# Smelly water from fresh water tank



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

My boat has a 100 gallon aluminum fresh water tank. A month ago, when we put it back in the water, we filled, drained and re-filled the tank. When we went down to the boat this weekend, the water had a strong sulfer like smell. I assume that this is related to bacteria or other life in the water. I''m going to add a two stage filter to part of the fresh water system, but would appreciate suggestions on how to avoid the problem. I thought of putting a little chlorine in the water, but supposedly that is a bad idea with an aluminum tank. It has been suggested that I add a little iodine. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Bruce


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## Irwin32 (Jul 1, 2001)

A friend of mine insists that vodka takes care of all water tank problems. I am not sure of the ratios, but a couple of good flushes would have to take care of the vodka.


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## Irwin32 (Jul 1, 2001)

Maybe the water you put in the tank had a high sulpher content.


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## Yodagwb (Nov 10, 2002)

Do you put the voka in the tank or do you drink it so you don''t notice the tank taste?


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## CISCOJOE (Aug 28, 2001)

do not add chlorine to the tank. you will create aluminium chloride which over time will cause you more trouble. 

i have an aluminum tank. cleaned and drained it as you did. the odor free result was short-lived. it occurred to me the odor was residing in the lines. the remedy for me was to pickup the chlorine bleach water solution from a bucket , bypassing the tank-
i run the solution thru the lines once a month and have had odor free water for the last 3 months.

good luck


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I''ll try the bleach solution directly into the hoses first. I might give the vodka in the tank a try, but I have a hard time with the idea of pouring several bottles of vodka into my tank and then flushing it overboard. Possibly, if I had a better idea of how this is supposed to work?


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## captkris (Mar 4, 2007)

Will chlorine damage the rubber in the water pumps?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes, if left in the system for an extended period of time. It also does a number on aluminum tanks.

BTW, you really should have started a new thread... not revived a dead one.


captkris said:


> Will chlorine damage the rubber in the water pumps?


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## Rockter (Sep 11, 2006)

If the water is oxygenated, and kept oxygenated, it really should not happen. Is the tank breather open? Did you overfill the tank so that thare was no free surface exposed to the air?


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## SallyH (Apr 19, 2007)

This stuff will completely sanitize the water - without chlorine or bleaches.

Good luck.


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## k1vsk (Jul 16, 2001)

That "stuff" is not a disinfectant similar to those commonly considered as such except perhaps by it's manufacturer. Regardless, the sulfur smell which was the original subject is not a bacteria but the result of decomposition of organic matter in the water tank. 
There has been lots written about this including systems with aluminum tanks but there is no such thing as magic dust. Flushing with bleach or peroxide or vodka with the emphasis on flushing to agitate and remove decayed matter will solve the problem.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

SallyH-

That stuff isn't approved or tested by anyone I'd trust... UGH.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Each spring we run a cap full of Clorex through the water tanks, then refill the tanks and add another cap full. If we do not use the boat much during the summer the sulfur smell comes back.. We clean again and leave a cap full in the fresh water...takes care of the problem.

John


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## Valdensule (Mar 2, 2007)

*This may work*

I work with some ex-navy types. The first words out of thier mouths was "Bugjuice". Apparently if you make the normal recipe for Kool-Aid, but double the sugar, (times x for the amount you need) 100 gal use 10 gals of mix. Slosh it around, let it sit, slosh some more, it does the cleaning very well. Run it through all the plumbing. Don't drink it, just flush overboard. Safe and effective (so they say).


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## captkris (Mar 4, 2007)

Well, what happened with my tanks is this:
I have 4 water tanks. One leaked so I separated it and it was like this for some years. New crew member found disconected water pipe and he happilly put it back were it was. After next fill of water the smell was this bad that you could not stay belowe the deck. After a while I found out what happened and we flashed the tanks about 10 times with baking soda and separeted the leaking tank again. Now, after all that the smell is still there and we can not stand it. My tanks are monel and I never had any problems with the smelly water. So, in short words the water in bad tank was just as bad as cespol tank and it got to the system!!!
Well, dont know what to do now and I will not give up sailing becouse of that. Any advice from anyone? Thanks


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## brak (Jan 5, 2007)

Lots of clorox. Seemed to help me.

Drain the system, fill with clean water (and a full bottle of clorox), drain again, repeat. It helps to have an external pump to drain the tank - works faster and does not wear out the water pressure pump.

Also, if you can reach inside the tank - open it and clean the walls. Use flexible pressure wand (they sell those things to clean out RV toilets) to power spray with water inside. 

This might take a while.


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## k1vsk (Jul 16, 2001)

Smells are often mis-attributed to the tank(s). If you cleaned it out thoroughly, that would only confirm that. A smell so pervasive is more likely coming from under then tank, particularly as it had leaked in the past, or in hidden spaces such as under a hull liner. Sounds like you need to investigate further.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

K1VSK-

You might want to re-read the original post. He says:



> When we went down to the boat this weekend, *the water had a strong sulfer like smell.* I assume that this is related to bacteria or other life in the water. I''m going to add a two stage filter to part of the fresh water system, but would appreciate suggestions on how to avoid the problem.


The smell is coming from the WATER, not the TANK...



k1vsk said:


> Smells are often mis-attributed to the tank(s). If you cleaned it out thoroughly, that would only confirm that. A smell so pervasive is more likely coming from under then tank, particularly as it had leaked in the past, or in hidden spaces such as under a hull liner. Sounds like you need to investigate further.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Capt.Kris...Baking soda will not do it. Use bleach as Brak suggests in all your working tanks...then one by one...open all your faucets until you can smell the bleach coming out of them. Then let the bleach stay in the lines for an hour. Then open all faucets and pump out the tanks and refill with clean water. The repeat the faucet by faucet exercise until you can no longer smell bleach.


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## travler37 (Mar 30, 2007)

You need a cheap supply of booze....
Find your LOCAL still master and buy 20 gallons from him.
Or whatever fills the tank 1/3 of the way.Empty tanks and add said BOOZE a day or so before rough weather.
Let it sit for at least a day.Caution...no smoking.
Go sailing...enjoy the said rough weather.
While sailing run/pump all lines until they smell like said BOOZE.
Dock and go get a good dinner for the admiral.
Wait 3 days and flush whole system with fresh water.

If you do not have a local supplier buy a still and make your own.They are reasonably priced on the net.
Mark


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## calmtoday28 (Sep 1, 2007)

*yes*

yes it will damages seals and rubber impellars - just be careful.



captkris said:


> Will chlorine damage the rubber in the water pumps?


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