Flush the fresh water tank ?

[bottomline]

1992 Explorer 24

I just got this boat and want to flush, clean and purify the fresh water holding tank. I'm not expecting to use it for drinking, just for washing etc.

Is there an easy way to drain the tank or do I need to run faucets until empty?

Thanks for any advice.
John

 

[seasick]

If you can get to the pump input, you can disconnect the hose and drain the tank into the bilge. Using the pump itself can take a while. You can also try to put your water hose into the fill fitting and keep overfilling the tank. Gunk will (hopefully) float up and out, at least it does on mine.
You may need to clean your strainer(s) after flushing or in general since they tend to plug up.
For everyday use add 1/2 ounce of bleach for every 10 gallons of tank capacity. That will slow down the growth of algae.

 

[GW VOYAGER]

I flushed all the water out of my tank, then put in about a pint of bleach , then filled in order to mix the bleach. Let it set about an hour then spray all the water out refill a couple times with the fresh water in order to remove the bleach. That is how I cleaned my tank but I am sure there are others on this site with other options on doing this. By the way you can spray the bleached water into a 5 gal bucket and dump in a safe place but that is not a super strong solution.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Be sure when you sanitize the tank that you also run all the fixtures connected to the freshwater system. Not only does the tank need to be cleaned, the lines going to the stern shower, sinks and so forth need to have the chlorine solution to run through them as well. Odors are caused by bacteria and bacteria can grow in the lines. Whether you plan on using the freshwater tank for drinking or not, having it sanitized for potable use is a good idea none the less. We initially use 1/2 cup of bleach to sanitize the system, rinse all the water through the plumbing and then we go to refill it we add 1 table spoon or so bleach to keep it fresh.

 

[bottomline]

Thanks

So there is no "main" drain for the tank ?

 

[Doc Stressor]

For everyday use add 1/2 ounce of bleach for every 10 gallons of tank capacity.

I would not recommend adding any bleach to drinking water for everyday use. The dose above is used for livestock tanks, but it's not for human consumption.

You can use bleach to sterilize drinking water in an emergency, but FEMA no longer recommends this.

The bleach will break down after a day or two, but the chlorinated compounds that result from the sterilization process stick around for a very long time and pose a cancer risk.

Bleach is fine for sterilizing the tank and high doses will dissolve a pretty heavy dose of microbial growth. But the best practice is to flush the tank after treatment with clean water several times to remove the bleach and the chlorinated byproducts of sterilization.

I replace the water in the tank about every month and re-sterilize the system twice per year.

 

[seasick]

For everyday use add 1/2 ounce of bleach for every 10 gallons of tank capacity.

I would not recommend adding any bleach to drinking water for everyday use. The dose above is used for livestock tanks, but it's not for human consumption.

You can use bleach to sterilize drinking water in an emergency, but FEMA no longer recommends this.

The bleach will break down after a day or two, but the chlorinated compounds that result from the sterilization process stick around for a very long time and pose a cancer risk.

Bleach is fine for sterilizing the tank and high doses will dissolve a pretty heavy dose of microbial growth. But the best practice is to flush the tank after treatment with clean water several times to remove the bleach and the chlorinated byproducts of sterilization.

I replace the water in the tank about every month and re-sterilize the system twice per year.

I do not recommend drinking the fresh water ever.period...
Wash, bathe or rinse OK.

 

[csleitch]

Bleach is perfectly fine to clean your tank but you have to rinse it out very well, afterwards you can use vinegar.....pour in a jug of vinegar, circulate it through the system and then dump it the next day to eliminate bleach odor. Hope this works for you.

 

[Grog]

For everyday use add 1/2 ounce of bleach for every 10 gallons of tank capacity.

............-sterilize the system twice per year.

I do not recommend drinking the fresh water ever.period...
Wash, bathe or rinse OK.

X2. Bring water for drinking, there's too many bad things to get from drinking stale water.