Diesel in water tank....argh!! (1 Viewer)

mpc13

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May 17, 2010
11
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Hi all,
We've had a bit of a disaster - accidentally putting around 5l of diesel into the water tank. We've cleaned it out with dishwash detergent and water. Anyone done the same thing or have advice to how we can clean it properly? Or does this mean a new tank? I read on another forum to use meths, then detergent and we thought we'd use some baking soda at the end of the process to hopefully get rid of the taste of everything... Sigh.
thanks.
 

ourcampersbeentrashed

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Apr 19, 2008
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I am pretty sure it means another water tank, but give John Cross Motorhomes a call. They are members on here and extremely helpful and will give you an honest answer.
 
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Wildman

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May 30, 2008
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not just the tank to think about but the pump and hoses, I do hope your insurance will cover it. I do wish you good luck in getting it sorted. Please do let us know the outcome. so other people will have the answer in store for future problems.

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Lenny HB

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Oct 18, 2007
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Not good news, will mean new tank, new pipes & taps if they have been run. Virtually impossible to get rid of the Diesel smell & taste.
 
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Jun 4, 2010
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Afternoon ,

Sorry to to read of your disaster, Me being a bit of a tightwad I would try loads of soap like afull bottle of fairy liquid and then fill it up threequarters with water and then drive round for an hour before starting to spend big money on new tanks and stuff, anyway best of luck.

georgio
 
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Terry

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Dec 27, 2007
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Hi chuck biological washing (liquid soap) in it and flush a lot :thumb: It may take several times filling and flushing but better than paying for new tank,boiler and pipework.:thumb: You may have to drink bottled water for a bit :ROFLMAO::thumb:
terry
 
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yoshi

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Feb 22, 2010
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I thought about filling my water tank with diesel on saturday we were in Luxembourg and at 1euro a litre it was very tempting:winky:

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pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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my bro did the very same thing when he borrowed my last van....but only 5ltrs from a blue plastic can....thought it was water as it was blue.

don't operate the pump.
drain the tank.
remove the big red bung on top of the tank and clean out by hand with loads of paper towels until completely dry.

wash out thoroughly, again by hand, with a mild solution of washing up liquid and drain again.
fill with clean cold water and drain again.
fill and drain again.
(hope you ain't on a water meter :roflmto:)
again dry by hand until completely dry.

put 10 or 20 ltrs of water and a full 500ml bottle of Milton fluid in and wash out again.
drain and thoroughly dry again then put in some clean water and draw through only one tap.

taste to test......worked for me :thumb:

if you already ran the tap with contaminated water you will need to run the same tap with the washing up liquid....draw most of the water from the tank through the tap.
do the same with subsequent clean water fill ups and with the Milton solution then draw a full tank of clean water through the tap.

put some more water in and taste.
 
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vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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yoshi ,i came home earlier this year with empty tanks thought there was more of a saving to carry wine ,beer etc . have to get the priorities right.
 
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mpc13

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May 17, 2010
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Thanks for the suggestions. We are hoping we have solved the problem...fingers crossed. After doing some research this is what we did:
1. turn off water pump (fortunately we hadn't run any of the taps)
2. Drained tank of water and diesel, put in an entire bottle of fairy liquid and some water, let it slosh around, drained the tank, wiped out with paper towels
3. Rinsed out tank with a bottle of white spirit, mopped out with paper towel (there was practically no diesel smell or greasiness after this)
4. Rinsed out with bottle of cleaning alcohol, mopped out with paper towels
5. Filled tank up, scrubbed out, drained, filled it up again

It still has a faint taste of the lemon cleaning alcohol but no diesel. We're going to try some baking soda to get rid of the taste of lemon. will report back after the first cup of tea!!

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Fatalhud

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Nov 26, 2009
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We never drink the water from the tank
use a 5 litre water bottle and fill it up fresh a few times a day
Alan H
 
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pappajohn

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Aug 26, 2007
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Thanks for the suggestions. We are hoping we have solved the problem...fingers crossed. After doing some research this is what we did:
1. turn off water pump (fortunately we hadn't run any of the taps)
2. Drained tank of water and diesel, put in an entire bottle of fairy liquid and some water, let it slosh around, drained the tank, wiped out with paper towels
3. Rinsed out tank with a bottle of white spirit, mopped out with paper towel (there was practically no diesel smell or greasiness after this)
4. Rinsed out with bottle of cleaning alcohol, mopped out with paper towels
5. Filled tank up, scrubbed out, drained, filled it up again

It still has a faint taste of the lemon cleaning alcohol but no diesel. We're going to try some baking soda to get rid of the taste of lemon. will report back after the first cup of tea!!

well done !

that'll be why it worked for me....substituted the alcohol and white spirit for miltons though.:thumb:

i wonder if the general ecology filter would have trapped the diesel ????

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mpc13

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May 17, 2010
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Just a followup... our tank is fine now, we use it for tea making and dishes but don't use it for drinking water as we didn't before anyway - prefer bottled water to eau de garden hose!!
 
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JayDee

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Oct 7, 2007
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That reminds me of a time when the duty engineer decide he was going to pump the bilges (many years ago - it was OK to pump any old shite into the sea and nobody batted an eyelid :Eeek:) without first turning off the Fresh Water making plant:RollEyes:. The ship was doing a cable repair, so wasn't moving and the upshot was that the Fresh Water tanks were contaminated with diesel and other oils that find their way into engine room bilges. Not much water was drunk for many a month, but it is amazing how soft and supple our skin was after showering in the contaminated water for a few weeks, and so much cheaper than moisturising cream. :Cool:


John
 
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peejay

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Jun 20, 2009
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Drinking water???

Are you lot having me on? Are you saying that funsters actually DRINK water?
First it was the tooth fairy, then Farther Christmas, please no more!!???:ROFLMAO:
Pete

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Peter JohnsCross MH

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Jan 5, 2008
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Well done, providing you dont run the pump and taps, you can generally get away with it:thumb:

You could always paint the diesel filler RED and the water BLUE, bet you dont do it again although on the boat I always have to look and make sure I am not putting water in the diesel tank

With a 1300 litre diesel tank I dont like filling up often:cry:


Peter
 
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williat1

Free Member
Jan 30, 2008
35
2
Pontrhydyfen, South Wales
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1,366
MH
Lowline
Exp
since 2001
Mine's ok now

Hi
On my last trip to France I was distracted talking to a fellow camper and I opened my water cap and managed to get 2 Litres of diesel in. The water tank was three quarters full of water

I drove off the forecourt and opened the bung at the bottom of the tank and drained off all the contents of the tank. Opened the access cap on the top of the tank and squirted in half a bottle of fairy liquid and wiped it all over the tank insides using paper towels, including the upper inside surface.

I filled the tank with water to about three quarters full to allow some agitation when driving to the next site. On site I drained off the tank half a dozen times and used a powerful hose to wash all surfaces inside the tank. Bought a litre of strong sterilising solution like Milton and refilled the tank. Let it stand overnight before draining off. Get a sterilising solution that's ok for contact with metals. I did not use the pump at all so it did not have any diesel inside but I got quite a bit off the outside surface of the pump using a paper towel. After refilling with water I used the cold kitchen sink tap just in case I tainted the pipework. Be careful not to use any hot tap until you're certain there's no taste or taint otherwise it will get into the hot water boiler.

I got away with it....no taste or taint whatsoever.

I thought I was the only donkey to do this....but.... it can happen to anyone.

Best of luck

Williat1
 
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