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RV antifreeze and slime

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by nomad69, Mar 23, 2014.

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  1. nomad69

    nomad69 Member

    Joined:
    Apr 13, 2013
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    Location:
    Iuka, ms
    New to the cabin style boating world, I winterized my boat this past November with RV antifreeze. I pored 25 gallons in the fresh water tank and ran all the faucets until the pink stuff came out, poured some in the toilets, ran some in the A/C units, hot water heater, etc.....

    Went to the boat this weekend and tried running all the RV antifreeze out. Water pressure was low so thought maybe it was about empty anyway. I filled the tank with fresh water and turned the faucet on and still just a trickle. Pump was running fine. I noticed a clear inline filter type devise and noticed it looked as if it had sludge swirling around in it. After taking it apart, the screen was stopped up with slimy substance. Cleaned the screen and water pressure was great. Got up next morning and same thing, low pressure due to the slim.

    Will RV antifreeze get slimy? The shower sump was also filled with RV antifreeze and it had a thick layer of slim also.

    What is the best was to treat the tank and get rid of this stuff without damaging hoses or tank. (Aluminum tank)

    Thanks,
    Nomad69
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I've never seen the slime....Are you sure it's not algae that got killed by the antifreeze? One of the boats I manage a 27' Whaler.....the fresh water filter will sometimes get blobs of algae stuck in it.....
  3. nomad69

    nomad69 Member

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    It's very possible it's algae, not sure. How do you treat it?
  4. ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    Flush the freshwater tank and all the lines with a chlorine solution first, rinse with a vinegar solution. Search online for the recipes (proportions) by Peggie Hall. Flush a lot. While you're at it, also treat the hoses you use to fill the freshwater tanks.

    Don't let it get that way again. Consider using a good sediment filter when filling your freshwater tanks in future. (Household sizes work; See Big Blue, etc. You can get filter elements down to I micron easily, and to .5 micron with some shopping... although that may be overkill.) And then empty, dry, and store the hoses you use for that.

    Next year consider winterizing with compressed air, and that'll save you some $$. For example I used only about a half-gallon of AF this year in our freshwater system, and that was only to treat the inlet filter, freshwater pump, and accumulator tank.

    -Chris
  5. SomeTexan

    SomeTexan Member

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    Location:
    Texas, landlocked for a bit longer...
    Did the antifreeze get to the hot water heater? I don't know if rv and marine water heaters are the same, but my camper had valves to close before you added the antifreeze. There was a sacrificial anode in the hot water tank, and the antifreeze will eat it up. The first time I winterized my camper, I had the dealer to it, and they forgot to close the valves. The next spring they replaced my water heater and cleaned or replaced all the lines. Huge mess.
  6. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    If you use bleach, DO NOT USE A LOT, 1 drop per gallon is all that is needed to sanitize. I had 1 owner add a gallon of bleach to a 200 gallon freshwater tank and it delaminated the epoxy coating in the FB tank and also ate a $1800 European freshwater pump, and plus we had to evacuate the tank and all of the lines.

    Also, if you are adding water to the water tank do not filter it with a charcoal filter, that will remove all of the chlorine from the city water and the water will start growing algae very quickly.
  7. Marmot

    Marmot Senior Member

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    There is a lot more to that story, and several more drops of bleach ...

    Please reference UK MCA MGN 397 for details.

    http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mgn397.pdf

    Another excellent source of how to sanitize tanks and lines and provide safe residual levels of chlorine is the Manual of Naval Preventative Medicine:

    http://www.med.navy.mil/directives/pub/5010-6.pdf

    If you have a contaminated potable water system, you owe it to yourself and your guests to disinfect it properly and maintain it according to procedures and practices developed long before the internet became such a rich source of misinformation.