JoeQ
Well-Known Member
What's the procedure and recommended products to clean my stainless steel water tanks please?
Super chlorinating water tanks
- Thread starter JoeQ
- Start date
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Depends on what you mean by cleaning. It is normal to use Milton in the water to keep bugs at bay. The recommended dose is on the bottle. Fill the tank with dosed water, pump it out and refill it. If you have crud in the tank you need to have access to physically clean it.
JoeQ
Well-Known Member
So even when it's clean you keep some Milton in the tanks?
vyv_cox
Well-Known Member
Milton is supposedly perfectly safe and tasteless, its primary use is to sterilise babies' drinking bottles. It is normal not to rinse out after cleaning with it. My own preference is Aquaclean, a chloride free product that I assume contains silver, after thoroughly cleaning the tank with a brush and soap.
JoeQ
Well-Known Member
Perhaps I should have explained the reason for my query. I have 2 stainless steel water tanks linked at low level by a 2.5 inch diameter balance pipe that ruptured probably due to frost. Not only did it allow the tanks to empty into the bilges but it also allowed a small amount of dirty bilge water into the tanks.
VicS
Well-Known Member
Milton (of baby's bottle sterilising fluid fame) do not seem to put the does rates that Tranona refers to on the bottles now ..... and what is there is in such small that print it needs a high power microscope to read.
They also did have a web page giving details of concentrations for cleaning caravan water tanks and water carriers. I cannot find that now. The old link does not work
However i have posted the details before and a little search of the forums finds
Drinking water treated at the above rate is fit to drink after 30 mins but as I said in the post I quoted above do not exceed the recommended dose rate. Measure it dont guess.
Alpha22
Well-Known Member
Probably totally wrong, but....
I put half a bottle of Tescos own brand 'Milton' fluid in my tank at the start of each season. Swill it round for a bit then run it through to the taps. Then I let it sit for 24 hours, running a bit more 'fresh' solution through the taps occasionally if I can.
I then dump it and rinse the tank a few times. Filling it and running it dry. It takes about 3 rinses to get the chlorine smell down to acceptable levels, so I am probably over dosing massively. Early season we are only weekending so there is only a slow turn over of water. By the summer the tank is sweet and has a high turn over so the chlorine content of the tap water keeps the bugs at bay.
No one has died yet and we drink the tank water regularly through the summer. I'm probably killing my water pump though!!!
I put half a bottle of Tescos own brand 'Milton' fluid in my tank at the start of each season. Swill it round for a bit then run it through to the taps. Then I let it sit for 24 hours, running a bit more 'fresh' solution through the taps occasionally if I can.
I then dump it and rinse the tank a few times. Filling it and running it dry. It takes about 3 rinses to get the chlorine smell down to acceptable levels, so I am probably over dosing massively. Early season we are only weekending so there is only a slow turn over of water. By the summer the tank is sweet and has a high turn over so the chlorine content of the tap water keeps the bugs at bay.
No one has died yet and we drink the tank water regularly through the summer. I'm probably killing my water pump though!!!
NormanS
Well-Known Member
Does that mean that you cannot isolate the tanks from each other? Eek! Or had you just left both valves open? Oops!
Norman_E
Well-Known Member
Milton contains chlorine, and I used to use it in my water tanks, but both tanks suffered small leaks from welds. Chlorine is not a good chemical to put into stainless tans and may have contributed to the pinhole leaks. I now simply drain the tanks when I leave the boat.
JoeQ
Well-Known Member
Thanks everyone, very helpful as always.
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
Half a cup of bleach for 40 gallons of water, run the taps briefly to clean the pipes, leave for 8 hours then flush and fill. We had two stainless tanks and bleach caused no problems.
Norman_E
Well-Known Member
It is leaving the bleach in the tank that causes problems, provided that it is all flushed out its OK, but that does not solve the problem of the water "going bad" if the tanks are left full. I now drain mine completely when I leave the boat.
VicS
Well-Known Member
That is considerably less than the equivalent of Miltons recommendation. Fine perhaps for a tank which is already "clean" but possibly not for one which may be contaminated.
Between 400 and 500 cm³ ( 2 to 2½ teacupfuls ) of bleach in 40 gallons water then drain and rinse after 15 minutes would be nearer the mark.
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jimbaerselman
Well-Known Member
Hi Vic,
Sounds like the advice I give in http://www.jimbsail.info/going-foreign/boat-prep/pure-water may be a little over the top in the concentrations given for shock purification. Any dangers from excess solutions?
JimB