Tomo3090 Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I am wanting to freshen up my water tank after our trip and I wondered what to use. I was going to use "Milton Fluid", but to buy enough to clean a tank, even as small as ours, (45 litres), would cost as much as the van did! Does anyone know where you can "bulk buy" or is there something else I could use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin r c Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 You don't need that much/cupfull should do. leave and drain. Avoid running it though the water heater. Some say it can damage it. Martin r c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete lambert Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I bought something called Puriclean from my local caravan shop. Cost me £5, and there's enough to treat the system twice. Also bought some tablets to put in the tank every time I fill it to keep the water sweet. I have heard horror stories about Milton, not sure how many are true. One of them suggested that neat Milton will eat its way through a stainless sink overnight, so beware if you use it. I've also heard that it wil make a mess of your Truma boiler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Hi, Go to your local home brew shop and buy the cleanser for wine making equipment (it used to be SDP Chempro but that has now been superseded). It is safe on aluminium and stainless steel, the materials that may be danaged by either Milton or Puriclens, and more importantly it is safe if you ingest it or the residue of iti.e. foodsafe. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Are we talking fresh as opposed to waste-water tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Lee Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Our tanks had been cleaned by the previous owner using Milton and then we used Puriclean a couple of times. I think they are both based on the same chemicals. We could never get rid of a strange smell to the water as it came out of the taps. And I had trouble with the Puriclean, I didn't dissolve it first and it all got clogged in the inlet pipe. Horrible stuff, I think. Then I discovered you shouldn't put it through the Truma and since our system automatically pumps water into the boiler, this is not good! Have now discovered (through reading previous posts on this forum) that Certisil is the stuff to use. I used it for my spring cleaning session, and since then the water from the taps has been smell free at last. It comes in liquid form and although not cheap, it will last for a good few cleanouts. Get it from www.myriad-products.com or we bought it at a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caraprof Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I've actually given up on worrying about the taste of water from my inboard tank. When I use my 'van I fill it and empty it a couple of times so that it's had a good flush through. (I'm fortunate that I've a sink in my garage and a long hose so it's an easy business to fill it.)For drinking water we use two or three (depending on how long we're away from a supply) of the plastic milk bottles from Tesco, which hold four or six pints (I can't remember off hand!). These, thoroughly cleaned, make excellent compact water carriers and again, I'm lucky that in my 'van there's a convenient place to slot them.We only use the inboard tank for washing and teeth cleaning and all drinks come from our separate supply in the plastic bottles.Once every year or so I may put a bit of Milton through and it doesn't matter if that leaves a slight taste as we're never going to be tasting it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 The wine bottle cleaning jollop is Sodium Metabisulphide. Used to use it quite a lot when we were into home brew wine. Try Boots or your local independant Chemist. (I try to not use Lloyds because they seem to be driving all the independant Chemists out of business, They did ours!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 Cheers people! We don't use it for drinking either, but I just felt it might be a good idea to keep things "fresh"! The heater thing might be a problem though, any ideas there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Tomo3090 - 2007-07-29 10:43 AM Cheers people! We don't use it for drinking either, but I just felt it might be a good idea to keep things "fresh"! The heater thing might be a problem though, any ideas there? Do you clean your teeth with it though? Your reference to heater thing, do you mean that it has been known to damage some, if so use the wine making stuff as recomended by myself and named by Clive (thanks Clive couldn't remember what SDP was made from) as it is safe for use in your heater and whole system in the van without any worries at all. We've used it for years and it is what was recommended in the Carver instructions for use as being suitable. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza454 Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Has anyone any idea where Certisil can be purchased.It's listed on the Miriad Products website as sole distributor but you can't purchase on line and it doesn't give a list of retailers.http://www.miriad-products.com/ce/ce2.htmMany thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarasmithh001 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Clive - 2007-07-28 9:25 PM The wine bottle cleaning jollop is Sodium Metabisulphide. Used to use it quite a lot when we were into home brew wine. Try Boots or your local independant Chemist. (I try to not use Lloyds because they seem to be driving all the independant Chemists out of business, They did ours!) I have to state, you chose your words well. The ideas you wrote on your encounters are well placed. You made some good points there. I did a search on the topic and found most people will agree with your opinion. http://pumpcoseptic.com/rates-services/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 We have used the same approach as Caraprufe for the last decade or so at home and abroad. Drinking water is kept in recycled milk bottles and the local municipal treatment of wherever we are keeps the livestock in the main tank under controll. Before a trip I fill the tank about a third full, go for a drive to swill the tank and leave for a day or so then drain and refill just before leaving. The 2 litre ex milk containers have a handle and are a handy size for pouring and storing. We use a half dozen giving about tw or three days between refills for the two of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ips Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 This topic has been done to death but here goes again. Never cleaned a tank on any of my caravans boats or Mh. Clean our teeth, make ice and drink it and never had any ill effects. I just drain the tank if its being left more than a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 ips - 2012-12-29 10:15 AM This topic has been done to death but here goes again. Never cleaned a tank on any of my caravans boats or Mh. Clean our teeth, make ice and drink it and never had any ill effects. I just drain the tank if its being left more than a few weeks. Same here. Life's too short. Have never "cleaned" our freshwater tank. Cannot see the point. We don't even drain it in between tours. Just fill it up with a hose from the house supply just before leaving for our next tour. Our drinking/cooking water is bought en route as bottled water (every shop on Spain/Portugal/France etc sells the 5 litre containers).....we carry about 3 of those big bottles as a time. We just use one of those little bottle-top manual pump jobbies to decant it into kettle/saucepan from the in-use bottles location on the floor opposite the kitchenette. We do wash up, shower, and clean teeth with the tank water......and astonishingly we haven't died from that process as yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laimeduck Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 By far the easiest stuff to use is beer line cleaner. Custom made for the task, and thousands of people can swear by its effectiveness! Ask in your local - they may sell you some or get you some. (and you can have a pint when you're in there!) From memory (but don't quote me) , about £8.00 for 5 litres which will last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sshortcircuit Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Having previously posted on this forum that I used Milton fluid I was advised that I was doomed, doomed and that my boiler would become a colander. Been a few years now and it is still in one piece however I have just stopped cleansing. Although a bit out of kilter at the moment I never waste water as it is such a valuable resource. Those that drain off after every trip have little time from me for this total waste as there is absolutely no logic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merle Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 I had suffered a lot with awful tasting water from the holding tank and put a posting on here probably about a year ago, various suggestions were made and a lot of folks just didn't understand why I was too tight to go out and buy gallons of bottled water, however one kind soul PM'd me and told me of Elsil, it is nothing short of fantastic, the downside is I have only found it on line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 sshortcircuit - 2012-12-29 9:44 AM Having previously posted on this forum that I used Milton fluid I was advised that I was doomed, doomed and that my boiler would become a colander. Been a few years now and it is still in one piece however I have just stopped cleansing. Although a bit out of kilter at the moment I never waste water as it is such a valuable resource. Those that drain off after every trip have little time from me for this total waste as there is absolutely no logic. Here is a link to the Milton Fluid Data sheet http://www.milton-tm.com/hres/milton%20fluid%20safety%20data%20sheet.pdf Section 8 is the relevant part. They are talking about undiluted fluid in contact with metals for extended periods. When I used to make parts for nuclear reactors any substance with chlorine in was not allowed anywhere near the stainless steel stock or parts for the reactors as it could eat in to the steel during the life of the reactor. So there must be some wisdom in not using any liquid that contains chlorine to clean water systems that have metalic parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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