Horrible smell found, now how to keep it away.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i find vinegar works best in mine, but then i reside on board full time, so there is no runaway odor problem....and it only has to be used one time to experience good results ... and there are many things chlorine doesnt kill....it will turn em white so you think it is killed, tho....

This is true ... chlorine doesn't kill everything. But vinegar feeds some things, so point taken but I would try both, not choose one over the other, for a fouled tank.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by tamicatana

I had to shock-treat my water tank, and when I ran the water out vis the taps, the taps clogged with algae (or whatever).

So if, when you clean, the faucets get clogged, take them apart and clean the screens. Or, more intelligently than I, just take the faucet screens out before running the shocked water out

Yes ... take the faucet screens out. I learned it that way too.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Khagan1227

New York is a BIG state Phil, I can guarantee many of the towns and villages upstate have very good (and pure) water with no "rotten egg" smell or taste.

Not just NY state. First night we spent in Florida (in the mid-fifties), dad warned us to put out a glass of water at night to use for brushing our teeth in the morning. The sulphur smell will leave the water, given the opportunity.

[Snore]

Actually....'the rotten egg smell is a common occurance.


Whenever water sits in a hot water heater for prolonged periods it will get a sulphur smell. Had it on my boat when I did not use the HW for a few weeks. The solution is easy, run the water till the heater water is turned over. Not so easy to do in a hotel though

[zeehag]

flame---vinegar changes pH which will dead anything that is going to make stinky in your tank... you should try it, as chlorine is really nasty on board and bad fro fittings.

vinegar also removes salt build up and the stink involved with that, which can be similar to dead fish..chlorine will not do that....not in any form. nor will clorox or chlorine acidify anything, as it is a base, alkaline ---- stuff grows a lot faster in alkaline solutions than in acidic....try it some time in a jerry jug....

[CarlF]

My understanding is that when exposed to air (tank vent) chlorine breaks down in about 48 hours. Great to kill stuff but not so good for long term maintenance unless you keep adding more bleach.

I like vinegar too.

I also like Orange-TKO as it's based on orange peel. They claim it's non-toxic and the taste/smell is not objectionable (at least to me). Great solution if someone puts diesel in the water tank.

HOME

Finally, water system antifreeze (Propylene Glycol) is a great biocide. Often used for long term (year plus) storage of desalinator membranes. You need to flush a half dozen times to get the taste out afterwards.

Carl

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by zeehag

flame---vinegar changes pH which will dead anything that is going to make stinky in your tank... you should try it, as chlorine is really nasty on board and bad fro fittings.

vinegar also removes salt build up and the stink involved with that, which can be similar to dead fish..chlorine will not do that....not in any form. nor will clorox or chlorine acidify anything, as it is a base, alkaline ---- stuff grows a lot faster in alkaline solutions than in acidic....try it some time in a jerry jug....

It changes pH. This is true (I took high school chemistry too). So the OLD critters die, but new critters that prefer that pH (not to mention the sugar in vinegar) can then bloom. There is no one solution. As the novelist said, "life finds a way."

My tank fouled because an idiot connected my water tank to the scuppers instead of the water intake. I never had a problem with my water using a small amount of chlorine in it until then. A large amount of chlorine killed what was in there, although I will never trust the tank again and do not consider the water in it potable.

I know lots of other people who find that a small amount of chlorine is tremendously preventative, and I know those people personally, have been on their boats, know their water doesn't stink, etc.

I've had enough problems with my water tank and ain't gonna fix what ain't broke. However, if my tank fouls again, I will do both. I will use shocky chlorine, and I will follow up with shocky vinegar, before lots of rinses.

There's no doubt that I would rather drink water that tastes faintly of vinegar than water that tastes faintly of chlorine. No debate there at all, but the tank was so fouled that I consider it permanently contaminated.

[Teknav]

Hiya Flames! There are chemicals that will kill everything, including the person applying them; I'd rather not divulge them, as some folks on here do not have a "full deck" and might want to experiment.

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

[jgbrown]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hiya Flames! There are chemicals that will kill everything, including the person applying them; I'd rather not divulge them, as some folks on here do not have a "full deck" and might want to experiment.

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

52% Hydrofluoric(spelling) acid is a lovely cleaner for ptfe or polyethylene.
Or diamonds.

Not so good for organics like humans, metal or glass though, and a spill will really ruin your day...

[GILow]

It turns out this one is more difficult than I thought. The aluminium keel tanks appear to have been retro-fitted with plastic bladder tanks, which have, needless to say, failed completely. This suggests the original aluminium tanks have also failed in some way.

So, with this in mind, I suppose the same ideas suggested still apply, but would anyone change how they handled the situation?

I am still faced with the poor access problem, which means I am stuck with the failed bladders inside the tank, but this does suggest the tanks will have to be replaced if they are ever to be used again, so I don't mind putting something a bit stronger in those tanks as I no longer have to worry about residue. Whatever is in place will be thrown out before it is used again.

[Bohemian17]

If they are foamed in the smell is coming from the rotten foam around the tanks I just went through this whole scenario

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Bohemian17

If they are foamed in the smell is coming from the rotten foam around the tanks I just went through this whole scenario

Not sure if they are foamed in. Access is hideously difficult... no, rephrase that. Impossible.

So, how did you solve it? I am guessing you could pull them out?

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Snore

Actually....'the rotten egg smell is a common occurance.


Whenever water sits in a hot water heater for prolonged periods it will get a sulphur smell. Had it on my boat when I did not use the HW for a few weeks. The solution is easy, run the water till the heater water is turned over. Not so easy to do in a hotel though

Two "tricks":

1. Do NOT leave the heater turned on for more than the 15 or 20 minutes it takes to heat the 6-11 gallon tanks

2. Get in the habit of using the HOT faucet even if you don't have hot water in the tank, it keeps the water moving and avoids stagnant water

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Teknav

Hiya Flames! There are chemicals that will kill everything, including the person applying them; I'd rather not divulge them, as some folks on here do not have a "full deck" and might want to experiment.

Mauritz
Going to behave now!

Actually, they only kill everything they come in contact with.

The problem with sterilization of *anything* is that every object has small imperfections, cracks and crevices in which the ennoying critters can hide. Some can hide in even the smallest pits and cracks.

I had the "delightful" experience of typesetting a medical textbook on sterilization. Basically, nothing can be assumed to be completely sterilized no matter what you do. When you want to sterilize something as large as a water tank, and when it is connected to things like water pumps, your options are limited when compared to, say, dental implements, because water tanks and its associated equipment can't be subjected to everthing a piece of stainless steel can. Then therer's the problem that the sterilizing agent can damage the surface of the object being "cleaned," leaving yet more places for the critters to hide next time.

It's not just that my water tank has been badly fouled, but that it wasn't as "clean" as most would imagine to begin with. A boat I looked at was owned by a registered nurse and her husband who was also in the medical field. They knew my old boat had not had a water tank. They knew their boat tank had not been fouled in the way that we were discussing, but when their boat was "on the table" they warned me not to drink the water from the water tank also.

I know lots of people do it, but if one is on a longer trip and gets a significant intestinal ailment away from medical help -- it, combined with the extra physical stresses of sailing (ex: heat exposure, dehydration) -- could make them very, very sick. And, that type of illness is difficult to manage on a small boat with a small holding tank.

I will never drink the water from my holding tank after what has happened to it. If I win the lottery, I'll replace the entire water system.

I will add vinegar treatments as Zeehag suggested (haven't done it yet because I haven't been home much, and I really do believe in taking the boat out to slosh it around, and the weather here is very unstable right now) ... but I will never trust that water tank again.

This is the price I have paid for "free" help.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

I will never drink the water from my holding tank after what has happened to it.

Yeah, I never drink from my holding tank either.

Specificity in nautical terms is so delightful. Like the "spelling police" - it doesn't matter unless you're trying to use a search engine.