pump the tank dry

[JACEK1]

Hello everybody!

Suppose that there are some residues left in a ship's tank. If we want the residues to be removed from the tank, there are several ways to say that:

1. Pump the tank dry.
2. Strip the tank of the residues.
3. Strip the residues from the tank.

What do you think of my three proposals?

Thank you.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I prefer the first.

 

[Skrej]

I swear I answered this once, but I must not have hit the 'post' button...

I'm not sure what you mean by residue. If you mean leftover fuel/liquid, then the first one still works. However, to me residue is some kind of solid or gelatinous deposit, which you can't really pump.

If you're referring to some kind of scum, sludge, or similar solid deposit, then #2 and #3 would be better. I wouldn't use the last two however, if you're referring to a liquid.

Edit: Incidentally, that's why they say not to run your fuel tanks completely empty anyway - if there is any gunk or residue, you run the risk of sucking it up into your pump or fuel line.

That being said, I've coasted many a mile on fumes, and have only ever lost one fuel pump, and that was probably just because it plain wore out on the old jalopy I was driving at the time.

Got a whopping $50 bucks when I finally hauled that old thing off to the junkyard, but I miss that old piece of junk.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

I don't really like any of your choices.

Your #1 'Pump the tank dry' doesn't necessarily mean there is no more liquid in the tank, it merely means the pump can't get any more. The residue is still there.
Your #2 and #3 are more or less the same and imply some physical action to remove what's left over.

We use the word 'residue' in a couple of different ways:
1. Residue can be leftover useable material, as in I sold most of my apples to one store and the residue to another. If, in your case, fluid was pumped up and out of the ship's tank, then there should be a sump in the bottom of the tank. What the pump could not suck up could be drained out the bottom.

2. More often, we use residue to mean what's left over after all the stuff we want is gone, as in Skrej's fuel tank. Solids might have to be scraped out. Sludge might be thinned with solvent and then flushed out.

 

[probus]

It depends on the nature of the contaminant. It you have a fuel tank contaminated with water, the first is correct. Pumping the tank dry will solve the problem.

The second two are identical in meaning and refer to contaminants other than water. The only ones I can think of are solid particles. 2 and 3 promise to eliminate those, and whatever else there may be in the residues.

 

[tedmc]

How about: clear the tank of its contents?