"Just Filled Up My Freshwater Tank With Diesel"

Blue Knight

Blue Knight

Free Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2017
Posts
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Location
Durham
Funster No
49,879
MH
Globecar Summit 640
Exp
2016
Guys, I was in bl@@dy stitches when I read this in my new MMM magazine (arrived today).

Turn to page 168 of MMM and a guy (who wants to remain anonymous- really!!) asks:

"What do I do if I've accidently filled the water tank with Diesel?"

Has this ever happened before in the world of motorhoming.:D
 
Wow what a hot shower he’ll have.:D
 
Blue Knight said:
Guys, I was in bl@@dy stitches when I read this in my new MMM magazine (arrived today).

Turn to page 168 of MMM and a guy (who wants to remain anonymous- really!!) asks:

"What do I do if I've accidently filled the water tank with Diesel?"

Has this ever happened before in the world of motorhoming.:D
Click to expand...

Someone filled @Theonlysue Sue's water tank with diesel. :eek:
And then denied doing it. :rolleyes:
But she probably doesn't need reminding. :whistle: Bob.
 
He has washed it out with washing up liquid and it's now steeping in a chlorine mixture:ROFLMAO:
 
I have more sympathy with him than you have, I only opened the thread to see what we could do to help, or in my case how he might resolve it

I have wrong fuelled my car and without seeing his MH filler layout and knowing how long he had owned it I think it might be more easily done than clearly you do o_O

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... if there wasn't any water in it then use the ruddy diesel and clean out the tank and just use the tank for water for washing etc but NOT drinking!
 
Minxy Girl said:
for water for washing etc but NOT drinking!
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Hi.
I and i no doubt some of you have syphoned diesel out of a tank with just a tube and remember the taste,i vowed many years ago to never do this again. So i am with @Minxy Girl
Tea Bag
 
Lost some water once, I think somebody siphoned it into their own tank or a drum.. I hope they found out after using it, quite a few gallons of water.. The cap is a locking one but I didn't lock it as it is only water , not worth nicking.. The fuel is at the front on the other side that is locked always.
 
Almost impossible to clean a plastic tank of diesel, even a steel tank is a challenge.

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WillH said:
Almost impossible to clean a plastic tank of diesel, even a steel tank is a challenge.
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Wonder if it’s reached beyond the tank, pipes, pump , heater etc :eek:
 
Yes, it's been done before. Very expensive mistake to make. New tank.

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Minxy Girl said:
@Blue Knight ... what 'advice' did MMM give ... :)
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"It's likely you will need to replace the tank and filler hose", then mentioned soaking said tank with a solution of Fenwick's Waste Pipe and Tank Cleaner, followed by adding Elsan freshwater tank cleaner (containing citric acid) to neutralise odours.
 
GWAYGWAY said:
Lost some water once, I think somebody siphoned it into their own tank or a drum.. I hope they found out after using it, quite a few gallons of water.. The cap is a locking one but I didn't lock it as it is only water , not worth nicking.. The fuel is at the front on the other side that is locked always.
Click to expand...
The reason for locking it is not to prevent theft but to prevent anyone adding something nasty to your fresh water.

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the last one I repaired, we tried loads of different things to clean the tank. in the end we had to replace the tank, filler pipe, filler, take off pipe and pump strainer and diaphragm.

not cheap as we had to have a tank made and dismantle (and reassemble) internal furniture to get at the tank. parts alone were over £300 10 years ago. labour took a day and a half to strip out the old tank and replace
 
Me me me
Yes I am the idiot who has put diesel into our motorhome water tank !
Nearly new Swift Kontiki 2011
Why I did it as the fillers were miles apart and totally different !
Washing up liquid didn't touch it but my next cunning plan cleaned the tank completely .
There are a few products made specifically for cleaning diesel from water tanks as it is quite a common occurrence in the boating world.
I used this as a shit or bust as really thought it would be a new tank and pipes needed , I lobbed in the whole 5 litres and filled with warm water , drove about 150 miles and left overnight, washed out several times with clean water and to my amazement it was good enough to drink !
https://trustedcarproducts.co.uk/product-review/autosmart-g101-multi-purpose-cleaner
 
The woman attendant at the non-self-service garage in Italy took the water filler cap off and was about to pump diesel in when I jumped out and stopped her. Phew, that was close. :eek:

Glad to see @Basildog seems to have found a viable remedy. (y)

Next, misfuelling ... yesterday one of my neighbours appears to have filled his diesel Merc with petrol. Oops. We'll see if he mentions it next time we chat.
 
These attended services places are perhaps a greater risk and are the norm in Spain.
An idea may be to keep a fuel filler key separate to give them as this usually won't fit anything else.
 
Reallyretired said:
These attended services places are perhaps a greater risk and are the norm in Spain.
An idea may be to keep a fuel filler key separate to give them as this usually won't fit anything else.
Click to expand...
Except my Peugeot Boxer ignition and my driver’s door and my rear door !

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Reallyretired said:
These attended services places are perhaps a greater risk and are the norm in Spain.
An idea may be to keep a fuel filler key separate to give them as this usually won't fit anything else.
Click to expand...

I regularly get attendants running out to tell me I'm putting petrol in my van.... they are quiet persistent sometimes at thinking I must be putting wrong fuel in.

Guess it's a bit uncommon as there's not that many petrol motorhomes around, American V10 petrol.
 
Cost a garage £3500 on their insurance for their cock up!
 
I had to go from AS to Norfolk to pick up a van which the owners girlfriend had done precisely the same thing. Unfortunately she had then proceeded to try and empty the tank by running all of the taps. This then contaminated the whole system. The vehicle was taken to Wellesley and the complete water system was replaced.
I returned the van a few weeks later and still had to drive with all of the windows open just to breathe. I fear that the smell of diesel will be there for many, many trips to come.

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