cleaning holding tanks

Nostrodamus

Nostrodamus

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I have a stainless steel holding tank that occasionally makes I bang when the toilet is used. I presume that it is pressure building inside the tank.
Having now opened an inspection hatch in the side it is full of crud from the water here.
The toilets are sea water toilets.
What is the best way to clean a holding tank of all the crud inside and how many times am I liable to throw up whilst doing it?
Thanks
 
Nostrodamus said:
I have a stainless steel holding tank that occasionally makes I bang when the toilet is used. I presume that it is pressure building inside the tank.
Having now opened an inspection hatch in the side it is full of crud from the water here.
The toilets are sea water toilets.
What is the best way to clean a holding tank of all the crud inside and how many times am I liable to throw up whilst doing it?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Pour in some warm wine vinegar leave it for a couple of days pump it out . open up hatch and with rubber gloves a scraper and and a small shovel remove remaining crud into a bucket . was out ad Bobs your uncle . Idid just that

As for throwing up . how many time s have you changed a nappy ?

But to answer your question once !
 
Thanks Catmandoo.
I have read that you can use vinegar, water softening tablets, calgon, hydrochloric acid. Just wondered which was best.
I would seem that it is a good idea to fill the tank up occasionally and flush it to save the build up.
Looks like I have some scrubbing to do tomorrow.:eek:
 
hi cant suggest anything other than the above.
However to help keep it all clean i use 'ODOURLOS' holding tank treatment concentrate, made by cleghorn waring. Very satisfied with the results. Also we flush as often as poss with the waste washing up water & in the winter the water from the de-humidifier.
good luck
 
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Nostrodamus said:
Thanks Catmandoo.
I have read that you can use vinegar, water softening tablets, calgon, hydrochloric acid. Just wondered which was best.
I would seem that it is a good idea to fill the tank up occasionally and flush it to save the build up.
Looks like I have some scrubbing to do tomorrow.:eek:
Click to expand...

I guess you will need an acid as the crud will be largely cacium carbonate.
Water softening tablets or Calgon wont be any good.

Vinegar is a pretty dilute solution of acetic acid (about 5%) which is only a week acid. So you will need a very large amount ( 24 litres to dissolve 1 Kg of calcium carbonate) and it will be very slow to act.

If you use hydrochloric acid you could use a more concentrated solution, so will need less and being a strong acid it will act much more quickly.

The downside is that hydrochloric acid is not the best thing in the world to use on stainless steel.
 
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Household vinegar

In France you can get Vinaigre ménager (which is used for cleaning, not cooking!): it is double strength at 10% acetic acid. Available in supermarkets and 'drogueries'.
 
Nostrodamus said:
I have a stainless steel holding tank that occasionally makes I bang when the toilet is used. I presume that it is pressure building inside the tank.
Click to expand...

Wow! That must be methane. You could join a gas pipe and feed cooker and heating with it.
 
Nostrodamus said:
I have a stainless steel holding tank that occasionally makes I bang when the toilet is used. I presume that it is pressure building inside the tank.
Having now opened an inspection hatch in the side it is full of crud from the water here.
The toilets are sea water toilets.
What is the best way to clean a holding tank of all the crud inside and how many times am I liable to throw up whilst doing it?
Thanks
Click to expand...

The Yachticom product "Clean A Tank" is excellent. Basically it is citric acid. Make up a solution. Fill the tank, leave a few hours - up to 12. Let a little out. Repeat a few times at around 1/4 hour intervals. It cleans the tank and does wonders for the valves/stopcocks.

On the bottle it says somethig like , "Fur allen problem mit kalk." Precisely so.
 
In our caravan toilet we use pink stuff for the flushing and blue stuff for the bit the poo falls in. According to others, fabric conditioner is a cheap alternative, but I'm not sure if it's sposed to replace the pink stuff or the blue stuff.
So endeth this useful post :confused:
 
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