Cleaning E33 water tanks
Date: August 9, 2000 I recently purchased a 1984 33 that was on land for about 18 months. Whoever winterized her put something in the water tank that still has white foamy, slightly foul smelling, water issuing from the system. I have run the system quite a bit and still hve this foam. I now believe I have to drain, clean, and rinse the entire system. But I have no idea how best to do this. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Date: August 11, 2000 Bruce, 1) What kind of tanks do you have? Are they built in fiberglass, stainless Steel 2) Where are they located and how accessible are they? Under starboard settee and are not internally accessible. The inlet & outlet ports are accessible. I suppose I could attach a pump to the outlet and pump everything overboard. Then I would have to run something through all the hoses and fixtures to clean these out. By the way, this foam comes out of all the faucets so it pervades the system. 3) Does the foam have any particular smell? Not particular but peculiar-- I really can't place the scent Date: August 11, 2000 Bruce, Date: August 11, 2000 Bruce, Date: August 11, 2000 We had exactly the same problem on our '84 E33 which we purchased last year, and had been laid up for awhile. We put up with it for one year, but this year decided that we had to do something. If you have the same tank as ours, it is about 40 gallons, stainless steel and is under the settee on the starboard side. The water was absolutely foul. In order to take the 8" inspection hatch off, we had to drill 3 - 1/2" holes into the fibreglass that covered some of the screws in order to get at the Phillips head screws (poor design there). The tank, we discovered had about an inch of a white grainy smelly jelly like coating on the bottom. We also found out the tank was baffled into 3 compartments and only the one with the cover was fully accessible. I never had the stuff analyzed, but it looked like calcium chloride (hard water) buildup over many years that had started to rot. I don't know if that is possible or not, I'm just saying what it looked like. We got a high pressure hose and started trying to dislodge the stuff, shoving the hose through the baffle openings. The on board pump was just too slow to drain the water so we used a shop vac to suck the water back out. In all, we probably high pressure water flushed 15 or 20 times. Near the end the water was flowing pretty clear. We then dumped a gallon of javex in the tank and filled it up, turned on all the taps until the javex was disbursed through the system and then let it sit overnight. Next day we flushed again about 4-5 times to get the javex smell from the water. The water is pretty good now, but we still won't drink it. Someone told us to put a package of baking soda in the tank and let it sit a few days. Perhaps next year. Best of luck! Date: August 11, 2000 Bruce, on my E33 I have a single 40 gal aluminum tank under settee on starboard side. To winterize or commission I remove 5 screws on top of the tank where there is a 1 1/2" opening for an old gauge. I use a manual hand held dingy pump to remove whatever water or antifreeze is left in the tank after running it dry via faucet. Baking soda solution or in exterme cases a mild Clorox solution should then be added and run through the system. Flush and repeat until you are satisfied. PS We bring bottled water for drinking/coffee/tea, etc. Date: August 12, 2000 Hi bruce, After the water is clean, and I mean to taste I would seal it and put in chlorine tablets to purify, and just for 24 hours and then flush once more. hopefully this should solve your problem. I must admit though that I would never drink that water but only Actually I took my old tank out and built a brand new stainless steel tank and it is a pleasure. The only mistake I made was at that time was not to do the exit from the top and not from the side as was. Date: August 21, 2000 I have had my 1984 E 33 for 1 and 1/2 years. I can't help you but would like to know what you find out. I would like to drain my system as well. I see the small port on top of the stainless tank. The port top os bolted or screwed on but some of the bolts are under the edge of the settee fiberglass and seem inaccessible. Please share your solutions. Thanks. Date: September 1, 2000 If the tanks are aluminum, as ours are, don't use clorine. Hydrogen peroxide is a very effective cleaner, and when it acts, it breaks down into non toxic material. Are there inspection ports in the tanks?
From: Bruce McMahon mghtym@aol.com
From: Paul Uhl endvr32@endeavourowners.com
I'm sending out your question to all Endeavour owners since everyone may have an interest in your topic. However, could you clarify some additional points:
steel, etc. ?
From: Stan Howell stanh@kpt.nuwc.navy.mil
I have a '78 E32. Water tank under the V-berth. I recently gave mine a good scrubbing. Rather than taxing my on board water pump, I used a portable pump to drain the tank over the side. Once the tank is clean, you can use fresh water from it to purge the rest of the system. Fair Winds To Ya, Stan
From: Capt' Luther Carrier Lelair@aol.com
It sounds as though you may have a slimy growth in the water system. I had a similar situation, so I interconnected all of my tanks (three tanks) through a manifold located under the sole. This allows me to fill, use or drain any or all of the tanks. This also allows me to open all of the transfer valves and while underway, the rocking motion cleans out the lines where the slim grows. An inline strainer has been installed on the pump suction from this manifold. I recently cleaned the strainer and was I glad it was in place. I also add bleach to the tanks ever so often, not to where it spells of bleach but enough to keep the water "fresh smelling." You may want to install a check valve in the supply line going to the water heater. The engine will heat your water higher than you would normally set your thermostat, therefore letting the expanding hot water to flow back into your tanks. Just a though... If you find that you are discovering more water in the bilge than you should, check your safety valve on the water tank. Again the engine will heat your water higher than you would normally and if the PSV opens, then the water goes into bilge.
From: Denise & Mike Brennan brennand@nbnet.nb.ca
From: John Craine jcraine@optonline.net
From: Henry Gild henry@gezernet.co.il
Just to let you know that I have an Endeavour33 88 which I purchased 2 & half years ago at Long Island and sailed her to Israel. We also had a foul smell from the tank, couldn't possibly drink it and by the time we got to the Azores had also discovered that the aluminium tank was leaking. On cutting inspection panels on the top, two in all as we also had the third inspection hole we saw that the interior was like terribly filthy from the action of the aluminium. My advise to you ,if the tank is still good is to disconnect at the bottom and connect a pipe leading to the outside. Then using quite a high pressure of water I would flush the tank for quite a long time. As the outlet is at the bottom but you have led a pipe to the outside of the tank the tank would fill up before it started to expel water and this would then cause a flushing of the tank.
use it for washing purposes.
From: Rex Crawford Sockhat1@aol.com
From: Donna Cass bacchus42@earthlink.net
