Diesel in Bilges

[allangray3]

Spent first night on my boat getting her ready to bring home.
No problems until 02.00 hrs I woke with the unmistakable wiff of diesel getting stronger. Opened hatches and port holes managed to sleep. Ripped saloon floor up to find 3 inches of water and diesel in the bilge. mopped her out using sponges and buckets . Now Lads the question is how do I get Rid of the residue and the Smell anything that won't eat the GRP.
Also How do you test the integrity of the diesel tank buried in the bowles of a macweser wight.

 

[steverow]

I use concentrated "Zoflora" disinfectant. Strongish diluted bucketful and wash out bilges with it.
Works for me every time.

Steve

 

[Rivers & creeks]

Those pads that soak up diesel and not water allow you to wash the bilge.

 

[Silverado]

One of the simplest ways of discovering whether your tank is leaking or not is to pump air into it. You will have to turn off the fuel tap and block the breather. Use your dinghy pump and try to ensure that you get a good seal. You will have a better chance if you have an assistant to help.

 

[Aja]

Bilgex. Accept no alternatives.

Donald

 

[pampas]

Asda`s cheapest washing up liquid seems to work for me, pour on neat and scrub ideally rinse with fresh water, but salt seems to work as well, when finished tip about 1/2 bottle in sump add some Fresh Water leave to slosh around,pump out. Job done. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[dweeze]

I spent a day last week cleaning best part of 60l of diesel out of my bilge and fuel tank. A cheapo bottle of dishwashing detergent from Tesco's worked to get rid of the smell. Only problem will be if the diesel has soaked off into wood etc - doubt you'll get rid of the smell - although time will do it.

I didnt bother checking the tank for leaks - its stainless, cant be removed easily, and will probably just develop another hole (either now or later). Have opted to have a Nitrile pillow made which will fit into the tank - an alternative possibility for you.

Aparently one way of checking where the tank leaks from is to clean it out - put detergent and water in, pressurise it and look for bubbles if the leak is hard to detect.

 

[BrendanS]

You can get rid of the smell - cat pee smell remover. Works well on most biological smells. It has bacteria and enzymes that break down the cause of the smell rather than masking it. You need to wet the area with the stuff well though.

click here

 

[Evadne]

Disposable nappies are good for mopping up large quantities of liquid. Don't leave them immersed for too long, however, or they will explode. They contain water retaining gel which swells to ten times its size in half an hour underwater. Bilgex is the best detergent I've found, it doesn't make as many bubbles in the bilge pump for the rest of the season as Fairy Liquid.

To test for leaks, the best way is to put a dry peice of paper towel or similar underneath it (not always possible). Most common place for a leak, however, is a joint in a pipe, followed by the point where a copper fuel pipe goes through a bulkhead. Tie a length of paper towel, preferably dark in colour, around the pipe on the downhill side as a detector.