Gas tank cleaning

[13fx]

This week I have picked up a few small engines that have sat for 25+ years and the tanks are an absolute mess. I've been soaking one with acetone, one I had ammonia in for a day and a half, and the one that looked the best I have a couple gallons of gas sloshing around in. I don't seem to be getting very good results with the acetone for some reason and am looking to try something else. The one that I have gas in looked just about perfect, but when I would run it this super fine whitish crun would build up in the carb and cause it to run poorly very quickly. If you get at just the right angle you can see a layer of clearish whitish build up on the side of the tank, I have an inline fuel filter that this garbage is getting past and clogging things up. Looking for some different suggestions. First photo is that super fine bs that makes it past the filter somewhere, second one is the worst of the tanks that I had acetone in for over a day.

 

[Larry H.]

This week I have picked up a few small engines that have sat for 25+ years and the tanks are an absolute mess. I've been soaking one with acetone, one I had ammonia in for a day and a half, and the one that looked the best I have a couple gallons of gas sloshing around in. I don't seem to be getting very good results with the acetone for some reason and am looking to try something else. The one that I have gas in looked just about perfect, but when I would run it this super fine whitish crun would build up in the carb and cause it to run poorly very quickly. If you get at just the right angle you can see a layer of clearish whitish build up on the side of the tank, I have an inline fuel filter that this garbage is getting past and clogging things up. Looking for some different suggestions. First photo is that super fine bs that makes it past the filter somewhere, second one is the worst of the tanks that I had acetone in for over a day.

Muriatic acid? Hopefully someone will supply more details.

 

[Ellis Kinney]

On a small gas tank, a wire brush on an extension will get the bottom of the tank. You can buy a package of these at Harbor Freight. Ellis

 

[fusion1]

I had a Motorcycle tank that needed cleaned
I filled it with White Vinegar left it sit for a few days then I pressured washed it the best I could
then repeated the process

 

[Geo-TH,In]

This week I have picked up a few small engines that have sat for 25+ years and the tanks are an absolute mess. I've been soaking one with acetone, one I had ammonia in for a day and a half, and the one that looked the best I have a couple gallons of gas sloshing around in. I don't seem to be getting very good results with the acetone for some reason and am looking to try something else. The one that I have gas in looked just about perfect, but when I would run it this super fine whitish crun would build up in the carb and cause it to run poorly very quickly. If you get at just the right angle you can see a layer of clearish whitish build up on the side of the tank, I have an inline fuel filter that this garbage is getting past and clogging things up. Looking for some different suggestions. First photo is that super fine bs that makes it past the filter somewhere, second one is the worst of the tanks that I had acetone in for over a day.

 

[560Dennis]

Did the super c with half hot water and purple power , coulple of times sloshing around till I got tried.
i never strap one to the tractor wheel run sloshing it.
I never used marbles,or bulk washers media in one ,
your looks like it should clean up just fine from the photo ,

 

[Watthour]

I've had good luck with methanol (not ethanol) as a cleaner for really nasty fuel tanks. It may require multiple treatments and flushes, but it can get it down to bare steel. Be aware that it also has an affinity for lead, so any soldered seams or brass fittings can suffer.

 

[scootergmc]

I've used muriatic acid, vinegar, shaken them with gravel/rocks inside, etc. Seems to work pretty well. If it's really bad and you like spending money, take it to a radiator shop and get it boiled. That white powder is just the result of gas drying up, water in fuel, ethanol, etc. Are you getting that sample from the carb? Oxidation of sorts. If you've ever rebuilt motorcycle carbs it's very common. I bet if you open that carb it's full of white crud.

 

[Lee_]

I've had good luck half filling with diesel fuel, dumping some old screws and nails in, and then strapping it to a jacked up truck tire and letting it spin for a while. Hard to get the screws and nails out though, or at least it was on the motorcycle tank I did it on.

Whatever you do, don't try to use that tank liner stuff. It works good for a while but then you have a worse problem when it starts peeling off.

 

[13fx]

I've used muriatic acid, vinegar, shaken them with gravel/rocks inside, etc. Seems to work pretty well. If it's really bad and you like spending money, take it to a radiator shop and get it boiled. That white powder is just the result of gas drying up, water in fuel, ethanol, etc. Are you getting that sample from the carb? Oxidation of sorts. If you've ever rebuilt motorcycle carbs it's very common. I bet if you open that carb it's full of white crud.

Yup that was from the bowl of the carb. I'm used to Carmel colored varnish build up and wasn't sure what the heck this crub was. I'm going to find.some muriatic acid and try that today.

 

[scootergmc]

Yup that was from the bowl of the carb. I'm used to Carmel colored varnish build up and wasn't sure what the heck this crub was. I'm going to find.some muriatic acid and try that today.

Doesn't matter what you do to the tank at this point, I mean it does, but what I'm saying is your carb needs to be torn apart and cleaned. You'll always have that until you clean the carb.

 

[NDIHC]

The last one I did was for a Cub Cadet with a 12 horse Kohler. I filled it about halfway with diesel and a handful of nuts and bolts. Then strapped it to my cement mixer and let it run for a few hours. Rusty fuel tank for an M I did the same but strapped it to the wheel of another M and drove it around the yard over the course of a few days whenever I had something to do with the tractor.

 

[John in Ct]

I have our 44 John Deere B small gas tank soaking with cleaning vinegar from Home Depot since Sunday.

 

[13fx]

Doesn't matter what you do to the tank at this point, I mean it does, but what I'm saying is your carb needs to be torn apart and cleaned. You'll always have that until you clean the carb.

I'd already don't that last night, it's good to go ran it off a small plastic tank and all's good there

 

[Not db4600]

This week I have picked up a few small engines that have sat for 25+ years and the tanks are an absolute mess. I've been soaking one with acetone, one I had ammonia in for a day and a half, and the one that looked the best I have a couple gallons of gas sloshing around in. I don't seem to be getting very good results with the acetone for some reason and am looking to try something else. The one that I have gas in looked just about perfect, but when I would run it this super fine whitish crun would build up in the carb and cause it to run poorly very quickly. If you get at just the right angle you can see a layer of clearish whitish build up on the side of the tank, I have an inline fuel filter that this garbage is getting past and clogging things up. Looking for some different suggestions. First photo is that super fine bs that makes it past the filter somewhere, second one is the worst of the tanks that I had acetone in for over a day.

I read somewhere it’s easy to throw it on a bon-fire and repaint it later.

 

[Haykid]

The last one I did was for a Cub Cadet with a 12 horse Kohler. I filled it about halfway with diesel and a handful of nuts and bolts. Then strapped it to my cement mixer and let it run for a few hours. Rusty fuel tank for an M I did the same but strapped it to the wheel of another M and drove it around the yard over the course of a few days whenever I had something to do with the tractor.

I did a similar version of this but just jacked up the back end of the lawnmower put it in high gear and let it idle a couple hours. Knocked the rust out good then I used kbs fuel tank sealer kit that came with some cleaner that did a good job of taking the rest of the residue left in there off
Haykid

 

[13fx]

This week I have picked up a few small engines that have sat for 25+ years and the tanks are an absolute mess. I've been soaking one with acetone, one I had ammonia in for a day and a half, and the one that looked the best I have a couple gallons of gas sloshing around in. I don't seem to be getting very good results with the acetone for some reason and am looking to try something else. The one that I have gas in looked just about perfect, but when I would run it this super fine whitish crun would build up in the carb and cause it to run poorly very quickly. If you get at just the right angle you can see a layer of clearish whitish build up on the side of the tank, I have an inline fuel filter that this garbage is getting past and clogging things up. Looking for some different suggestions. First photo is that super fine bs that makes it past the filter somewhere, second one is the worst of the tanks that I had acetone in for over a day.

I didn't get into town today to get muriatic acid, but I made much better progress today. I switched out using nuts bolts and washers for 1 1/2" drywall screws. That seemed to really hit that hard. Still got a ways to go, but tomorrow I'll switch over to white vinegar I think to get rid of the little bit of rust in there.

 

[Dennis K (WA)]

Once you are done with acid, whether it be muriatic or vinegar you need to flush the tank with either washing soda or baking soda to neutralize the acid. I have used apple cider vinegar and muriatic acid. Muriatic does the best. After the cleaning was done on my Cub tank last week I sloshed some Ospho rust converter around in there to stop the rust from coming back. The jury is still out on the results of the converter. Sure looks good right now. Good luck
Dennis

 

[will-max dairy]

After reading this thread, I was thinking about the little detail sand blaster that I have. If I ever had to do this, I would be tempted to put on a set of goggles, put the nozzle in the tank and blindly wave it around for a few minutes.

 

[neverfear]

I've had good luck half filling with diesel fuel, dumping some old screws and nails in, and then strapping it to a jacked up truck tire and letting it spin for a while. Hard to get the screws and nails out though, or at least it was on the motorcycle tank I did it on.

Whatever you do, don't try to use that tank liner stuff. It works good for a while but then you have a worse problem when it starts peeling off.

What do you consider a while? Mine has been lined for over 15 years and has had no issue. It was prepped and installed by a radiator shop so I would guess they knew the product and followed the prep recomendations to a tee. Lots of people like to take shortcuts and expect perfect results.