Hello, new member with a challenge

[ZaZa]

I mistakenly put diesel nozzle into fresh water outlet
quickly realized my error (within 3-4 seconds) but my fresh water tank is contaminated. Tank is 60 gallons.
I have spent the day emptying and refilling tank and adding Dawn degreaser each time. I am about to refill and add 6 ounces of bleach and let sit for 3-4 hours then refill w fresh water again.
What else should I do?

 

[Mac2]

Put a locking cap on your diesel fill. Replace water fill cap with blue caps if you don't have them already. This is a common issue that we have all done, or come close to doing. What material is your water tank?

 

[Max1]

Wow, that's a awful situation to be in. Hope you're cleaning efforts pay off. Good luck.

 

[SeaDogAK]

There is a lengthy thread on this topic from a while back, I’d suggest reading through it:

Old thread

 

[Comodave]

What is the water tank made of?

 

[mvweebles]

There is a lengthy thread on this topic from a while back, I’d suggest reading through it:

Old thread

Ugghhh.....Thanks for the memory.

I had 45-gals diesel put in my tanks, but I don't think the amount matters. The first 44.9 gallons were fairly easy to get out. It's the last 2-ounces that are difficult because it clings to the tank walls (I would thiink plastic would be worse). A little goes a long way.

I'll save the OP here a bit of reading. Comodave asks an important question - what material are the tanks made of? Plastic would be more of a problem than metal. access to the inside of the tank is another consideration. Access to my tanks was the 1-1/2" fill is welded directly to the top of my tanks so no full tube. Access is not great but above average.

I tried a LOT of different things. Weeks of all sorts of ideas. What worked for me is a commercial hot water pressure washer. I was not familiar with these beforehand. They are badass. Diesel fired boiler super heats water. Spray and let the water drain out the bottom. Spent about an hour spraying down each tank (two 100 gal tanks).

You will want to replace any hose that came in contact. Finally. A carbon filter will help remove any residual.

I paid for a very expensive water test (about $150 due to test for hydrocarbons and some other nasty stuff). Test came back surprisingly clean. Disaster averted.

Good luck. There are many good suggestions on the referenced thread. Glad that's behind me. Really sucked

Peter

 

[ZaZa]

What is the water tank made of?

Tank is not stainless, plastic of some description.

 

[ScottC]

Put a locking cap on your diesel fill. Replace water fill cap with blue caps if you don't have them already. This is a common issue that we have all done, or come close to doing. What material is your water tank?

I second this suggestion. A good friend of mine had the same experience on his Greenline 33. On our GL33's, the diesel and water fill fittings look identical, but are on opposite sides of the boat. After his mishap, I bought a locking cap to put on my diesel fitting. I keep the key in a safe we have mounted inside our boat (primarily for other things, not just a diesel key). So, I have to go through a fair amount of effort to open the diesel cap. Forces me to think along the way ;-)

 

[mvweebles]

Tank is not stainless, plastic of some description.

If I remember from chemistry, the chemical similarity of two hydrocarbon substances will complicate extraction. That said, based on my experience even with stainless tanks, I'd find a commercial pressure washer with onboard fired water heater used for removing graffiti and cleaning heavily soiled surfaces including inside of tanks. Uncouple the outlet of the tank and let the water flow into the bilge (or wherever). There won't be a lot of our flow from the pressure washer so shouldn't be too tough to handle. A half hour of steaming should be enough. Of course it would be better to be able to direct the blast against the sides which you won't be able to do, but the effect of the steam will do a better job than anything else you can surmise, at least that's my opinion.

There are a ton of internet recipes including citric acid, simple green, Dawn dish soap, alcohol, etc. Each has some basis in fact but I was unable to find substantial success with any of them. There are practical limitations - my tanks are 100-gal each (I have two). Filling them with 100g of alcohol would probably go a long way to solve the problem but that's a lot of alcohol to aquire.

As suggested in my first response, I would definitely recommend a charcoal filter to remove last vestiges of odor. It's a cheap adjunct and nice to have no matter what.

Finally, another repeat is to have the water tested by a competent lab if there is any chance of water being used as potable. Testing for hydrocarbons/VOCs is a more expensive test - was around $150 for me.

Good luck.

Peter

 

[ZaZa]

I second this suggestion. A good friend of mine had the same experience on his Greenline 33. On our GL33's, the diesel and water fill fittings look identical, but are on opposite sides of the boat. After his mishap, I bought a locking cap to put on my diesel fitting. I keep the key in a safe we have mounted inside our boat (primarily for other things, not just a diesel key). So, I have to go through a fair amount of effort to open the diesel cap. Forces me to think along the way ;-)

How did your Greenline friend deal with it, was he successful?

 

[ScottC]

How did your Greenline friend deal with it, was he successful?

He was, indeed, successful. Plastic tanks. That was about 12 years ago and we've since lost touch. Unfortunately, I don't know how he managed to do it. I will send him a mail and ask!

 

[ZaZa]

Thank.

 

[ZaZa]

Thank you.