Fuel Tank to Water Tank

[jkleins]

Can you clean a fuel tank well enough to make it safe for potable water?

The previous owner converted one of the water tanks on our boat to a fuel tank and added another water tank forward. I was wondering if I am stuck with that decision or can it be reversed if desired?

I think it is stainless and looks pretty clean just looking down in the cleanout hole.

Thanks,

Jim

[s/v 'Faith']

Can you remove the tank for cleaning?

If so, probably would not be much of a problem. You could take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it... of course I would also plan on a bunch of flushing .... and you might want to change the hoses out too....

It should be do-able.

[perchance]

If it is stainless have it steam cleaned and it should be fine.

[Chief Engineer]

I wouldn't drimk anything out of it....but that's just me.....Washing and showering...ok.

[DeepFrz]

And don't forget to change the fill pipes and the whole vent system.

[jkleins]

Originally Posted by s/v 'Faith'

Can you remove the tank for cleaning?

If so, probably would not be much of a problem. You could take it to a radiator shop and have them clean it... of course I would also plan on a bunch of flushing .... and you might want to change the hoses out too....

It should be do-able.

No it is down under the floor. Access would be limited to 4 holes/connections on the top.

Thanks,

Jim

[jkleins]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

And don't forget to change the fill pipes and the whole vent system.

I figured that would be the easy part if I could get the actual sides clean and all the effluent out. I guess it would be pretty easy to test for residual afterwards too. I was really just wondering if the folks who clean tanks have the equipment to really clean them or do they just kind of rinse out the particulate stuff that is stuck on the sides and bottom and then put clean fuel back in.

Thanks,

Jim

[DeepFrz]

There are outfits that steam clean tanks but I imagine it wont be cheap.

[CarlF]

Someone here - my apologies as I can't remember who - used a product called TKO Orange to clean a water tank that had accidentally been partly filled with some diesel. He reported that it took a fair number of fill/flush cycles but it worked.

You've got a tougher challenge but it might be worth a bottle of the stuff. If it fails, just go back to using it for diesel.

After the post, I bought a bottle and now use it for many boat cleaning chores and as a bilge cleaner. They claims it contains no toxic or hazardous ingredients and includes orange peel. That must be some nasty orange they use as they say it can strip tar or clean oil separators

Here's the TKO Orange web site: HOME

Carl