How to Pump Out. My Tank

[Goofeyfoot]

All:

I have a 33 foot GibSea boat from Dufour. 2001.

I don't know too much about this. However, last week the engine stopped running because I had a Racor full of water.

I recently changed the filters and added some conditioner. After about seven hours of running I didn't see any more water.

I was hoping to pump out my tank from the bottom to remove whatever is in there. Was hoping to get any residual water and crud out. However, it doesn't look like I can get to a place where the sending unit goes in. So the bottom of tank might not be reachable, I guess. I believe the sending unit access point might be under water heaters and other things I don't think I can move.

So my question is, how am I going to reach the bottom of the tank in order to pump anything out? From what I can see, the tank looks like it's made out of plastic or fiberglass or something like that.

Sorry if these question sound pretty basic. I've only been doing this for two years and I don't know very much about any of it.

Thanks.

Michael

[rwidman]

I once emptied a fuel tank by using a long piece of clear plastic tubing with a weight on the end. I passed it through the fuel fill hose. Maybe you could rig up something like that.

If you don't mind paying a pro for his services, there are fuel tank cleaning services in most communities with a lot of boats. Just pay the man and watch him work.

If you are dealing with gasoline, be sure your pump is suitable for gasoline. Or siphon it out. Diesel is safer but you should still use care dealing with it.

[Paul Elliott]

One of my diesel tanks has a hard-to-reach sender / clean-out port, so I cut another hole for an extra access port. The new location isn't perfect, as reaching around the baffles is difficult, but I can still drain the tank and reach inside to clean most of it. My tank is aluminum but you would obviously need to choose a port that is compatible with your own tank design and material.

Between cleanouts, I use a semi-rigid plastic tube as a suction probe, and sample the fuel at the lowest point of the tank. If there's any water or slime in the tank, it's going to be there. I occasionally consider permanently installing a sampling tube -- that would make it even easier to check the tank.

[Suijin]

Originally Posted by Goofeyfoot

However, it doesn't look like I can get to a place where the sending unit goes in. So the bottom of tank might not be reachable, I guess. I believe the sending unit access point might be under water heaters and other things I don't think I can move.

You can move them. A water heater should be a piece of cake to yank.

Get used to having to disassemble things to fix other things. It's a fact of life on a boat. And honestly, the more stuff you take apart on your boat the better you'll know it.

[Lepke]

If you get in the habit of adding a proper fuel conditioner when fueling, and properly maintain your filters, you won't have a fuel problem or dirty tanks.