Bilge cleaning De-greasing / fuel tank sludge

[Titan]

Good Afternoon to one and all , I would greatly appreciate any feedback from members, I am concidering starting up an engine bilge cleaning service, where bilges and all contamination from engine oils and gearbox oils including diesel fuel, will be removed in a controlled enviromental way, using marine friendly degreasers and granuells, all to be safely removed via specialist industrial vacuumes from the craft and then removed from site. I have applied for the correct Enviromental Licenses to be in place.

There will also be a possible provision for the emptying and cleaning of fuel sludge etc from diesel tanks on boats, and promotion of oil wick type pads to promote a better understanding of the pollution caused.

I am still in the planning stages at the moment, but all thoughts and suggestions are welcome, if intrest is there i intend to offer the servive nationally when possible kind regards Martin

[madcat]

There most likely will be customers for your service as it can be an unpleasant task and people are responsible for their waste and can be prosecuted if a third party fails to dispose of their waste properly.If you have all the correct licensces etc .

How do you dispose of the stuff?What do you think the costs are likely to be?

To be honest I have to say that bilge diving and tank cleaning are DIY tasks for us.Did the tanks last year as it happens.Oily rags get burnt pronto and waste oil gets took to the council recycle place aka the tip,they have a tank for it all.

[Titan]

There most likely will be customers for your service as it can be an unpleasant task and people are responsible for their waste and can be prosecuted if a third party fails to dispose of their waste properly.If you have all the correct licensces etc .

How do you dispose of the stuff?What do you think the costs are likely to be?

To be honest I have to say that bilge diving and tank cleaning are DIY tasks for us.Did the tanks last year as it happens.Oily rags get burnt pronto and waste oil gets took to the council recycle place aka the tip,they have a tank for it all.

 

Thanks for reply

For me to legally do this Enviroment/agency i firstly have obtained a hazardous waste license, secondly i have applied for a hazordous waste carriers license, and also most importantly have to keep records of all prouduct removed stored and then sent for the coorect treatment and disposal, as u can allready see it all has to be logged and proven that what i intend to do will be above board, each litre of waste and all wipes and granules need to be mesaured stored and paid for to be collected from my w/shop through the official enviromental bodies (headache), but the costs of the licenses and disposal are quite high, i anticipate the costs to be around £100.00, this may seem a little rich, but i assure you rules have to be adheared to.

 

The other benefit would be as im by trade a diesel fitter that any issues with oil leaks engines etc would be high lighted at the time hopefully giving the boat owner , a greater insite of future maintenance regards,

[Big Steve]

Is that £100 per job, or per annum?

 

If it's per job I think you've no chance as it'll just make it too much for most of us. I'd be happy to pay £50 for my engine bay to be power washed, degreased and the crap removed.

£75, I'd think about it, but you might have a sale. More than that, I'd get the gunk out and do it the hard way.

[WotEver]

Is that £100 per job, or per annum?

 

If it's per job I think you've no chance as it'll just make it too much for most of us. I'd be happy to pay £50 for my engine bay to be power washed, degreased and the crap removed.

£75, I'd think about it, but you might have a sale. More than that, I'd get the gunk out and do it the hard way.

 

I agree entirely with this.

[reg]

Good idea

as a ccr its difficult to remove the old diesel and sludge

 

good luck with the venture

[wrigglefingers]

Good luck with this one, but I think £100 a throw is too expensive. I pay less than that for an engine service and that's a job that I enjoy having done. whereas bilge cleaning is a vile job but easily done for the cost of a few disposable nappies and a trip to the tip. I agree that there would be a market but at a lower cost.

 

Incidentally the use of hoses and power washers is banned at our marina and my friend's too. It may be worth checking this out before you advertise your service.

[Pretty Funked Up]

Would you be removing all the batteries/buckets/spares etc; cleaning everywhere and preping before giving 2 coats of primer for that £100? ? ?

 

I'd pay it i reckon

[mayalld]

Thanks for reply

For me to legally do this Enviroment/agency i firstly have obtained a hazardous waste license, secondly i have applied for a hazordous waste carriers license, and also most importantly have to keep records of all prouduct removed stored and then sent for the coorect treatment and disposal, as u can allready see it all has to be logged and proven that what i intend to do will be above board, each litre of waste and all wipes and granules need to be mesaured stored and paid for to be collected from my w/shop through the official enviromental bodies (headache), but the costs of the licenses and disposal are quite high, i anticipate the costs to be around £100.00, this may seem a little rich, but i assure you rules have to be adheared to.

 

The other benefit would be as im by trade a diesel fitter that any issues with oil leaks engines etc would be high lighted at the time hopefully giving the boat owner , a greater insite of future maintenance regards,

 

It is impressive that you are going to do things properly, but this is a classic case where the expense of doing it properly will mean that it is always going to be prohibitively expensive, and worth spending the time to DIY rather than employing somebody to do the job.

[ukrizla]

I think this would be a service that would get used a plenty,for some 100 quid might seem a bit over the top but we must no forget the shinny boat brigade,who there are plenty.These people would see the price as very reasonable as it would give them more time to polish their ego's

Just a thought

[mayalld]

I think this would be a service that would get used a plenty,for some 100 quid might seem a bit over the top but we must no forget the shinny boat brigade,who there are plenty.These people would see the price as very reasonable as it would give them more time to polish their ego's

Just a thought

 

Hmm

 

The thing is that most shiny boats don't have bilges that need de-greasing.

 

It isn't until the engine gets a bit older that you start getting oily bilges, so the one part of the market that is likely to pay for such a service is the part that doesn't need it.

[ukrizla]

I think whether they need it or not it would be used because everyone likes to keep up with the Jones

[AlanJ]

This may be the kind of service you could add on to your "diesel fitter" skills.

 

I'm not entirely sure what you mean when you say you're a diesel fitter - but if this is something like servicing engines, then adding that on top would make it attractive to many I'm sure.

 

Good luck with it though!

[Titan]

the comments so far i am most gratefull for, and i appreciate the price seems to be at first a little high, but all the contents i remove from any boat

have to be measured and inturn paid to be disposed off so its quite difficult to find an accurate balance, if i pump out 25 litres of dirty contaminated water, then soak up all the emulsion with 5 litres off absobent medium, then use an alkalie wash and degreaser solution of say 20 litres to clean everything properly, and finally dry out this will create a significant disposal fee @ 50 litres a time it will soon add up.

 

I am still waiting for a written reply from the enviroment agency at present, as indeed british waterways also dont know which desk my correspondance should land on so will let you all know in due course, thankyou to all those who have given input, be it posative or negative it has all helped me tremendously. regards martin

[DHutch]

It is impressive that you are going to do things properly, but this is a classic case where the expense of doing it properly will mean that it is always going to be prohibitively expensive...

I think thats right.

- Bildge water is hazardous waste, like canal dredgings seam to now be, so its all get silly. Actaully, most of its water!

 

Or bildges need doing about 4-5times a year with the steam plant. I pump the water out the best i can, removing all the oil i cant, before it is dicharged into the cut. I then wipe out the oil with newspaper and using it for lighting up the following moring.

 

Its a horrabe job, you get upto you elbow in steam oil and its hard to get to all the places. But it takes about an hour and they i have a shower. For £25-30 i might be game for not doing it myself. But that wouldnt even cover the cost of you fuel to get to me.

 

 

Daniel

[Naughty Cal]

How do you lot get such messy bilges?

[WotEver]

How do you lot get such messy bilges?

 

Proper engines...

[mayalld]

the comments so far i am most gratefull for, and i appreciate the price seems to be at first a little high, but all the contents i remove from any boat

have to be measured and inturn paid to be disposed off so its quite difficult to find an accurate balance, if i pump out 25 litres of dirty contaminated water, then soak up all the emulsion with 5 litres off absobent medium, then use an alkalie wash and degreaser solution of say 20 litres to clean everything properly, and finally dry out this will create a significant disposal fee @ 50 litres a time it will soon add up.

 

I am still waiting for a written reply from the enviroment agency at present, as indeed british waterways also dont know which desk my correspondance should land on so will let you all know in due course, thankyou to all those who have given input, be it posative or negative it has all helped me tremendously. regards martin

 

The problem is that you have to do it a certain way.

 

The DIY boater will do it a different way.

 

I would typically filter using sawdust, leave the sawdust to dry and burn it.

[Naughty Cal]

Proper engines...

 

Nah. Proper engines dont spew out oil all over the floor.

[Pretty Funked Up]

How do you lot get such messy bilges?

 

We do our own servicing

[Naughty Cal]

We do our own servicing

 

Snap, well the minor ones anyhow. Not managed to spill any oil yet though

[Pretty Funked Up]

Not managed to spill any oil yet though

 

Its really quite easy once youve got the hang of it, have another go

[Ike]

Also have you thought about what you'd do if your cleaning uncovered any holes in the fuel tanks and/or hull?

[Naughty Cal]

Its really quite easy once youve got the hang of it, have another go

 

Spilling is different to filling