Help for a newbie (diesel in the watertank)

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Jack95

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First of all, hello dear Motorhome community, this is my first post here as a newbie in the motorhome world. I am very excited about initiating myself in travelling with motorhomes, however I had a bad first experience during my trip.

When we were filling the generator diesel tank we mistakenly ended up adding less than 1L of it to the clean 200L capacity water tank. We did our best to suck it out but some of it obviusly remained. After delivering the van to the owner he has threaten us by saying that this mistake will mean the total substitution of the water installation and that we will have to face the whole cost of the operation.

We are aware that the contamination of clean waters is a messy problem to deal with for sure, but by the manners of the owner we are afraid that he wants to use the situation to make profit. That being said I would like to ask your opinions on the severity of this issue given the small amount of diesel involved.

Thank you for your replies.
 
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My neighbour lent his to his in-laws and they did the same. He flushed it several times, used cleaning additives, flushed again and again and never got rid of the taint so had to replace the lot from filler inlet to pipework and water tank. Obviously you're limited as to the strength and toxicity of the cleaning materials.
I had a diesel leak on my yacht tank and about three pints went into the bilge and sloshed around with the bilge water for a couple of hours before I could pump it out and flush the bilge. Five years later when I sold it there was still a whiff of diesel.
 
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Hmm…..🤔
Difficult one, as I drink from the tanks I’d taste it for years, could be an easy mistake but also a costly one….
 
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I know of a main dealer that had the same problem when a driver taking a new van to a show put diesel into the fresh water tank.
The whole water system, tanks and all, had to be removed and replaced. Cost them a lot of money.

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Caz put £1.72 of diesel in the water tank about 12 years ago before I realised and shouted, her first and last time of filling up.

important thing is not to run the taps or put water pump on, shower etc, flush loo

Empty immediately and I then spent a couple of weeks constantly flushing with fresh water, then buying big bags of lemons and putting loads of fresh pure lemon juice in, leaving a couple of days then filling with water and flushing it back out, still never turning the taps etc etc on though.

After a couple of weeks all good, no smell and it was perfect thereafter.
 
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First of all, thanks for all your replies.
Spriddler said:
My neighbour lent his to his in-laws and they did the same. He flushed it several times, used cleaning additives, flushed again and again and never got rid of the taint so had to replace the lot from filler inlet to pipework and water tank. Obviously you're limited as to the strength and toxicity of the cleaning materials.
I had a diesel leak on my yacht tank and about three pints went into the bilge and sloshed around with the bilge water for a couple of hours before I could pump it out and flush the bilge. Five years later when I sold it there was still a whiff of diesel.
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So the thing would be, given the tiny amount of diesel in comparison (around 1 pint in 200L), is it legit from the owners part to claim us the payment of the whole substitution of the water system? Are the consequences beyond just a remaining smell of diesel?

Again, it is so nice to receive all your answers so quickly, you are great!
 
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A replacement water tank and filler at a minimum, if taps have been turned on then pipes too.

Sorry, it won’t be cheap to sort. :-(
 
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Jack95 said:
First of all, thanks for all your replies.

So the thing would be, given the tiny amount of diesel in comparison (around 1 pint in 200L), is it legit from the owners part to claim us the payment of the whole substitution of the water system? Are the consequences beyond just a remaining smell of diesel?

Again, it is so nice to receive all your answers so quickly, you are great!
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Depends if you were hiring it and what the terms were. It doesn’t sound like a lot of diesel but if it has tainted the system then they will have problems hiring it out again.

Was it hired from someone or borrowed?

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:welco:
I assume you were hiring so won't the deposit against damage be all you need to pay.
I don't know how well that Simply Green works but the normal remedy is to replace tank and all pipework & taps if taps have been run, not cheap probably a few grand a lot of labour involved.
 
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It was hired, and we do recognise the impact of this mistake, however the owner directly approached us very aggresively (wanting to sue us for water poisoning), which is kind of excessive from my point of view taking into account that it was the first time that we use a motorhouse, and he knew it. And despite the great amount of questions that we were doing he was very vague on the indications... I won't lie the possibility of a payment of this magnitude is scary...
 
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Jack95 said:
It was hired, and we do recognise the impact of this mistake, however the owner directly approached us very aggresively (wanting to sue us for water poisoning), which is kind of excessive from my point of view taking into account that it was the first time that we use a motorhouse, and he knew it. And despite the great amount of questions that we were doing he was very vague on the indications... I won't lie the possibility of a payment of this magnitude is scary...
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I think you would be limited to the damage excess.

It’s not great but I don’t think you would be liable for the lot.
 
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I mistakenly put a couple of gallons of diesel in the freshwater tank. I didn’t operate the taps and drained as soon as I could. Flushed tank several times with washing up liquid and whatever else we had. After a week of flushing it was ok, I had to replace the pump and had a slight smell of diesel for a few months. That happened 3 years ago and am glad to say there is no smell of diesel and the water tastes ok from the tank.
Would have thought that the owner would have insurance to cover mishaps like this when renting and you would just loose your deposit!

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I don't know anything about this, but I know water tanks usually have the output to the taps very near the bottom. Diesel floats on the top of water. So there's a good chance there won't actually be any diesel in the pipework, pump and taps.
 
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I think it's very similar to putting the wrong fuel in very expensive potentially. I think the owner also has the potential problem of what to do about the next rental I wouldn't fancy showering in water tainted with diesel. Unfortunately I think it's going to be a matter of paying the cost of whatever needs replacing at least, potentially that plus the lost rental income. It will depend on the t and C's of the rental agreement.
It's a bit like when I wiped the rear bumper off our old MH on a bollard a sh*** moment but at least no-one was hurt.
 
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If it was a commercial rental would not the company involved have insurance against such an event?
If they did not then I would think they should have, reasonably high-probability event when renting to inexperienced customers.
If no insurance is in place I would have thought that it would be sensible for the two parties to come to an amicable agreement and if that was not possible then its off to the the lawyers, via Citizens Advice and a mediation service if possible.
 
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slowdriver said:
If it was a commercial rental would not the company involved have insurance against such an event?
If they did not then I would think they should have, reasonably high-probability event when renting to inexperienced customers.
If no insurance is in place I would have thought that it would be sensible for the two parties to come to an amicable agreement and if that was not possible then its off to the the lawyers, via Citizens Advice and a mediation service if possible.
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When we hired once years ago there was insurance but the hirer was liable for the excess and it was pretty high I think about£1000. I'm not sure if the insurance covered things like putting diesel in the water tank.
 
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I’d be checking the paperwork for Hirers liability.

I sure you should have paid a hefty deposit, and in the circumstances the hire company almost certainly kept it.

Beyond that they cannot claim this was anything but accidental damage and therefore I suspect their threats to sue you are just hollow.

Their insurers should pick this up and if they haven’t got insurance to cover such events then more fool them, I used to work for a company that hired narrow boats and these things just happen.

I don’t think I’d waste any more time on this and just move on.

If you buy your own MH maybe label all the filling points, but your not likely to do it again.

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Jack95 said:
So the thing would be, given the tiny amount of diesel in comparison (around 1 pint in 200L), is it legit from the owners part to claim us the payment of the whole substitution of the water system?
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It may be that the hirer wants an immediate solution as the m/h was probably due out again to the next hirer which he has had to cancel with the consequent loss of income. That's his problem and one of the risks of the business for which he should have insurance since it is to be expected that most hirers will be new or relatively new to motorhoming.
There is no justification for being rude since nobody does these things deliberately. It's an easy mistake to make and it's such a shame that his attitude has tainted your experience.
 
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remove the water tank after draining and steam clean the inside via the access cap. The plastic used is designed for potable water, so should not taint. Some do though and will need replacing as the smell and taste will remain after steam cleaning
 
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Jack95 said:
That being said I would like to ask your opinions on the severity of this issue given the small amount of diesel involved.
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The severity and therefore the cost to resolve the issue would depends on a number of different factors, which perhaps you could help us all by answering?

How long was the diesel in the water tank?
Did you do anything to try and flush the tank out after you realised your mistake?
After the diesel had been in the tank, did you use any of the taps inside the motorhome?
After the diesel had been in the tank, did you use the toilet in the motorhome (If it did not have a separate water tank for flushing the toilet)?
Did you inform the person/company hiring you the van on realising your mistake? Did you inform them when you got back?

In order for them to be able to hire out the vehicle again, they have to be certain that the water system is safe to use. To do this after a diesel contamination, they either have to (depending on answers to the questions above)
1 - Replace the fresh water tank only
2 - Replace the fresh water tank, filler, all freshwater pipework and taps and possibly toilet solenoid valve if that is contaminated as well.
3 - Try to clean out the system but will have to pay for testing of the water for safety after the cleaning has been done.
 
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Lenny HB said:
I see you are in Ireland, where and who did you hire it from?
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I think Italy ? :) Depends on Italian contractual law I would suggest different to UK ?

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Jim said:
It is a common mistake, so, IMO The hirer is as guilty as you are. You should have been left in no doubt about how to correctly fuel. Check the paperwork thoroughly, the answer to your dilemma is within.
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First time I hired a Sprinter I was seen walking round it at the pumps by nearby white van man who told me the filler was inside the passenger door. Who'd have thought? 😁
 
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Good luck - sorry but I have no idea about contract law outside the UK, and we are assuming you did hire elsewhere.

I've never hired a motorhome so don't know what would be normal for marking fluid inlets in the UK - how about elsewhere. I have seen hire vans with big additional signs on inlets for water and fuel though so it must be an issue.

When hiring Broads Cruisers they always had clear signs as to what went where plus paperwork to look at if you were still confused - the "walk through" also covered that and they were clear that if you still were not sure to return to the boatyard or to phone them.
 
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Diesel floats on the surface of water, if the taps haven’t been run filling the water tank till it overflows will shift most of it. To be fair when maintaining a fleet of hire vans for ten years we had this happen twice. That’s what the damage excess is for. If the owner is trying to make you pay above this I would tell him you want all the parts he is going to replace delivered to you for inspection. There is a product BioMagic Fresh Water Tank Cleaner - Even Cleans Diesel from Fresh Water Tank. I used this successfully one van had actually ran the diesel through the system but I was still able to clean it. I just replaced the domestic water pump as it was the diaphragm type and the diesel may affect the rubber valves. Don’t use anything like washing up liquid it will make more problems than it fixes.
 
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