hi
there is a 40 litre stainless steal tank up under the V-birth which installed when the boat was built in 1984 and it is currently plumbed to the galley tap. I have not been game to drink the water from there as I don't know what lurks inside the tank
If I was to have the tank steam cleaned and used new pipes would I be able to use it for drinking water? And also what treatments if any would I be best to use. Or am I better throwing the tank away, it seems a shame as it so snugly fits in under the v birth

Replace the tank would be the last thing to consider . Believe stainless tank is priceless. Don't bother to remove it,
install inspection opening, you can poke your hand through. Polish stainless with Gumtion ( used to be Whitte Lily ).
Rinse and fill up with a few litres of water with a few Miltons tablets ( any supermarket, even safe for babys utensils ).
Leave a couple of days sailing, sure replace lines.

We use the 10 litre water bottles with tap. They are the ONLY time I would buy bottled water.

please be careful what you put in the tank, not only for consumption but for damage to metals and piping.
the residue left behind is most likely of a brown / sediment stain and totally harmless. if its thick and sludgy, a little chlorine or iodine liquid to stop any germs you might be concerned about and a wet vac or clean rag to soak it up, assuming there is access. or install a 2 stage filter from reece plumbing supplies or the like. easy to do.
if its a stainless tank and you have a leak, throw a good quality flexible container in a hatch in the tank. spread it out and fill her up. if flavour with the new tank is a problem then install a .5 micron filter in the system and itll be just like bottled water.

thats a very good price for those filters.
a matching housing is all you need.

saltiest1 said..

cool.

Ahh, for that we require a fridge

yeah they need pressure thats why pumps are around. works perfectly with any pump even at lower pressures but the flow rate reflects this. we had 1 outlet (filtered) for drinking / cooking, another for washing etc in the galley.
All odour from flexible tanks was removed.