Cleaning gas tank

[Gregor 4,846]

Not sure where this question belongs. Any suggestions on cleaning the very rusty inside of a gas tank? I filled it with CLR, it's soaking now.

[JAinVA 4,619]

Muratic acid?

[ebinmaine 67,690]

Pile of nuts and bolts inside it. Strap it to a tractor wheel. Drive it around. 

[Gregor 4,846]

2 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Pile of nuts and bolts inside it. Strap it to a tractor wheel. Drive it around. 

Thought about some clean rock. Wrap it in a couple towels, put it in the dryer. Have to wait til my wifes gone though.

[Daddy Don 905]

I use steel marbles they work great.

[ebinmaine 67,690]

The guy next door to me many moons ago worked at the Starrett Tool Factory. 

They had rocks of different shapes they used as polishing and cleaning abrasive in special machines. 

 

[JCM 9,198]

Evapo-rust works really well. Patience and multiple applications for heavily rusted tanks. It can be reused after straining and put into a clean container. I have tried bbs and Naval jelly shaking them around etc and never had much luck. This made the inside of my Farmall Super A fuel tank look like new. This stuff worked for me very well. A long screwdriver with a small clean rag on the end of it to wipe the inside of the tank and a small Mini- Mag flashlight in your other hand, keep changing the rag as you go. 

[wallfish 17,015]

Cider vinegar

I use small sheetrock screws to shake and scrape off the big stuff first. The sharp edges and points make quick work of it, then soak over night with the cider vinegar. It's cheap and safe to dispose of and works pretty quick. It might require a couple of soaks if it's really bad. Rinse out with a little baking soda in water and blow dry

 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by wallfish

[Pullstart 62,922]

If you want to remove the rust and seal the tank from any future harm, KBS three part sealer system works very well too.  I used it on Mrs. P’s “Frank” build and it worked flawlessly!

[Gregor 4,846]

OK For the record. A small gas tank, with rock, wrapped and tied with towels, in the dryer, will wake your wife up in a heart beat. Even if it is in the basement at the other end of the house.

 

The CLR had little if any effect on it. Don't waste your time.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Gregor

[Skwerl58 704]

What Wallfish said! Vinegar is a great rust remover. I use it to remove rust from old axe heads, hatchets and other iron or steel items. 

[Gregor 4,846]

1 minute ago, Skwerl58 said:

What Wallfish said! Vinegar is a great rust remover. I use it to remove rust from old axe heads, hatchets and other iron or steel items. 

Right now I don't know if she will let me have any vinegar.

[AMC RULES 37,132]

 

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

What l did was electrolisis. Take a piece

o wood and drill a 3/8 hole. Then put a 3 or 4 inch bolt and put it inthe hole. Fill the tank with water and washing soda and set 

the wood with the bolt into the tank. Dont let the bolt touch the tank

opening! Connect the positive to the bolt

and the negative to the tank and turn on the battery charger. Worked well for 

me.

[Handy Don 12,244]

3 hours ago, Gregor said:

Right now I don't know if she will let me have any vinegar.

Use your maps app to find a nearby grocery store. White vinegar is less that $2 a gallon. 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

CLR will work.  Something to offer some scrubbing will speed it up.

As Don mentioned, the often overlooked rust remover vinegar is pretty cheap and works good if you have some time.  What to do afterwards though!

 

POR comes to mind but there are others.

[formariz 11,987]

29 minutes ago, The Tuul Crib said:

What l did was electrolisis. Take a piece

o wood and drill a 3/8 hole. Then put a 3 or 4 inch bolt and put it inthe hole. Fill the tank with water and washing soda and set 

the wood with the bolt into the tank. Dont let the bolt touch the tank

opening! Connect the positive to the bolt

and the negative to the tank and turn on the battery charger. Worked well for 

me.

That is also the method I use. No noise no mess just set it and forget it. Great results every single time.

 

 

 

 

[Gregor 4,846]

I think I have concluded, it's just too far gone to save. I have ordered another. A used. small gas tank like this should not cost $40, but ya do what ya gotta do.

[Wheel Horse 3D 3,795]

On 3/14/2021 at 1:29 PM, formariz said:

That is also the method I use. No noise no mess just set it and forget it. Great results every single time.

 

 

Just a word of caution!....passing current through water and seperating its constituents by electrolosis results in HHO insted of H2O. Hydrogen AND oxygen in just the perfect ratio to combust! Use a well vented area please!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Wheel Horse 3D

[Wheel Horse 3D 3,795]

12 minutes ago, Wheel Horse 3D said:

 

Don't ask me how I know that...and nifty fact when it does combust...the main by product is H2O.

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by Wheel Horse 3D

[seuadr 488]

33 minutes ago, Wheel Horse 3D said:

Don't ask me how I know that...and nifty fact when it does combust...the main by product is H2O.

 

ok, so we can't ask how you know - but - do you have any video? 

 

wanted to add, you can't use a float charger for this - they will not "detect" a battery and not work. you can either modify a float charger, find a manual charger (these seem to be getting rare) or i've heard about some people just using a battery in line to get around it (seems like it'd be easy to try!)

[Wheel Horse 3D 3,795]

7 minutes ago, seuadr said:

ok, so we can't ask how you know - but - do you have any video? 

 

wanted to add, you can't use a float charger for this - they will not "detect" a battery and not work. you can either modify a float charger, find a manual charger (these seem to be getting rare) or i've heard about some people just using a battery in line to get around it (seems like it'd be easy to try!)

No video... but lets just say it was purposeful and involved a 30A 12v power supply and a bunch of really closely spaced positive and negative electrodes!

[8ntruck 7,022]

If you do opt for electrolysis, don't use any stainless steel for the electrode.  That process pulls chrome out of the stainless and then your water/washing soda mixture becomes a very nasty, federal regulated, super fund type of toxic waste.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

42 minutes ago, 8ntruck said:

toxic waste

 

Hexavalent Chromium... nasty stuff !

 

Ask Erin Brockovich about it.