Gas tank clean out

[fatlazyless]

So's, what works for cleaning out one of the bright red, 6-gallon portable gas tanks?


What comes to mind is to place a small amount of sand into the tank, and then shake the tank all about, sort of like using sand paper to clean the inside surfaces, and then rinsing several times with a small amount of gasoline to clean out any sand residue.


So, what do you think .....is this a good idea for cleaning the six gallon tank?

[Rich]

cleaning what out of a small tank?

Do you mean a metal tank, and to clean it of rust, or corrosion? Buy a new tank IMHO.

If you are talking about a plastic tank, if there is water in it, my black food coloring procedure will easily identify the water, and then the water can be siphoned out easily.

If something else is inside the tank, use some small amount of gasoline to rinse it out onto paper towels, then burn the trash.

I wouldn't use sand inside any fuel tank. It won't absorb anything and would certainly screw up your engine's fuel system if any of it got picked up by the fuel line.

[winlessinnh]

Rich, unbelievable detail to the process. You should write training manuals for a living. Thanks for the procedure and for taking the time to explain it. Now I have my weekend project picked out.

[Rich]

Thanks, I'm glad you found it helpful. I made a couple of edits to clarify some things, you may want to read it again. Please be sure to let us know how you make out.

I have been in the computer and electronics industry for years. Being an engineer of various types over all of these years basically means I'm very detail oriented, bordering ADD, OCD, and I'm sure a few other three letter acronyms!

[Rich]

Originally Posted by winlessinnh

Rich, unbelievable detail to the process. You should write training manuals for a living. Thanks for the procedure and for taking the time to explain it. Now I have my weekend project picked out.

Did you make any progress on this? If yes, how did you make out?

[winlessinnh]

Rich, I didn't get a chance this weekend but now I'm thinking that the problem isn't water in the gas. I had the carburetors rebuilt this winter and the motor has been running rough so I just thought it was water. The first couple of times it choked out I drained the separator and it seemed to run great for about 15 minutes and then choked out again. It happened again this weekend before I pulled the boat and I drained the separator again but his time when it choked out I noticed that if I took it our of gear I could rev it no problem which tells me it's something else. In fact I could restart it again unless I took it out of gear and gave it more throttle. I finally made my way to the boat ramp going about 5 mph and pulled it. I plan on taking it back to the shop that did the rebuild.

[Rich]

Ok let us know, good luck!

[SIKSUKR]

I didn't reread this thread to see if you did this but here is what a friend discovered on his 454 based in Hampton this weekend. They had similar issues and had drained the fuel tank, changed the fuel filter, changed plug wires, coil, and put a rebuilt carb on. No luck. They brought in a tech and he was starting to do a compression test and there was the problem...A cracked spark plug. The crack was barely visible but thats all it needs to short. It took a few minutes under way to clear the carbon or whatever from that cylinder but now she purrs. FWIW

[ApS]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

So's, what works for cleaning out one of the bright red, 6-gallon portable gas tanks? What comes to mind is to place a small amount of sand into the tank, and then shake the tank all about, sort of like using sand paper to clean the inside surfaces, and then rinsing several times with a small amount of gasoline to clean out any sand residue. So, what do you think .....is this a good idea for cleaning the six gallon tank?

I haven't tried it (yet) but sand may be the way to go for a steel tank with a rusted interior bottom.

First, remove the cap and fuel-management assembly. Then pour an eighth-inch of sand and large gravel into the tank, add a cup of water, secure it with a couple of lines, suspend it over the lake, and let boat wakes shake it up for several days.

Over winter, the interior will rust again, but there may be a desirable chemical treatment available: motorcyclists suggest a product called "Kreem".

If you're spiffying up the tank in other ways, parts, floats, gaskets and decals are available from www.nymarine.ca/.

Test the tank with gasoline. If the above treatment reveals a perforation, it's time to discard the tank. Within the past decade, replacement metal tanks were available from Defender Marine catalogues; but not sure if that's true today.



.

[Rich]

I could imagine a grain getting stuck in a seam and getting dislodged later.

Be sure to use a good fuel filter after this. I would think that even one grain of sand into your carb/fuel injection system would not be good.

I would do this only if the tank was an old vintage tank to keep a vintage look on an old 'show' boat.

Otherwise, for the cost of a new tank, I'd prefer to replace it.

Not to say that this type of yankee remedy wouldn't work.