antifreeze in fresh water tank

[jking006]

hello every one,

I bought a class c last summer that needed some mechanical work.
long story short is most mechanical work is done and looking forward to taking a few trips this summer.. It has been sitting for a few years and was winterized the entire time it sat.. however someone put about 5 gallons of the antifreeze in the tank.
my question is whats best to clean it out and is the tank still safe to use for fresh potable water????

[blatant]

wow that just sounds bad, antifreeze.

[Johno02]

Drain and fluch tank well, drain and pour in at least 2 liters of Good Tennessee sipping whisky. Drive a bit to circulate it all around in the tank. Fill tank the rest of the way with fresh spring water, ( NO city Water here), and your done! Be sure to use ice in all you drinks for a while.

[Harvey51]

Good plan, jking.

[jking006]

I appreciate all the tips.. thank you all!!!

I went to the camping supply store and got a sanitize kit.. im going to drain and flush everything a few times.. and do the bleach trick too.. i called a friend who lives in town so i can use his city water as i have well water here.. i will drive it around a while.. a lot of country roads here with curves should help rinse it out good.. then ill use this sanitize kit..
i was mostly concerned that the tank maybe completely ruined by chemicals leaching into the plastic.. this stuff has been in there for a very long time.. the last owner said he cant remember the last time they actually used the water system. ill do my best to clean it out.. but i think will will use bottled water for drink and cooking to be safe.. as long as we can use this for dishes and shower ill be happy.. again thank you all so muck for the input

Jeff

[coolmom42]

DutchmenSport wrote:
To clean out the tank, all you can do is drain it, add more water, drain it, add more water, drain it, add more water. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the tank is clean. Once it's cleaned out, run water through all the lines and flush, flush, flush. When no more foam in the water occurs, it's finally all cleaned out.

Last step, since it's been sitting so long, is to sanitize. (Bleach or city water as City Water has chlorine in the water.) The stronger the bleach, the faster it sanatizes. But the strong the bleach, the more caustic it is on valves, and such, So make sure you rinse well the bleach water after sanitizing too.

One more little tip. When you get ready to sanatize, fill the tank with water-bleach solution and take the camper out for a good drive. The sloshing in the tank will wash the top, sides, and bottoms and reach every speck inside the tank. Then drain after driving around. The beating around of the water will help break anything loose that might be clinging to the inside walls. So when filling, don't fill it all the way, leave some space (air) so it can slosh real good.

The driving and sloshing is probably the best way to pulverize and break up anything in both black and gray tank, and to clean your fresh tank really good.

Good advice here.

[obgraham]

I don't understand all the fuss here: Drain the tank, flush the tank and lines a couple of times, do the bleachy thing, and then use it. There's nothing in there that will harm anyone.

[Dutch_12078]

rwbradley wrote:

Most RV antifreeze is poisonous as it contains Ethanol, which is why the label has the poison symbol and the MSDS is some scary reading. It is also the cheap stuff that someone could afford to waste 5 gallons of. The non poisonous RV antifreeze is made from Glycol, and is safe for human consumption and actually tastes kinda fruity, but it is 5x more expensive and only available from RV dealers. Both are pink in color. I would assume worse case scenario to be safe.

I don't know where you got the idea that glycol based RV antifreeze is only available from RV dealers, but it's wrong. Even Walmart's Super Tech RV & Marine Antifreeze is glycol based. And Camco's RV antifreeze is available from many non RV dealer sources, including Amazon, Ace Hardware, Advance Auto, and many others.

[DrewE]

rwbradley wrote:

Bobbo wrote:

rwbradley wrote:
Most RV antifreeze is poisonous as it contains Ethanol, which is why the label has the poison symbol and the MSDS is some scary reading.

Ethanol is what is in Budweiser, Jack Daniels and Boone's Farm.

It is methanol that is toxic.

Actually Flammable symbol, my mistake... however still not safe for human consumption according to the MSDS even though it is safe to use in plumbing. To avoid an argument, Ethanol based RV anti freeze is not safe for consumption, but it may not be specifically due to the Ethanol itself but other ingredients.

Ethanol in sufficient quantities is very much toxic. Many people die each year from ethanol poisoning.

In order to be effective, the ethanol concentration in RV antifreeze is rather in the range of hard liquor. You certainly don't want to be swilling it full strength, but the traces left over after flushing/rinsing the system out are not dangerous.

[rwbradley]

Bobbo wrote:

rwbradley wrote:
Most RV antifreeze is poisonous as it contains Ethanol, which is why the label has the poison symbol and the MSDS is some scary reading.

Ethanol is what is in Budweiser, Jack Daniels and Boone's Farm.

It is methanol that is toxic.

Actually Flammable symbol, my mistake... however still not safe for human consumption according to the MSDS even though it is safe to use in plumbing. To avoid an argument, Ethanol based RV anti freeze is not safe for consumption, but it may not be specifically due to the Ethanol itself but other ingredients.

[Bumpyroad]

Bobbo wrote:

rwbradley wrote:
Most RV antifreeze is poisonous as it contains Ethanol, which is why the label has the poison symbol and the MSDS is some scary reading.

Ethanol is what is in Budweiser, Jack Daniels and Boone's Farm.

It is methanol that is toxic.

I have had toxic results from too much ethanol. Perhaps the poster was thinking of the denatured ethanol which is rendered non-drinkable??
bumpy

[Bobbo]

rwbradley wrote:
Most RV antifreeze is poisonous as it contains Ethanol, which is why the label has the poison symbol and the MSDS is some scary reading.

Ethanol is what is in Budweiser, Jack Daniels and Boone's Farm.

It is methanol that is toxic.

[rwbradley]

Johno02 wrote:
Drain it, flush it WELL. flush lines, If it was RV antifreeze, OK to drink, Radiator antifreeze, flush a lot more with city water, Maybe do the bleach sanitize thing, OK to use. Either case may have a bit of residual odor or taste, should not be any problem health wise. It will go away, but may take a while. Reason to use city water is for the chlorine used to purify. Bleach cycle does the same, bleach taste is better than antifreeze.

Most RV antifreeze is poisonous as it contains Ethanol, which is why the label has the poison symbol and the MSDS is some scary reading. It is also the cheap stuff that someone could afford to waste 5 gallons of. The non poisonous RV antifreeze is made from Glycol, and is safe for human consumption and actually tastes kinda fruity, but it is 5x more expensive and only available from RV dealers. Both are pink in color. I would assume worse case scenario to be safe.
See a write up I did on RV antifreeze with links to the MSDS for both Ethanol and Glycol versions. Also in many jurisdictions Ethanol based RV antifreeze is considered hazardous waste and has to be disposed of accordingly.
Link

[Bumpyroad]

I have never added antifreeze to my fresh water tank. spend $15 and buy a AF pickup kit if your RV doesn't already have one.
bumpy

[gbopp]

Try adding Baking Soda to the FW tank when flushing.