Fresh Water Tank

[Walker]

Can anyone tell me the best way to flush my fresh water tank. Very foul smell at faucets and windshield washers. I have already tried an RV tank flush but still smells. Should I try bleach? if so, how much?
2006 3200 Open with 38 gal. fresh water tank.
Thanks
Walker

[anthem]

I have always used Clorox. If used in the proper dosage, it is very effective for sanitizing the fresh water system. The proper dosage is 2oz to 5 gallons of water. According to Peggie Hall, a leading professional in Marine Sanitation, the proper procedure is to add the appropriate amount of bleach, run the water thru all faucets and wash downs until you smell the bleach. This will kill whatever is living in the tanks or the lines. Leave the system pressurized for 24 hours, then drain the water from the tank or tanks thru the faucets and wash downs. Ad fresh water and flush the system again with fresh water. It would be a good idea to take off all the aerators before you drain the tanks, otherwise whatever has died will be captured there. Shocking the fresh water system once a year in this manner should have no adverse effects. I have used this method for years with no problems.

[Uhehner]

If you have an aluminum tank, remember chlorine eats aluminum. I did a heavy Clorox dose once and my aerators constantly plugged with aluminum chunks thereafter. Use it sparingly and don't leave it in too long. Also it may be prudent to pull the drain hose off the tank instead of running your water pump when flushing. Let it drain in the bilge and the BP will handle it. I also burned out my pump during flushing. Just my opinion. Capt. George

[ReelNauti]

I use bleach tablets which I found at Walmart. I drop in 2 when I commission the system in the spring and it seams to work well. Much smaller than a jug a bleach and no drip to worry about.

[kickstartit]

I had a real strong onion smell in my tank when I got my boat. I used a product from West Marine. Be sure to follow label instructions. Like Anthem said be sure to remove and clean the aerators at all faucets. There is also a screen filter at the pump that should be cleaned each time you flush the system. After the cleaning, it took several attempts, I also changed out the filter under my galley sink. West Marine also has a drinkable additive for each tank filling to keep the water fresh. My water tank is Poly, so I don't know how the West Marine products react to aluminum.

Good Luck,

Steve

[Walker]

Hi,
Thanks to all for answering. Luckily my tank is not aluminum so I think I'll go for the bleach flush and disconnect my system supply line and let it run in the bilges.
Nasty smelling stuff!!
Thanks again.

[rafredrickson]

Can anyone tell me the best way to flush my fresh water tank. Very foul smell at faucets and windshield washers. I have already tried an RV tank flush but still smells. Should I try bleach? if so, how much?
2006 3200 Open with 38 gal. fresh water tank.
Thanks
Walker

A cup of bleach into a full tank, let it sit overnight and I'll bet you're good to go. Rinse and flush well for sure.

[sbw1]

Go easy on the bleach as it will damage your seals in the head if you use too much. The key to keeping the water tank fresh is to use it on a regular bases even if that means running it dry once a week and refilling it with fresh water from a good source of water from a chlorinated public water utility. Well water is suspect if it comes from a private well.

There are water treatment chemicals available from marine stores that work very effectively. We have used Aquafresh for years because our local store sells that brand. It is powdered bleach and has good instructions. These tell you how to cure the bad smell you are experiencing. Once you have gotten on top of the problem, follow the directions on the package to keep things fresh.

We put our boat away with the water tank drained. In the spring, we follow the procedure on the package which essentially tells you to double dose for the tank, fill the fresh water lines with water, (i.e.. the fresh water faucets, the head line, the ice maker, transom shower, etc.) and let things sit for 23 to 48 hours. Then you flush the tank by running it dry and refilling with fresh water. We make 20 to 40 pounds of ice with the highly chlorinated water and throw that overboard. We run the tank dry twice with fresh water from our local water system and make another 40 pounds of ice with that water and throw that overboard. Once this cycle is completed we drink the water and use the ice. We do not continue to use chemicals.  If we do not empty the tank in a week, we run the taps until the tank is empty and refill it. When we are on the boat, our tank is refreshed daily because of showers and normal daily usage. Properly maintained, tank water is very safe to use provided you fill the tank with a good source of water.

[davidpriolo]

new owner 2006 29 open... My water level meter always shows full even when the tank is empty. Any ideas of how to fix or what needs to be replaced ? thanks

[trit21]

new owner 2006 29 open... My water level meter always shows full even when the tank is empty. Any ideas of how to fix or what needs to be replaced ?  thanks

Well I would check the connection for the sender on the top of the tank and then remove the sender, move it by hand and see if it registers on the meter. Showing full all the times kind of tells me the sender is bad as mine at least will show empty if a wire breaks. But again, mine is a 2000 Tiara 3500 so might be a completed different system I don't know. If your meter looks like mine (below) switch for water / waste then they are probably the same sender.