Hey guys, I have an old baffled home made fuel tank from a project I bought a while back that sat with ethanol gas in a damp barn. It is well made and I couldn't easily replace it with aftermarket solutions. I've been fighting with it on and off a good chunk of the year. The tank is a heavier gauge and it was full of rust and old gas/varnish to the point it completely plugged the pickup tube SOLID. I checked with a few local shops for a clean and seal and the only ones that would touch it only offered a 30 day warranty on their work. I could dump the thing out and put new tube in and it would last for 30 days... Anyways. I bought a B.H. sealer kit. I originally tried gravel in the tank(not a good idea due to removal difficulties) and then I moved on to a 1,000 count of zinc plated steel bb's. I strapped the tank to my tractor tire and had it spinning away. Forward/Reverse/and I rotated it so all 6 sides would get action. I used the little bottle of phosphoric acid they included in the kit and it just made a mess, wasn't even close to enough. I cleaned that garbage out and dumped a gallon of milk stone remover in and had it spotless. I know there was some black flakey crap left in it at one point which got knocked loose. I thought it was petroleum residue so I tried rinsing with acetone. It wasn't soluble in that and more black goo kept forming. I realized then it was the acid reaction pulling junk out of pits in the steel. It had a greasy like consistency and wasn't hardening, but I only gave it a few hours. The bb's I pulled out formed this as well and created almost a solid block. So. I'm running out of warm weather to get this thing sealed, basically today is the last decent weather day of the year to do it outside. I'm going to give it another go tonight. I left it sitting overnight with the bb's and some pine sol in the tank just to make sure all the oils are out. I'm going to spin it a bit on the tractor. Flush it with warm water a couple times, and then throw some fresh milkstone remover in to make it look sparkly clean again. I'm not sure what to do after that. The instructions for the kit just say to force dry it. But I've read online that it needs to be rinsed. Some say water, some say water and detergent, some say water and washing soda, some say denatured alcohol, some say MEK. Or do I just need to be more patient and let the goo harden before I seal the tank? I was going to let the sealer off gas for a week or so and then take the tank into work and blast/paint the outside. I just don't want the fumes knocking me out on the drive in. Any advice would be appreciated. This has been a pain, I plan on keeping this for a long time and I only want to do it once. Well, I guess I've done it about 4 times so far this year, but I mean I don't want the sealer to peel off 3 years down the road, plug the pickup, and start back at step 1. Thanks!
I have an old pickup with a tank perhaps that bad. I made a stainless steel screen cage instead of the "sock" around the pickup in the tank, with about 1/8" "holes". I added a sediment bowl in the engine bay with a filter screen in it, plus a regular inline filter. I keep a couple spare filters in the truck, and dump out the sediment bowl when it gets more than half an inch of dirt in it. This system works okay for me, and yes it's a bit of a pain but was a kind of fun project.
I had a late model gas tank from a vehicle that had an accumulation of black goo from ethanol fuel residue. I tried different chemicals with no luck. A friend stopped by and told me to use cheap lacquer thinner to dissolve the mess. I did not believe him, although he said he had fixed similar problems with motorcycle tanks. Two days later he came back by the shop and told me again. By that time I was so frustrated I would try anything. In just a few minuets of soaking in the thinner the deposits dissolved and rinsed away. Here is an example of how bad it was. This is the fuel pump and gauge sender from that tank. The tank was just as bad, and it was clean after the soak. It worked for me.
When I do a motorcycle tank, I’ll throw 100 1/4-20 nuts and 100 1/4-20 bolts in. 200 pieces per 5 gallons. It gets shaken not stirred More abraded actions with smaller points. Cleans every tank I’ve ever done but a couple needed another round of it.
Definitely try some cheap lauquer thinner in it. Ive done that with some good successes in the past. Ive also used the cheap dollar store toilet bowl cleaner by putting about 20 bottles into a tank and letting it sit over night. Rotating it a few times in the process to let the cleaner soak on each side. The cleaner has a low hydrochloric acid contenet in it. dot leave it too long or it will eat it away at the seams or thin spots from pits. Then rinse with water and baking soda, and pour some WD40 inside to coat it. I hate the stupid tank coatings.
Yeah, the BBs arent gonna do much. I do a handfull of nuts/bolts something bigger. of course count how many before you put them in so you can ensure you get them all out. Im leery of tank coatings, wasted a custom tank because KREEM liner peels out with gas in it. I found a kit from Northern, smells potent, works good so far. I really dont think you can clean it too much before sealing
Maybe spray the shit outta the inside with oven cleaner rinse repeat etc..? Block all the holes after filling it so solventy solventness doesnt evaporate from within.l to work wonders on the inside..? fill it with lacquer thinner and seal ot up, leave it a few days....?
I would not use baking soda to neutralize it if you are going to use a coating. Rinse repeatedly with clean water and dry immediately. I used compressed air then a hair drier on a low heat setting. Let it run for an hour or so...
I had a shoebox tank that was particularly nasty, looked like 1/2"+ of black crud. I ordered the POR-15 tank sealing kit, expecting the worst. After step one of the kit (the cleaner, enzyme based) it looked almost as good as new so I never did bother coating it. I think a second round with that cleaner would have made it perfect. They sell it separate.
A could have been after photo. Not really an after picture. I did not clean the pump and sender because I modified this assembly to use an engine that is carbureted and not fuel injected. The tank had large globs of black looking tar like substance that nothing would cut or break up. The lacquer thinner dissolved the black goo. It was same stuff that is shown on the pump and sender in the first photo.
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