Diesel in the water tank.. help

R

Romolo

Joined
Aug 17, 2020
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Location
Cheshire
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74,593
MH
Transit Conversion
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First one 3 days ago!!!!!
Yep .. at least a litre of diesel. I have a chest infection and on antibiotics and now believe my wife when told I am clearly not thinking straight...

I overflowed the tank diesel came out the entry hole... I've drained the tank with water water water....

What do I do now as I guess I have a tainted tank...

How do I treat it for this stupid of mistakes.


Thanks in advance .

What a div..

Than you

R
 
Sorry to have to break it to you but the best solution is to replace the tank with a new one. Probably pipes as well if you drew diesel through them (which I hope you didn't).
 
No filled 1 litre then stopped and realised my mistake... Nothing drawn through...

Is there not a product I can use to sanitise the tank?

Thank you

R
 
Easily done...........apparently.

There was a long thread in June discussing the cleaning options here which should be useful:

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Saw a man putting diesel into his freshwater tank today

After a trip to Garlieston I had to fuel up in Newton Stewart this morning, but just getting into the garage was bloody awkward. A guy in a 70plate Bailey motorhome had come onto the forecourt against the normal flow of traffic & he couldn't give two hoots about the people who were trying to...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk
 
If you had a lot of water in the tank I would be putting more water into the tank, that way the diesel will stay on the top of the water and come out via the overflow.

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I overflowed the tank so diesel came out of the inlet filler up hole. I did this till it ran clear. Then drained the tank and put water and water and water.

Son came up with a good idea of using soap as it binds oils .. so use baby soap as that is not toxic

We only use to wash dishes... We use bottle water for drinking

But want rid of the tainting a d obviously before anything is put through pipesthanj you in advance.

R
 
So from that link it says maybe dishwasher tablets?

Ok what else? This has to be a regular occurrence and replacing a tank can not be there only real feasible option.. Especially for my uses..

Thanks in advance

R
 
Stating the obvious but dont put the water pump on and draw it around your system. Empty the tank and use kitchen roll and detergent to wipe the inside of the tank. Refill, drain and repeat - do this several times and you should be ok.
 
I have read that cola and baking powder can be used to remove diesel smells from clothes, perhaps it works on tanks as well. Cheap ingredients so maybe worth a try?

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I'm with the earlier post. New tank I'm afraid if you want to drink it.
 
landscaper said:
Stating the obvious but dont put the water pump on and draw it around your system. Empty the tank and use kitchen roll and detergent to wipe the inside of the tank. Refill, drain and repeat - do this several times and you should be ok.
Click to expand...
Oh ok... This is my first van. Can I open the water tank and service it as such?

Complete noob. Quick learner.

I don't want for drinking water... Will never do that and always tak bottled water. It's a 18 year old van... And I am not the first owner .. so not for me :-).... It is just for dishes etc ..

Thanks
 
20 bottles of cheap full sugar cola. That will be around 40 litres.
Slosh irt around and let it settle over night then flush.
 
Oh ok cool. And when you say flush.. drain tank and top up from infiller once drained .... Let it fill.. then drain and repeat with water a number of times?

Noob sorry.

Thanks
 
Yes,
Cola cleans grung off lots of things.

20 bottles of Cheap Aldi cola is about £10, maybe do it twice.

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Romolo said:
Oh ok cool. And when you say flush.. drain tank and top up from infiller once drained .... Let it fill.. then drain and repeat with water a number of times?

Noob sorry.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Mate, cheapest way out is a new tank, diesel sort of combines with the plastic, and it will always be there.
Doesn't have to be a dedicated tank just find one that will fit in.
 
1ltr will be fine..

Just fill it up with hot water as said.
Unscrew the cap if it's possible and use lots of kitchen roll or old towels to absorb the diesel.
Empty it and keep cleaning with bleach.. washing up liquid ..

After a few tank fulls if fresh water it'll be ok ..

Just don't use your taps or boiler until it's cleaned .
 
Ok so far I like the cola idea and also my son's baby soap idea.

I do not want to start working out replacing tanks etc...

also any sanitation products for water as not done that since I owned it?
any recommendations pls?

not drinking the water .. just conscious I would like to as never done it since owning 1 year ago.

thank you
 
My water tank is on my ford transit converted camper and looks like a single unit with a drainage tap mounted under the van.. Not a motorhome tank incase people are thinking that.

Many thanks

R

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Romolo said:
also any sanitation products for water as not done that since I owned it?
any recommendations pls?
Click to expand...
Puriclean tablets.

Be careful with anything else as it could damage the stainless steel heat exchanger in your water heater.
 
Romolo said:
My water tank is on my ford transit converted camper and looks like a single unit with a drainage tap mounted under the van.. Not a motorhome tank incase people are thinking that.

Many thanks

R
Click to expand...
The motorhome converter’s probably use the same kit as your home build conversion TBH.
 
XxAnthxX said:
Puriclean tablets.

Be careful with anything else as it could damage the stainless steel heat exchanger in your water heater.
Click to expand...
Oh ok thank you.

New to this so easy for me to make a mistake.
 
We did this with the water tank on the boat🤢. Never used it for drinking water but did take ages to get rid of the smell, used nonbio soap flakes and filled up and sloshed about and drained many times

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Actiwash is a powerful degreaser. I'd put a strong solution of that in and let it slosh round for a few miles.

www.ashfieldvaletingsupplies.co.uk

Actiwash Super Concentrate 5 Litre | ashfieldvaleting

Actiwash is an industrial strength cleaner made from extremely powerful blend of detergents and solvents that can be used for most cleaning applications. It can be used on most surfaces but if in doubt you should try a small test area first. Actiwash is excellent at removing grease and grime...
www.ashfieldvaletingsupplies.co.uk www.ashfieldvaletingsupplies.co.uk

Been using it years. It's also very good on carpets/upholstery in the vax machine.
 
I like all these cleaning agent ideas.... The thing is I do not understand how my tank is connected or how water tanks in campers work full stop.

I am assuming I can put any cleaning agent down there as long as it's not plastic corrosive so assuming all suggestions are good.

Also assuming that my heater has not been touched as nothing has been ran and I assume the water pump would take from the tank and going through heat exchanger or whatever...


So currently I only have a greasy water tank and everything is fine would you all say?

Thank you
 
Romolo said:
So currently I only have a greasy water tank and everything is fine would you all say?
Click to expand...
I’d say that would be a fairly safe assumption, as you haven’t ran any water through the pump or pipe work.

The good thing with Crystal is it was developed for the food and health industries, so will be safe if anyone ever does use the water for drinking, cooking or cleaning teeth.
 

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