What is easiest way to drain fresh water tank 282 Sailfish

[Mickey]

I am a relatively new owner of a 2004 282 Sailfish. I need to drain the freshwater tank. What is the easiest method to empty this 30 gal tank?

The boat is out of the water right now at a marina - new bottom paint, engine is serviced, some new electronics next week, fishing next weekend. However, the freshwater is a little "off"... I needed to drain the water tank, flush the system, refill and maybe add a teaspoon of bleach to the tank.

I am thinking I should just remove the garboard drain plug and find some water lines to disconnect; and let the water run out through the bilge and out the drain? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for you advice.

 

[seasick]

Re: What is easiest way to drain fresh water tank 282 Sailfi

I am a relatively new owner of a 2004 282 Sailfish. I need to drain the freshwater tank. What is the easiest method to empty this 30 gal tank?

The boat is out of the water right now at a marina - new bottom paint, engine is serviced, some new electronics next week, fishing next weekend. However, the freshwater is a little "off"... I needed to drain the water tank, flush the system, refill and maybe add a teaspoon of bleach to the tank.

I am thinking I should just remove the garboard drain plug and find some water lines to disconnect; and let the water run out through the bilge and out the drain? Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for you advice.

I assume you want to clean it, not get ready for winter.
Here is what I do. I stick the garden hose into the fresh water fill and run water as hard as I can. This helps stir up the bottom gunk in the tank and at the same time as the tank overflows, the loose gunk floats out.
If you have gunk and you probably do, you will need to clean any in-line filters. They tend to get plugged.
The bleach will help keep the algae down but you will need more, usually a half ounce per 10 gallons. If the system is really dirty (by the system I mean the lines, fittings, faucets etc, you can use twice as much bleach.

If you don't have a hose available, a slow way to drain the tank is to run a sink faucet or the fresh water gunnel mounted faucet. For the gunnel mount, you can just spray over the side. It takes a bit of time to empty a full tank. The downside is that gunk in the tank will not get flushed out. When the tank runs out, add a gallon ot two of water and run it dry again. As before, check filters for clogging.
Enjoy your fishing.

 

[Mickey]

Re: What is easiest way to drain fresh water tank 282 Sailfi

Seasick:

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am not winterizing. I have tried emptying the tank by just running pump with faucets open. The tank is full again (32 gal.) I need to flush/clean the tank and lines. I should be able to get to the boat tomorrow or Wednesday. I will check for filters.

In September I tried pushing a hose into the tank (as you suggest) with the pump running and faucets open and let the overflow spill out the top of the fill. I ran everything for about 45 minutes. It helped some but I did not see any debris float out.

My next step is to disconnect the supply at the pump and let the tank and system drain into the bilge and out the drain plug. I am hoping this will allow me to more directly flush the tank. (I don't see how to easily reach the base of the tank. I will investigate more closely when I am at the boat.)

Thanks for the advice on the amount of bleach I should use. I am sure that will help. I guess my rookie mistake has been not using bleach as a preventative.

 

[seasick]

Re: What is easiest way to drain fresh water tank 282 Sailfi

Seasick:

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am not winterizing. I have tried emptying the tank by just running pump with faucets open. The tank is full again (32 gal.) I need to flush/clean the tank and lines. I should be able to get to the boat tomorrow or Wednesday. I will check for filters.

In September I tried pushing a hose into the tank (as you suggest) with the pump running and faucets open and let the overflow spill out the top of the fill. I ran everything for about 45 minutes. It helped some but I did not see any debris float out.

My next step is to disconnect the supply at the pump and let the tank and system drain into the bilge and out the drain plug. I am hoping this will allow me to more directly flush the tank. (I don't see how to easily reach the base of the tank. I will investigate more closely when I am at the boat.)

Thanks for the advice on the amount of bleach I should use. I am sure that will help. I guess my rookie mistake has been not using bleach as a preventative.

It's not a rookie mistake by any means. I don't add bleach and prefer to just flush the tank and filters a few times a season. The algae growth depends on a few factors such as ambient temp, condition of the water to start with and how fast you use up and refresh the water.
It is all a learning experience.
That's what makes boating challenging and fun.

 

[bc282]

Re: What is easiest way to drain fresh water tank 282 Sailfi

have a 2002 282, where r the filters?
i've cleaned the individual faucets (cabin tap, head tap, and transom tap), but have not seen a fresh water filter, to me i only saw the fill and hose going direct to tank with sits at the very aft and in a quite unreachable area.