fuel tank cleaning
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- G-Sergeant
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fuel tank cleaning
OK before you scold me you should know that I did a search using: "cleaning fuel tank" & read every single one. My son can get me some oil field grade caustic soda ( they put it & some other stuff in when they mix up a batch of drilling mud ) . What say you about using this caustic soda to clean & de-rust the inside of my 151 fuel tank ? My first plan was just to keep changing the NAPA 23002 filter I installed between fuel pump & carb until the tank came clean, then realizing that I would deplete NAPA of their inventory before this goal is reached I then searched for an in-line filter about the size of a 55 gal. drum but that wasn't cost effective so.............. time to remove tank.
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- G-Colonel
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
be careful and mix weak. my experience is caustic go throw metal in 30 minutes, citric acid or vinegar much slower. if you use caustic all rust proofing gone so tank need plastic coating.
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- G-Lieutenant General
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
Muriatic acid would be better than caustic. Much less chance of eating good metal. Caustic you also have the issue of how do you get rid of it afterwards? the acid can be neutralized with baking soda.No matter what you do you will need to coat the tank afterwards. You can buy the acid anyplace that sells pool cleaning supplies, I think I bought mine at Tractor Supply.
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone
- W. Winget
- LTC, U.S. Army
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
I always use crystal style drain cleaner (not liquid) and hot water, (your water heater spigot, or a couple of gallons from the tap in jugs) wear PPE (gloves/face shield, old jeans) and slosh it around, you can toss in some baking soda if you want to neutralize it, then rinse it twice with water, dry and install.
Seems to always work for me.
V/R W. Winget
Seems to always work for me.
V/R W. Winget
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts
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- Sergeant Major of the Gee
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
If you just have a rust problem there is a product called METAL RESCUE its non caustic and comes premixed in gallon jugs you can get it at Home Depot Its about $25 a gallon I have used it on my restoration and it works great Just Google it for information
M416
1954 M38A1
1954 M38A1
- acudanut
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
There is "cleaning vinegar" at the grocery store. 1/4 the price. You have many options, but remember.. Even new gas tanks (like the one I bought) start to rust after 8 years.
Rick, "coat the tank afterwards" ... with what and how
Rick, "coat the tank afterwards" ... with what and how
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- G-Lieutenant General
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
1964 M151A1
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone
1984 M1008
1967 M416
04/1952 M100
12/1952 M100- Departed
AN/TSQ-114A Trailblazer- Gone
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- G-Corporal
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
Team, I live in Colorado and dropped my M151A1 tank at a radiator shop in Denver. He quoted me a price of 650 dollars He dips the tank in a vat of chemical and through several sequences ultimately coats the inside with several coatings of sealer that looks red. My tank was pretty bad and with the baffle I didn't want to take any chances. Go for it. He then tells me it will be ready by June.
- W. Winget
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
And some sealants like the Red stuff are known to peel.
I've used Caswell, can't laud it enough, works well, 2 part mix clear epoxy, clean the tank, seal the ports, mix and dump it in, slosh it around, dump it out,(find something you want to make a permanent repair on to dump it onto VS wasting it) blow air through the lines remove the caps and next day you can fill it, hard as rock.
Great stuff for all of around $80.
V/R W. Winget
I've used Caswell, can't laud it enough, works well, 2 part mix clear epoxy, clean the tank, seal the ports, mix and dump it in, slosh it around, dump it out,(find something you want to make a permanent repair on to dump it onto VS wasting it) blow air through the lines remove the caps and next day you can fill it, hard as rock.
Great stuff for all of around $80.
V/R W. Winget
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts
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- G-Corporal
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
Yikes! If the red stuff has been known to peel I am not sure I want to go this route considering what I paying! I need to think about this. He pitched it as the "holy grail" of sealants.
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- G-Corporal
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
So I call the guy and he says the red stuff he uses is made by Caswell. It is called Dragons Blood. So I am going ahead with it...thanks for the heads up though. He also said that it's all in preparation whether the sealer will peel or not. He regained my confidence
- W. Winget
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
From the web page about Dragons Blood, it's colored to see where you may have missed application, note the very last line talking about other coatings....
So for Around $80 you can buy the stuff, the rest is labor your guy is charging for cleaning your tank (not that that's not valuable to you) just saying, not all recoat efforts have to cost more than a restoration guy can afford.
V/R W Winget
https://www.caswellplating.com/epoxy-ga ... aler.html#
Dragons Blood
Permanently Repairs Steel, Aluminum, Fiberglass and Plastic Gas Tanks
The same phenol novolac chemistry as our regular Gas Tank Sealer product.
Ethanol Resistant Chemistry. Withstands racing fuels and alcohol.
Bright Red Color Makes For Easy Identification of Missed Areas
Each kit treats tanks up to 10 gallons
Application Instructions
All traces of oil and gasoline should first be removed by pouring about 1 pint of acetone or lacquer thinner into the tank, and rotating the tank several times to thoroughly sluice the sides with solvent. Dispose of the contaminated solution.
When recoating your gas tank from failed Kreem or POR-15 tank sealers, remove the old, failed coating using a paint stripper containing Methylene Chloride.
......details continue on the site.
So for Around $80 you can buy the stuff, the rest is labor your guy is charging for cleaning your tank (not that that's not valuable to you) just saying, not all recoat efforts have to cost more than a restoration guy can afford.
V/R W Winget
https://www.caswellplating.com/epoxy-ga ... aler.html#
Dragons Blood
Permanently Repairs Steel, Aluminum, Fiberglass and Plastic Gas Tanks
The same phenol novolac chemistry as our regular Gas Tank Sealer product.
Ethanol Resistant Chemistry. Withstands racing fuels and alcohol.
Bright Red Color Makes For Easy Identification of Missed Areas
Each kit treats tanks up to 10 gallons
Application Instructions
All traces of oil and gasoline should first be removed by pouring about 1 pint of acetone or lacquer thinner into the tank, and rotating the tank several times to thoroughly sluice the sides with solvent. Dispose of the contaminated solution.
When recoating your gas tank from failed Kreem or POR-15 tank sealers, remove the old, failed coating using a paint stripper containing Methylene Chloride.
......details continue on the site.
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts
- acudanut
- USMC GUNNY
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
I would have bought a new one for 300.00 from Red River (if they still have any left)mrvtwin95 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 08, 2020 7:59 amTeam, I live in Colorado and dropped my M151A1 tank at a radiator shop in Denver. He quoted me a price of 650 dollars He dips the tank in a vat of chemical and through several sequences ultimately coats the inside with several coatings of sealer that looks red. My tank was pretty bad and with the baffle I didn't want to take any chances. Go for it. He then tells me it will be ready by June.
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- G-Sergeant
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Re: fuel tank cleaning follow up
The caustic soda didn't do very good on rust, I put some nuts & bolts in & rolled around until common sense prevailed ! I installed a second inspection hole on the baffled side of tank (3") & then pressure washed, dried, then used a small sandblaster on inside of tank. The next step was to follow KBS coatings 3 step process & results look very good. Of course the test of time has yet to come.
- W. Winget
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Re: fuel tank cleaning
Just cleaned out another MB tank (that previously had some sort of redcoat sealer or such in it) and used Caswell, the Lye we used wasn't as thrilling as the drain opener I had used previously, but I hooked it up to a cheap concrete mixer and let it circulate for 30 minutes, it wasn't perfectly clean of rust, but after a double flush of acetone, the surface took to the Caswell mix quite well and has a rock hard finish inside. Cost was $76 for the mix, about $10 for the cleaners. The rust is now sealed forever.
Used the excess mix upon draining out of the MB tank (almost a quart) to seal a 5 Gallon fuel can we had picked up that looked great but someone had written "Leaks" on it.
I didn't clean her out and the Caswell appears to have sealed it well, but left large areas uncoated as they had oily residue on them.
Just have not had a bad time using it, good luck with the other stuff.
V/R W. Winget
PS...then the 8N Ford tractor sprung a leak after I steam cleaned her....cost for replacement tank was $90, so no $76 Caswell plus cleaner for her, just a new tank, less labor and new steel. WW
Used the excess mix upon draining out of the MB tank (almost a quart) to seal a 5 Gallon fuel can we had picked up that looked great but someone had written "Leaks" on it.
I didn't clean her out and the Caswell appears to have sealed it well, but left large areas uncoated as they had oily residue on them.
Just have not had a bad time using it, good luck with the other stuff.
V/R W. Winget
PS...then the 8N Ford tractor sprung a leak after I steam cleaned her....cost for replacement tank was $90, so no $76 Caswell plus cleaner for her, just a new tank, less labor and new steel. WW
Looking for 1918 Standard B 'Liberty' truck parts
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