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rusty fuel tank

#1

T

tybilly

Briggs tank is rusty on inside,will white vinegar do the trick?..new tank is 75.00


#2

reynoldston

reynoldston

tybilly said:
Briggs tank is rusty on inside,will white vinegar do the trick?..new tank is 75.00
Click to expand...

Can't cost much to try so why not? Let use know how it works. I just had a Honda cycle in my shop with that same problem. I filled the tank with carburetor cleaner and let it sit for two days, then rinse it with water. Dried the tank and filled it with gas and a very rich mix of oil. Drained that and put it back together. The customer is running it so I hope its OK. They do made a kit for this that coats in inside of the tank, but you are looking at 50 dollars for this kit. I had a old snowmobile in my shop last year that was so bad that I ended up cutting out the bottom of the tank and sandblasting the inside of the tank then welded a new bottom in it.


#3

B

bertsmobile1

First check the tank with a magnet.
Old ones were steel but most of the newer ones seem to be alloy.
What model B & S are you talking about ?
if it is a Sprint type engine then.

Swimming pool shop or hardwear store.
Muriatic acid or Hydrochloric acid ( same stuff just diferent guaranteed purity levels ).
Wash the tank with degreaser
then rinse with water followed by either a chlorine cleaning solution or an ammonia based cleaning solution .
Should have one or the other under the sink.

Keep the tank full of fuel. cover it with some heavy cotton based fabric when stored in the shed and be careful when refilling that you do not have water in the bottom of your fuel can


#4

reynoldston

reynoldston

The problem I find with rusty gas tanks is that after you remove the rust from the metal you end up with a very find rust power that next to impossible to remove from the inside of the tank. The reason for this is because the openings are so small. The fill cap hole, sometimes a sending unit hole and the drain tube, all small openings. This rust power will plug a gas filter as fast as you can change it if you don't get this power out. This is a reason they make a kit so you can line the inside of the tank.


#5

M

Mad Mackie

I remove the tank, remove any screen/shutoff fittings, dry it out, put in 5 or 6 sharp edged stones, cover the fill with duct tape and shake the tank for a while in different positions. I have an air operated vac with a long hose and suck out the rust dust. I've done this for years with steel 6 and 3 gallon outboard motor fuel tanks. The key to this is the tank must be absolutely dry beforehand.


#6

7394

7394

Older motorcycle tanks do same thing. (Rust). There is a kit called "Kreem" that has 3 parts to it, one is a acid-cleaner that etches the clean metal, 2nd is a rinse, then you add the Kreem, plug the openings & keep rotating tank for complete coverage. Then drain excess out & let cure for a couple days.

Other option is some Radiator shops will clean it & coat it with their own coating.


#7

B

bertsmobile1

7394 said:
Older motorcycle tanks do same thing. (Rust). There is a kit called "Kreem" that has 3 parts to it, one is a acid-cleaner that etches the clean metal, 2nd is a rinse, then you add the Kreem, plug the openings & keep rotating tank for complete coverage. Then drain excess out & let cure for a couple days.

Other option is some Radiator shops will clean it & coat it with their own coating.
Click to expand...

Kreem cam not be used with modern fuel.
Was great in its time, nothing better back in the days when we got petrol out of the pumps but useless now days that petrol has been replaced with fuel.
We fill motorcycle tanks with old ball bearings then wrap heavy cloth ( moving blankets ) and pack them in a concrete mixer so they can not move.
Once out some use Caswells liner, I do not as a perfectly clean fuel tank seems to resist rusting for a very long time particularly if some stabile ( or sillier ) is used when the bike is laid up for a month or more.


#8

7394

7394

I put KREEM in my ULH Flathead tanks back around 1990, it's still in there, in spite of the P4 Gas (piss for gas). Something more modern would be POR-15, I think it's very similiar to what Harley has been using in tanks for decades.


#9

Michael72

Michael72

Vinegar does the job and better still if you heat it in a pot....but must be white vinegar...


#10

reynoldston

reynoldston

Michael72 said:
Vinegar does the job and better still if you heat it in a pot....but must be white vinegar...
Click to expand...

Next one I get will give it a try.


#11

Michael72

Michael72

Citric acid powder good too....have used it on many diff alloys....small parts i stick in a pot and simmer away :)


#12

reynoldston

reynoldston

Michael72 said:
Citric acid powder good too....have used it on many diff alloys....small parts i stick in a pot and simmer away :)
Click to expand...

Citric acid powder, Don't know what it is or where to find it


#13

Michael72

Michael72

reynoldston said:
Citric acid powder, Don't know what it is or where to find it
Click to expand...

Ball Citric Acid Additive - Walmart.com

might be better/stronger versions...not sure


#14

P

Pumper54

Have cleaned motorcycle tanks by draining the tank, flushing it out with water to get the big stuff out, tape or plug all the little holes and then dump in a bunch of old nuts and bolts. Add some kerosene, put the filler cap back on and then shake the crap out of it, turn it around and around as you shake. I like Burt's idea of the concrete mixer. When you are really tired of shaking dump everything out through the filler hole and inspect your work. I used Kreem on a tank years ago but the new 'gas' eats it. Have not used POR15 yet but have heard good things about it.
Tom


#15

B

bertsmobile1

7394 said:
I put KREEM in my ULH Flathead tanks back around 1990, it's still in there, in spite of the P4 Gas (piss for gas). Something more modern would be POR-15, I think it's very similiar to what Harley has been using in tanks for decades.
Click to expand...

OK I should have been a little more specific.
I can not recommend Kreem because of problem we have found down here.

The caveat on that is the P4G we get here is most likely different to the P4G you get there.
I have had a couple of bikes treated with Kreem where it starts to dissolve into the P4G and after a week or so caused the P4G to go off and not allow the bike to start.
Took us a long while to sort that one out.
Bike ran like a top in the workshop using the workshop overhead fuel tank. Put fresh P4G into the bike, it also ran like a top.
Owner took in home and was happy for week or so then it would not start.
Usually the old P4G gets put into one of the fuel injected vehicles or occasionally kept for removing silicon.
At wits end we tried something different .
We tipped his old P4G into my bike, and it would not run either, and my old side banger will run on kerosene on a hot day.
Stripped the kreem out of the tank , problem solved, customer has been riding this bike for the past 7 years without problems.
We now only use Caswells because Caswell guarantee it will not be affected by any "fuel" and POR won't give us the same.
I love POR-15, we use it as the base coat for every repaint, there s nothing better and my old bikes & reconditioned mowers never ever show any rust.
I used gallons doing all of the iron work around the workshop including the roof an the owners & myself could not be happier with the result .
However reputations are very fragile and I will not chance mine on a product that has no guarantee.


#16

B

bertsmobile1

And just to make things a bit clearer.
All metal oxides are alkaline, so just about any acid will remove oxidation ( rust )
Acetic acid ( white vinegar ) , Citric acid, Hydrochloric acid, Muriatic acid , Phosphoric acid, even sulphuric acid will all remove rust to some extent.
the difference is that some of the byproducts are highly protective ( phosphoric) some leave an active surface , Hydrochloric and some passivate so only partially remove the rust.


#17

reynoldston

reynoldston

Michael72 said:
Ball Citric Acid Additive - Walmart.com

might be better/stronger versions...not sure
Click to expand...

That is the reason I never heard of citric acid. I have never canned a thing in my life time. I buy my fruits and vegetable from the store in cans ready to eat.


#18

B

bertsmobile1

I bet you have heard of citric acid.
Common name Vitamin C


#19

reynoldston

reynoldston

bertsmobile1 said:
I bet you have heard of citric acid.
Common name Vitamin C
Click to expand...

Clean fuel tanks with Vitamin C, getting very confusing ??? We started with white vinegar, then canning juice and now Vitamin C pills. :confused2:


#20

7394

7394

bertsmobile1 said:
OK I should have been a little more specific.
I can not recommend Kreem because of problem we have found down here.

The caveat on that is the P4G we get here is most likely different to the P4G you get there.
I have had a couple of bikes treated with Kreem where it starts to dissolve into the P4G and after a week or so caused the P4G to go off and not allow the bike to start.
Took us a long while to sort that one out.
Bike ran like a top in the workshop using the workshop overhead fuel tank. Put fresh P4G into the bike, it also ran like a top.
Owner took in home and was happy for week or so then it would not start.
Usually the old P4G gets put into one of the fuel injected vehicles or occasionally kept for removing silicon.
At wits end we tried something different .
We tipped his old P4G into my bike, and it would not run either, and my old side banger will run on kerosene on a hot day.
Stripped the kreem out of the tank , problem solved, customer has been riding this bike for the past 7 years without problems.
We now only use Caswells because Caswell guarantee it will not be affected by any "fuel" and POR won't give us the same.
I love POR-15, we use it as the base coat for every repaint, there s nothing better and my old bikes & reconditioned mowers never ever show any rust.
I used gallons doing all of the iron work around the workshop including the roof an the owners & myself could not be happier with the result .
However reputations are very fragile and I will not chance mine on a product that has no guarantee.
Click to expand...

Bert- IDK if your P4G is different or not, none of it is what it used to be. I think we can mutually agree on that.

And don't think I would use today's Kreem either. Have heard of others having similiar issues.

Caswell's is top quality stuff. Agree, having a guarantee is a good thing. Shows confidence in their products.


#21

B

bertsmobile1

bertsmobile1 said:
I bet you have heard of citric acid.
Common name Vitamin C
Click to expand...

Opps,
Brain fart time
Vitamin C is Ascorpic acid, which wil also clean rust off steel.


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