Full or empty water tank in tropical temperatures

[Oceansailor]

Will lay up the boat in the tropics for 6 month. Question is should I empty the water tanks or leave them full?

[Tricolor]

Water = Dengue

[Oceansailor]

Originally Posted by Tricolor

Water = Dengue

Well, The water tank will not be 100 % dry anyhow, full or empty. But more important my water tank is mosquito proof.

[Eder]

I filled mine...I'll treat it with some bleach when I get back to it once I get the water maker running. Partially damp large shaded tank could be scary after 6 months.

[Franziska]

+For completely full & bleach.

This might give some insight too on the other risks:

https://www.google.com/url?q=https:/...w58zPmL5ps4ofX

Water=Dengue is a bit over simplistic in my eyes, it applies mostly to small, open exposed water surfaces in the shade.
If your tank is completely full and closed, than that's not your main risk & issue.

[Oceansailor]

Well the only problem I have with the full and bleach strategy is that I’m afraid that there will be residues from the bleach when I start the new season even after emptying the tanks. That would not be good for the water maker membrane.

[Eder]

I have a filter on my watermaker to strip chlorine from the rinse water....membranes going on 6th season. Easy to add if you dont have one yet.

[Suijin]

I think it takes one teaspoon of bleach per 30 gallons to kill anything in it. Not sure if that will keep anything from growing in it over a period as it may evaporate out. I put that in when I get water I'm a little suspect about and I can't taste it.

Be careful of using too much bleach if you have stainless tanks. If the water is free, you might want to put a small dose in, then when you get back add more and run it through the hoses, do a 24 hour soak then drain and rinse. I do that every couple of years as general practice.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Oceansailor

Well the only problem I have with the full and bleach strategy is that I’m afraid that there will be residues from the bleach when I start the new season even after emptying the tanks. That would not be good for the water maker membrane.

Probably not. That said, it is really easy to neutralize bleach. Practically anything organic will react with it in a few minutes. Some people use vitamin C tabs.



And you can dump and refill, of course.

[hellosailor]

Might as well leave them empty. No worries about crud or leaks.

If you want to leave them full, look into dosing them with hydrogen peroxide (cheapest from a beautician's supply as a bleaching concenrtration) since that breaks down into oxygen and water, so it is easy enough to drain rinse out on your return. If you can't seal the tank (vents too) during storage...I'd still go for storing empty.

And just plan on a good cleaning before refilling on your return, in any case.

[txg]

The question here is about accessibility. We have inspection ports on our tanks so we empty them and wipe them completely dry. Use air (electric dinghy pump) to empty the hoses as well. Works fine.

[zeehag]

my tanks are 43 yrs of age. i have had rewelding done. i use no chlorine, but i do use vinegar in my tanks as bleach doesnot kill slime mold. vinegar does. i use 500 ml vinegar in a 50 gal tank.

[Oceansailor]

Originally Posted by zeehag

my tanks are 43 yrs of age. i have had rewelding done. i use no chlorine, but i do use vinegar in my tanks as bleach doesnot kill slime mold. vinegar does. i use 500 ml vinegar in a 50 gal tank.

Is it stainless or aluminum?

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Oceansailor

Well the only problem I have with the full and bleach strategy is that I’m afraid that there will be residues from the bleach when I start the new season even after emptying the tanks. That would not be good for the water maker membrane.

Charcoal filters remove the chlorine.

[sailorboy1]

As an ex water treatment guy; if it was a warm location with no danger of freeze I would go full and chlorinated (assuming plastic tanks). Is metal tanks, just full and "fix" any internal tank growth later.