Gas tank cleaning

[Ray,IN]

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.

What do you do then to remove the sand dust and grit? I use ceramic tumbling media, it's the same stuff as for tumbling brass casings for reloading. When the kids were young they got a kick out of rolling a gas tank around the yard with tumbling media inside.

 

[will-max dairy]

What do you do then to remove the sand dust and grit? I use ceramic tumbling media, it's the same stuff as for tumbling brass casings for reloading. When the kids were young they got a kick out of rolling a gas tank around the yard with tumbling media inside.

Seems as though the grit would wash out. But, I've never used tumbling media; maybe it's a better idea. I also wonder if carburetor cleaner would be a good solvent to go with tumbling or soaking. I saw a bunch of things, like vinegar, various acids, acetone, etc in the thread; but not carb cleaner. That was surprising to me. Ten years ago, as a novice at rebuilding our 2N carburetor, I tried gas and diesel the first time with no joy; and ended up just getting on of those carb-cleaner-in-a-paint-can kits from an auto parts store; and that worked much better.

 

[Dan in Ohio]

I suggest you NOT use muriatic acid, too strong and be sure to secure the cap when done using. I bought a one gallon plastic container of it to use and did use it diluted. After that one use I put back in my storage cabinet and forgot that I even had any. A year later when I arrived back at my shop I found everything metal covered with a white film, had to be from the muriatic. One sniff of that stuff is enough for me and I worked in a clinical laboratory all my life. I have used the rustoleum product mentioned above to clean a gas tank and it works very well.

 

[560Dennis]

I’d suggest considering Dan suggestion. No rusty tank is worth with It. The rust remover Geoge suggests is the way Id go .

 

[caterpillar guy]

Once cleaned and back in use the easiest ,bet way to not repeat this is to keep the tank full when not in use they don't condense water in them to start rust with and will not rust with fuel in them. As for the problem We don't seem to have it much since we keep fuel clean and don't let set a lot over a lot of years.

 

[scootergmc]

Once cleaned and back in use the easiest ,bet way to not repeat this is to keep the tank full when not in use they don't condense water in them to start rust with and will not rust with fuel in them. As for the problem We don't seem to have it much since we keep fuel clean and don't let set a lot over a lot of years.

So long as you're not using ethanol fuel, as phase separation can still occur. It does generally take a few months for that to happen however.

 

[Ray,IN]

Seems as though the grit would wash out. But, I've never used tumbling media; maybe it's a better idea. I also wonder if carburetor cleaner would be a good solvent to go with tumbling or soaking. I saw a bunch of things, like vinegar, various acids, acetone, etc in the thread; but not carb cleaner. That was surprising to me. Ten years ago, as a novice at rebuilding our 2N carburetor, I tried gas and diesel the first time with no joy; and ended up just getting on of those carb-cleaner-in-a-paint-can kits from an auto parts store; and that worked much better.

That is a good idea too! The only carb cleaner I know that comes in a a can as a liquid is Gumout carb cleaner. I might try that first because it leaves nothing in the clean tank.
I have used ceramic tumbling media in the past, but I'm never sure it leaves nothing behind because it removes all rust and corrosion too.

 

[Phill Tibbetts]

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.

I did the tank on my International 364 diesel many years ago and have had no problems. I did the process exactly as stated on the can. I suspect the Ethanol gas junk would ruin anything.