diesel fuel in fresh water tank

[tdelorme]

IF, by some strange happening you did get a load of diesel in your fresh water tank, it's gonna take some real work to get rid of the problem. If the diesel has been pumped throughout the water system, I don't think you will ever get rid of the odor. Hopefully, someone has had better luck than I have had removing the smell of diesel fuel. I do know that clothes soaked in diesel are history. The smell is just impossible to wash out, and no matter how many times you wash them the diesel smell remains.

I just read your last post. As much as I hate to say it, your going to end up in court if the selling dealer is not willing to do the right thing. The right thing in this case would be to completely replumb the coach. New hot and cold lines, new hot water heater, new ice maker, ect. We would sure like to know where you bought your new bus.

[Pete]

Does this "machine" have a manufacturer? A model? A Brand? It is very difficult to help if we know nothing about it. Is it a Prevost conversion? I have never seen a Prevost conversion with an external gravity fill on the water system. More info please.

[flyu2there]

Sounds like what really needs flushing is the owner of the company that sold you the coach. Without knowing much about this, I would sumise that their PDI was a pencil job or he has a few disgruntled employees. Trust they gave you documentation on all services performed, that will be your ammunition...wouldn't let that one go! Let the owner clean it up with a kind reminder that someone may have consumed that water............

Good Luck,

John

[sawdust_128]

The simple answer is the coach didn't do it.

Both liquids got into the tank.

Could be introduced into the tank seperately (prankster/vandal/idiot) or they could have been introduced simultaneously (i.e., contmainated water supply)

Just some questions:

Where and how was the fresh water last filled and who did it?

Also, do you have the service logs for the coach? Is there any indication that any tanks were pulled for any reason?

I ask, because I agree with everyone on here that it would seem impossible for this contamination to occur on-board. However, it could be that contaminated water was used to fill the coach. Or, possibly that the tanks were contaminated and reinstalled into the coach.

Is it possible that a hose used to flush/syphon diesel tanks was accidentally used to fill your coach?

Also, just curious as to why you are just finding this out now?

[mike kerley]

Our Country Coach has a single diesel fill on the passenger side. Driver side, same location has a door to the "gravity fill, fresh water". Clearly labeled and its white plastic cap and tubing with small port should be a clue to its usage. Stranger things have happened. Picture a small diesel nozzel being stuck into the fresh water fill at a flying j. Look Mildred, we can fill from both sides....

[GDeen]

This story is what gives "rv salesmen" such a bad name. After working with Steve Bennett for so long on our deal, it makes me shudder to think back to some of what we were told by "rv salesmen" along the way.....

I hope you get this worked out to your satisfaction. If this is a dealer, sounds like it is time for names and details.

[truk4u]

Like Pete said, what is it?

[adamdegraff]

I was at a Flying J in Florida, and for some reason the pump on the drivers side was pumping fuel very slowly. (Like a trickle... and I was in the truck area.) So before I moved over, I thought I'd try the other side. That pump was working fine. And I proceeded to fill at 25 gallons per minute... or maybe faster. I had both sides stuffed with paper towel as I usually do. Well, standing on the passenger side, I hear the drivers side pump click off. And I assume that the passenger side pump isn't far behind. But it didn't turn off. But again, I figured that perhaps it had something to do with the strange behavior of the driver's side pump. That is, until I cued in on the sound of 25 gallons per minute of diesel being shot out of the other side of the bus. Yup, the passenger side pump was pumping $2.50 diesel at an alarming rate out the other side. I stopped it as fast as I could, but no doubt there were 3-5 gallons of diesel all over the place. Somehow, this massive amount of fuel leaked down from the driver's side fuel nozzle and literally filled up my fresh water hose (which is on an auto retracting reel, and comes out of a nifty stainless steel hole, which is plugged with a nifty little plug that very smartly allows the hose to drain... or in this case, fill up with diesel fuel. Bummer!

But it all worked out OK. Here's what I did. First off, when I got to my campsite, I did my best to get all of the loose diesel out of the hose while being careful to NOT let it get in any further down the line. I then pumped the hose full of Gojo. And I mean, FULL!!! I kept the hose kinked with a pair of radiator clamps. I then let it all sit for a while. Hooked the hose up to fresh water and, using my quick disconnect hose dodads, I quickly unhooked the hose. The Gojo and water sprayed out with gusto. I then repeated about 10,000 times until the water coming out smelled like... water.... NOT Diesel and NOT Gojo.

So I think Jon's idea of finding something that will nullify the diesel is a good idea. Maybe a 55 gallon drum of Gojo?

By the way, when we were touring full time, we filled our fresh tank about once every other day. We kept that water fresh and clean. I treated it about once a month with a bit of bleach, and we drank our water through a Lowe's bought, two stage, water filter. My whole family drank it all year and we were all just fine. If only for the reason that lugging large flats of bottled water up the stairs on a daily basis is a huge PITA, it was totally worth it. I though of doing an R/O system, but the constant backflushing not only wastes a lot of water, but it also would keep the pumps cycling on and off forever. The two stage filter worked perfectly. Water actually tasted great.

[garyde]

Purchasing a Coach doesn't just mean the engine starts and the wheels go round. If you were given some guarentees, either verbal or in writing I would use them now. It's not important from a buyers stand point how the deisel got in there, its there and they need to do something about it. Who ever heard of a dealer say the water in the holding tank has been sitting in there for quite a while. that should have been your tip off. Please post the dealers name so we all can be warned.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

We not only want to know who the dealer is so we can be warned, we want to be able to broadcast how well he responds to your request for this situation to be corrected.

The dealer may be blameless in this or he may have created the problem. That's diesel tainted water over the dam. What counts now is how the dealer responds. If he does the right thing he has an entire POG forum talking about how honorable he was. If he chooses to turn his back on the problem the conversation on the forum goes in a different direction.