Soap in Fresh Water Tank

R

Rebelmama

New member
Joined
Mar 11, 2021
Messages
4
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Vessel Name
Nessie
Hi All,

We have a new to us 2016 R27 tug. The boat spent about a year waiting for work to be done and during that time the previous owners (who treated her impeccably) added soap/cleaner to the fresh water tank. I have filled and drained the fresh water tank no less than 7 times and I CANNOT get the cleaner to rinse out. Oddly the toilet and the bathroom faucet run clean and clear. The issue after about the 3rd rinse through is only with the kitchen faucet. I came close once to getting the kitchen faucet to run clean but when I refilled the tank the kitchen faucet immediately started to run pink with solution. Does anyone have any suggestions? What am I missing or doing incorrectly? Any advice for this Newb is appreciated.

I live in SE Alaska where fresh water is plentiful, however, I really am tired listening to the faucet and the pump ever time I'm on the boat. ;-)
 
Is there an accumulator tank installed? Maybe it could be in there?
 
You mentioned the galley water is pink. Are you sure it’s soap? RV antifreeze is pink and we put gallons into our fresh water tank every fall to winterize. Takes about 4-5 flushes in the spring to get it all out using the process below. In addition to the possible accumulator, you may have the pink stuff in the hot water heater.

I would recommend draining the hot water heater (with it turned OFF!) and then try flushing a couple more times, moving the galley and sink faucets back and forth between hot and cold. After filling the fresh water tank to the top on the first rinse to fill the hot water heater, I would then flush by filling only 1/4 full then draining using the faucets a couple more times.

Hope this helps! Good luck!
 
Every spring, I flush out the pink anti-freeze. I hook a hose to the water heater tank drain port and put my supply garden hose into the fill port. With the main water tank nearly empty, with the fill hose at about half speed, and the water heater drain port full open (with the water pump running) they are about balanced for flow. I let it run for a while (20 min or so) or when the discharge from the water heater hose runs clear. I then shut off the water heater drain port and cycle the faucets. This goes pretty quickly.

Hope this helps. I am in my 6th year of doing this and have refined the process every year.....

TK
 
BTW: Ranger tugs doesn’t recommend using pink antifreeze to winterize the fresh water system. They recommend air purging the system, which eliminates the flushing procedure in the spring.

They have a complete winterization webinar here: https://youtu.be/mHZr7ANbIkI


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Thanks to everyone for the help. I'm off to the boat today to look into it and follow your instructions. I feel confident your suggestions will solve the problem. 🙂
 
I always winterize my RV with the pink antifreeze.
Air under pressure is OK but any low spots in the plumbing could collect water and it could freeze causing a broken pipe.
I have used this method for 10 years with no issues.
I bypass the water heater.
 
Air purge is problematic in places that hit deep freeze temperatures if there are low spots in plumbing where residual water settles. My seasonal cabin and boats get air purged and RV treatment....I put up with the fizzy pink and flush in lieu of repairs.
 
I was just posting what RT recommends. I’m not sure how a low spot with some residual water in Pex tubing would be a big risk. With room to expand on both sides, it would have to be more than residual water after a blowout. It would have to be pretty full.


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The expansion of freezing water in PEX in itself may not have much effect. However, if a connector is at the low spot, the expansion can push the connection apart...don't ask me how I know.......
 
CruzingElvinRay,
My takeaway from the RT staff video on winterizing was that EITHER air purging or using RV antifreeze was an acceptable way to winterize your boat.
I need to use RV antifreeze for my Yanmar cooling system and I wouldn’t even consider trying to do an air purge of lines from the head to the black water tank. So I’m using about 5 gallons of antifreeze for those winterizing tasks. And another gallon or so for the shower sump pump and two gallons for the bilge.
About the only system I could do an air purge is the fresh water system. Not all RangerTugs have been built with the same components over the years. My boat has no Pex tubing or quick connectors. Just reinforced Tygon tubing and stainless hose clamps. The access to the fresh water pump is under the helm floor and involves taking the heater vent out. The position my body is in to do that is pretty uncomfortable. The decade old Tygon tubing is a bear to disconnect and reconnect.
So, I’m sticking with a method for winterizing my boat’s fresh water system that has worked perfectly for me over the past 20 years of boating - RV antifreeze. Takes 5 minutes to add it to the fresh water tank, 5 minutes to pump through fresh water lines, 20 minutes to drain the hot water tank and I’m done. Takes about an hour in the spring to fill and flush out the fresh water.
All that said, if I had a new fangled boat with Pex tubing, quick connect fittings and a fresh water pump that was readily accessible I might give the air purge method a try! Until then, sticking with the pink stuff.
 
I use the pink stuff everywhere else, as well. 3 bilge pumps. Raw water and A/C pumps (the A/C pump is the tricky one). Shower sump, head. Then purge the water lines.

Air purge isn’t for everyone, but the person posting was struggling getting his system flushed. That’s all.


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To the soap question, if it were me I would consider PBW (powdered brewery wash) in low solution, then flush and repeat if needed. It is food safe and works great for general tank cleaning etc *off* of boats, such as espresso machines (and of course brewing and winemaking equipment).

PBW bubbles very slightly (which helps with the cleaning) so I would run it through until it comes out all faucets, then turn the pump off but leave faucets open for any minor pressure buildup. Leave for 30 minutes, then flush.

OTOH this is just my guess based on non-boat usage so I can't personally vouch for it on my boat. I would start with a light solution first as a trial. Product: https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/powdered-brewery-wash
 
PBW is an interesting option...

Just to follow up it was antifreeze and with your advice I did get it all out. I did not realize that I needed to move faucet from the Hot water to cold water while flushing. So, I'm guessing while the cold water had flushed out the antifreeze the hot water tank still had residue. I also think taking the time to drain the water heater made the process go much faster.

(I did drain the water heater, but I could not get it to drain without the water pump turned on.) Once the hot water tank was drained I flushed the hot water a couple more times and now the water tastes like water!

Thank you all!

Next project.... remove oxidation on the EYEBROWS! ;-)
 
Excellent. Thanks for the follow up to let everyone know, and glad it worked to flush it! Hope the next project is just as clear 🙂
 
My experience with flushing my tanks has been to use as little water as possible. My theory is use less water and you will be pumping out a much more concentrated mix then if you fill and empty. Soap may stick to the upper portion of the tank but I would use a small amount of water several times to get the bulk out and then maybe a full fill and empty.
 
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