Diesel in that water - still...

Wiggo

Wiggo

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I spoke too soon. After standing with fresh water in the freshly cleaned tank for 2 days, the water started to go yellow and smell of diesel. So another rinse and dose with cleaner, and the problem is still there.

Spoke to the tank cleaning gunk man, who said he'd never heard of it not working. Spoke to Piers' man at Berthon, who said they can't get their magic stuff anymore.

Open to ideas...
 
The challenge is that I think there may be still a residue of diesel in the tank. The inspection hatch is recessed into the top, so is actually lower than the tank top. As the seals still leak, it means no matter how much I fill the tank, I can't get the top of the tank wet, and I think that's where the diesel is. I can only feel a short area around the hatch, because there's a sodding great baffle in the way.

Is steam cleaning worth a go? I have a domestic wallpaper steamer with a hose that should reach the far corners.
 
seal tank best you can.

open filler cap and add meths/whatever

leave filler cap off

take off breather pipe

use breather pipe to force hose water in fast which should come out the filler

if the filler isnt the top , you can now screw the filler cap back on

with the hose still running in the breather the tank should be fill to the top now.
 
Well, touch wood, I think we've cracked it...

Rinse and clean as per the previous thread. Not sure if the Patent Tank Cleaner did any good or not. Drain the tank and mop out any remaining water.

Make up a solution of 1 part Haydn's Patent Boat Remover (I kid you not, I had some lying about still), 1 part meths and 18 parts very hot water and put in a pump up garden sprayer.

Remove inspection hatch and spray all available surfaces with the mix above. Try to keep it off your skin because a) it's made with boiling water and b) HPBR dissolves skin.

Remove the overflow pipe and insert a short piece of hose Gaffer-taped to the output of a domestic steam wall-paper stripper. Remove the filler cap on deck. Run about 8-10 litres of water through the steamer. This should take 2-3 hours, depending on the model.

By the end of it, the filler should be steaming away like a good 'un, and my IR thermometer measured the inside of the tank at 88*C. That's important, because the flashpoint of diesel is 62*C. It should be hot enough to get the last of the diesel to vaporise. The meths sprayed around earlier should help draw any diesel out of the plastic.

Wait for it to cool down a little, and pump out the water that has condensed in the tank. It will be as hot as hell, and in my case a fairly unpleasant yellow colour. I used a little submersible Whale pump to get it out.

Spray the walls of the tank with a hose pipe thoroughly, and rinse and refill a couple of times.

48 hours later, there was no discolouration or diesel smell, just a very faint residue of Boat Remover that another two flushings seems to have cleared.

For those that aren't aware, HBPR is industrial truck wash or traffic film remover...
 
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