Diesel Tank

[jfkal]

Water inside, black slime inside too. No access hatch, no drain either. Fuel gauge cannot be extracted and used for access. Filler port is at the side (no access either). Any ideas on how to get the thing cleaned and back sailing? Any advise is highly appreciated. Oh forgot it is a Jeaneau Sunshine !!

Thks

Joerg

 

[david_bagshaw]

Just a thought,

empty fuel out, fill with water + detergent & leave for a while, & wash with steam cleaner.

David ps Take a look at my site www.yachtman.co.uk

 

[jfkal]

Is it advisable to drill a hole from the top? And how to reseal it afterwards?

 

[gunnarsilins]

The only solution must be to cut out an access hole, big enough so the lowest part of the the tank can be reached and the sludge mopped out.
How to do this and what to use for closing and sealing the hole is a question of which material the tank is made of.
I must ask, how can a yard, pretending beeing serious make a yacht like this? With no drain, no access, no means to clean the tank! Unbelieveable!

 

[Guest]

It's possible to create an access hatch. It does depend on the material and rigidity of the tank itself, but.. Cut an oval access hole. Make a cover with a good overlap ~25mm+ of the same material as the tank.

The cover should be thick enough to be tapped with a screwthread. Drill matching holes in the tank/cover. Further drill the tank clearance for the screws selected; tap the cover.

Using a fuel-proof (fool-proof?) sealing strip on the cover, fix the cover ON THE INSIDE of the access hatch.

Why oval....? So that you can get the cover in!!

Is it possible to get the tank out of the boat?

KCA

 

[Guest]

Can you syphon from the filler hole? Then flush with a few galls of diesel again, when its empty. I'd be wary of flushing with anything cept diesel. I'm bit wary of drilling, like you. There are standard hatches that can be fitted, used for foul water tanks. Poss sealant is stuff that they use to glop together car engines, oil-resistant, non-setting Hermetite.

 

[Guest]

Lots of very good and effective solutions in the above responses, but one thought.
There must be a filler pipe to get fuel into the tank. Can this be removed, and would it give access for a steam gun? If not - start cutting.
Second thought. After the tank has been cleaned you might think about adding some diesel treatment to prevent a repeat of your contamination problem. A biocide or Soltron should be effective. Also investigate where the water came from.
One of the joys of owning an old boat for a long time is that you can gradually rectify many of the problems and shortcomings designed into the vessel by the builders.

 

[vyv_cox]

I would not cut an access hole in the tank, except possibly at the top, as I don't think you will ever get it to seal again. The most effective method will be to suck out the water and sludge, either using a small pump such as you use to empty oil from your sump, or much better an eductor vacuum pump from a lab supplier. These are the ones that attach to the water tap, they are very cheap. Put the vac line in through the filler spout.

Suck out as much as possible initially, then pour in hot water plus hypochlorite, e.g. bleach. This will kill and decompose the sludge. Trying to clean it out with diesel is a non-starter, you already know that the two don't mix. Ideally you need to mix vigorously, but this will not be easy. Maybe an air line would help? Then back to the vac pump. Keep doing this until clean. Dry by putting a cupful of alcohol in, again stirring as much as possible, vac out then blow with air for a few minutes.

 

[Guest]

Spot on Roger, that's how I got rid of my black slime!! Much easier if you can get the tank out though, then you can get the nozzle into the corners..

KCA

 

[jfkal]

Well Jeanneau did it! The tank is stainless steel.

 

[jfkal]

Good idea. Thanks. Can't get the tank out of the boat without causding major damage to the interior...

 

[jfkal]

Thanks a ton. I will try this