Converting Fuel Tank to Water Tank?

[thinwater]

If it were a bulk trailer...


CONVERSION OF TRAILERS FROM “NON-APPROVED, NON-FOOD SERVICE” TO “APPROVED NON-FOOD TO FOOD” AND“FOOD TO FOOD” SERVICE


(NOTE: There should be clear, legally binding agreement between carriers,shippers and consignees concerning the use of converted tankers. All conversion steps should be documented)
A.
MINIMUM TANK CONVERSION STEPS
1.
The tank should be appropriately cleaned of prior product;
2.
An inte
rnal inspection should include determination
evaluation
and/or removal of:
a.
Finish (parent metal and welds);
b.
Evidence of pitting;
c.
Corrosion;
d.
Weld and parent material discoloration; and
e.
Odors.
3.
Remove, clean, pacify and/or replace:
a.
Internal and external vents, valves and caps, discs, and
piping;
b.
Manifolds;
c.
All gaskets (including those on accessories); and
d
Tank interior
metal surfaces.
4
A final wash should be performed before applying a seal

[SV Sailfish]

Roniszoro,

It's simple... Buy a different boat!

Rumor has it there are 10's of thousands out there for sale. So why get stuck on one with that kind of challenge?

And I agree with all above that said "no" to the diesel tank to water tank idea. No, no, no!

Good luck matey!

[Patrigo]

Stainless steel! Why have a tank made of anything else? A head holding tank could, by cutting, steam cleaning and welding be converted to safely contain anything you want.
Patrigo.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by Patrigo

Stainless steel! Why have a tank made of anything else? A head holding tank could, by cutting, steam cleaning and welding be converted to safely contain anything you want.

Well, perhaps so. But Roniszoro hasn't actually told us the material used in his tank.

[PeterLIA]

We converted two large fibreglass fuel tanks to fresh water 5 years ago.
It is a tiresome procedure;
Hand clean interior with hard brushes to remove worst of the fuel contamination using a degreaser like OSS (Oil Spill Solutions).
Steam cleaned the interior with soapy fresh water twice.
Sanded the walls and applied a primer.
Painted the interior with 2 coats food grade 2 pack epoxy Interline 704.
Washed interior again with soapy water then filled and flushed the tanks twice.
Never been a problem since.

[RaymondR]

Probably depends on how fast you want to do the change over.

If you 2/3 fill the tank with soapy water after removing all the fittings and plugging the holes, then sail the boat for say a couple of weeks then do it a couple of times more it will probably clean itself out sufficiently to be used as a water tank.

[mayberrybfd]

Real bad idea. M B T E not able to remove. Or purify

[hzcruiser]

Some good answers there already.

If you're desperate enough to convert it and it's not steel, one option might be to insert an appropriate bladder into the tank to keep the water uncontaminated.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by mayberrybfd

Real bad idea. M B T E not able to remove. Or purify

It's a diesel tank.

[papalagi]

I once had my water tank filled with diesel. I cleaned it with washing up machine-detergent and hot water. Then I filled it up again close to full (same mix) and went to sea. After some deep sea battering the tank was clean with no odors remaining.
Another way to go is a good surface cleaning and a couple of layers of drinking water tank epoxy. E.g.: Jotun Tank Guard DW (biocompatible)