boat. A line to the ice maker needs a test as well. Any fresh water line that you could possibly drink out of should be tested and that includes the shower head.

Once the tests come back, see if he will let his momma drink the water. :lol:

Later,
Dan

I wonder if the water system with even a half a**ed cleaning would introduce as much diesel into your body for the next 30 years as one good old mouthful from a bad siphoning job...

I'm not saying don't try and make it right...or that the taste may stink for awhile...but I really wonder what "danger" there is after a reasonable cleaning job.

I think someone posted about the 'sky is falling"....

And yes...get the money for the diesel and a few other freebies...this you have earned!!

sunchaser said:

Deep breath now ------

The SS tank will be fine, as previously stated it is the plumbing that will suffer if diesel got that far. Most water tanks though have an accumulation of silt and other deposits on the bottom, that stuff may retain a taste and odor - thus it should be removed too.

Click to expand...

Eggs-actilly


SS is perfectly capable of being thoroughly cleaned and is ideal for these kind of scenarios. Had David's tank been made from one of the popular(read here cheap) plastics it would have been a whole different kettle of fish. You folks would absolutely cringe and vomit if you had half an idea the variety of cargoes carried inside those SS bulk tanker semi trucks you pass along the highway going to and from the boat.

Hint: It was not very long ago when a law was passed to no longer allow hauling liquid pesticides/fertilizers and food products in the same trailer with a simple driver performed, untested rinsing between loads.

Greetings,
As far as the cleaning and testing goes, I would suggest an immediate lab test after the yard does their thing AND another test after say a week or two after the water has been sitting in the system for a while.

Conrad said:

I've seen sight glasses with the top open to atmosphere but never on a boat. If the tank overfills you don't want the contents in the bilge, even if it is only water. Or a full tank in heavy seas could also spill out the top of the sight tube.

Click to expand...

Well, what's the "approved" method for venting water tanks? Flooding out the deck fill isn't a great solution if contaminants can get back in, and I'm not really thrilled about additional hull or deck penetrations. I think my old Romsdal had them vented to the self-draining cockpit, and I could rig that on my current vessel (which also has a self-draining fishing cockpit), but my other previous boats...I really can't recall how they were vented.

My water system isn't well designed and I've been meaning to re-plumb everything (perhaps even this off season), so I'm all ears. I have about 400 gallons split between 4 tanks - two under the midships cabin, and two in what was the fishing hold under the after deck. The midships tanks are well below the waterline, but the aft ones are about at that level. I drain from the aft ones forward - and cross tank between the pairs - to help manage my trim.

CPseudonym said:

You folks would absolutely cringe and vomit if you had half an idea the variety of cargoes carried inside those SS bulk tanker semi trucks you pass along the highway going to and from the boat.

Click to expand...

The yard told me that a goodly amount of sediment and vegetative matter made its appearance during the initial flushing process.

dwhatty said:

The yard told me that a goodly amount of sediment and vegetative matter made its appearance during the initial flushing process.

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This will prove to be the problem area. Diesel can easily be cleaned off of stainless assuming you have good access to it. But areas that have sludge in them, will prove to be harder to clean and remove diesel from. Hopefully, the yard has good access to the tank and can visually inspect all surfaces inside the tank, regardless of baffles.

Dwhatty, I would suggest you personally inspect the inside of the tanks before they button them up.

If I had sludge in my water tank...I'd either clean it pretty well this go around or toss it anyway...not like it's a fuel tank that I would want clean too... but less of a big deal to me...

and I'm as far from a germophobe as they get.....

refugio said:

Well, what's the "approved" method for venting water tanks? Flooding out the deck fill isn't a great solution if contaminants can get back in, and I'm not really thrilled about additional hull or deck penetrations.

Click to expand...

I don't know what is "approved" when venting water tanks (or any other onboard tank for that matter), but all of our tanks - fuel, water, and holding - have vents that exit well up the hull; our previous boat had the same arrangement.

When I'm filling our water tanks I simply await the water gushing from the vent to tell me that the tanks are full.

I am curious though; when you are filling your water tanks where does the air go that is being displaced? Through the sight glass tube?

bligh said:

Dwhatty, I would suggest you personally inspect the inside of the tanks before they button them up.

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I'll crawl right into it tomorrow. Have the jaws of Life handy.

Conrad said:

I've seen sight glasses with the top open to atmosphere but never on a boat. If the tank overfills you don't want the contents in the bilge, even if it is only water. Or a full tank in heavy seas could also spill out the top of the sight tube.
Good mental exercise figuring this one out.

Click to expand...

Mine are only connected at the bottom and the top end of the sightglass tube has a breathable filter on it. The tube extends above the top of the tank and above the fill cap, thus, when the tank is full it overflows from the fill port onto the outer deck NOT out the top of the sight glass tube. This was a factory installation. FYI

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
As far as the cleaning and testing goes, I would suggest an immediate lab test after the yard does their thing AND another test after say a week or two after the water has been sitting in the system for a while.

Click to expand...

I agree, but the only way to tell for sure is to use the cleaned tank water for a couple of colonics on the Yard Manager. Then feed him two four-bean burrittos. If there's any diesel odor, start over. (Don't try this at home.)

dwhatty said:

Did I mention that the service manager is my next door neighbor. He knows I know where he lives.

Click to expand...

And vice versa.
Fixing up when you (for want of an unfiltered word) mess up is the mark of a good yard. My guy did it, instantly, no prodding, and it involved hauling out. He got respect and forgiveness. I hope it ends well, sounds like it.

LaBomba said:

Mine are only connected at the bottom and the top end of the sightglass tube has a breathable filter on it. The tube extends above the top of the tank and above the fill cap, thus, when the tank is full it overflows from the fill port onto the outer deck NOT out the top of the sight glass tube. This was a factory installation. FYI

Click to expand...

Interesting - thanks for the info.

Always liked the Great Lakes 33.

Conrad said:

I am curious though; when you are filling your water tanks where does the air go that is being displaced? Through the sight glass tube?

Click to expand...

I think it's coming out the filler hole on the top of the tank, and now that I think about it, when it's full water probably comes out there rather than the sight tubes - still triggering the bilge pump ;-)

But your question just makes me realize that I need to do a little more research into what I have - and I'm still interested in ideas of what I SHOULD have.

Happened to me once. Some moron put fuel in the water tank. So, replaced the tank and lines up to and including the water pump. Lines past the pump didn't have any problems as no one had run the water. I believe it was on the Wellcraft, where the water fill and fuel fill were side by side, and looked identical. Well, they weren't after that incident.

I will build one of these for each of my water tanks.

Building a Holding Tank Filter - BoatingHowTo.com

Well, hopefully the saga is now finally over.

Two days of fuel removal and steam cleaning. Flushing, detergent, flushing, detergent, all repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated............. denatured alcohol flush.

"Complimentary" inline water filter installed.

The mechanic (who I have for the moment nicknamed "BP") and his helper drank the water. I drank it. It tastes good to me and no smell. I mixed it with a celebratory Bourbon. Even better.

After a few days of using the water (I think for the moment, we'll use bottled water for drinking) I'll send off a sample for a water test, including a test for hydrocarbons.

Tomorrow we leave the Yard. Back into boating for the first time since August 18th. We'll maybe get three or four weeks use of it, if the weather holds, before having to haul out for the winter.

Happy boy here.

I don't THINK you really want to do that, Ben. Holding tanks are waste holding tanks, not water tanks....and holding tank filters are made to go into the holding tank vent line. Their sole purpose is to trap odor forced out the tank vent when the toilet is flushed. ....they have no purpose in a water tank vent line, nor do they have any water "purification" qualities. In fact, I wouldn't want a DIY filter stuffed with any old off the shelf activated charcoal that may have been anywhere, exposed to who knows what airborne bugs, in my potable water system and I wouldn't think you would either.

Holding tank vent filters should only be a last resort in a waste tank vent line, 'cuz they actually help to create the problem they're sold to solve..they impede the exchange of fresh air via the tank vent that's needed to keep the tank aerobic, thus preventing any odor from forming. Modify the venting or aerate the contents to maintain an aerobic tank and you won't need any filters.

HeadMistress said:

I don't THINK you really want to do that, Ben. Holding tanks are waste holding tanks, not water tanks....and holding tank filters are made to go into the holding tank vent line. Their sole purpose is to trap odor forced out the tank vent when the toilet is flushed. ....they have no purpose in a water tank vent line, nor do they have any water "purification" qualities. In fact, I wouldn't want a DIY filter stuffed with any old off the shelf activated charcoal that may have been anywhere, exposed to who knows what airborne bugs, in my potable water system and I wouldn't think you would either.

Holding tank vent filters should only be a last resort in a waste tank vent line, 'cuz they actually help to create the problem they're sold to solve..they impede the exchange of fresh air via the tank vent that's needed to keep the tank aerobic, thus preventing any odor from forming. Modify the venting or aerate the contents to maintain an aerobic tank and you won't need any filters.

Click to expand...

Ok.Thanks for the info.

Greetings,
OK, first things first: MY opinion only. Mr. dw. Good to hear the yard did the right thing. I might suggest when you send your sample off to analysis, you draw it right from the tank or bypass the "courtesy" filter completely. What you want is a TRUE sample, not one which has been filtered (I suspect one of the purposes of the filter may be to eliminate any trace hydrocarbon contamination).
Mr. b2. Listen to Ms. HM. She KNOWS about these things. I fully agree with her as to the non use of a sewage vent filter. What you want is a happy aerated colony of LIVE microbes munching down on last nights tacos. The fact that many newer boats come with a vent filter factory installed suggests to me a band-aid fix for a poorly designed sewage system that doesn't allow enough oxygen (air) into the holding tank to keep the hungry little buggers alive and well.
As far as the filter on the water tank vent...We bleach our water tank on a regular basis and thus far have suffered no ill effects but YOUR call completely.