Cleaning fuel tanks?

[copout]

Here's what I got!
One polly tank below deck.
One aluminum tank above deck but below console.
Neither can be removed without major mods.
I have removed all fuel. The bottom tank was BAD, tar/varnish residue on the bottom.

Plan of attack!?!
Flush with water/degreaser?
Flush with staight water.
Remove water.
Rinse with Iso-alcohol, them pump that out & then vent/run blower to evap remaining Iso?
Complete with new lines, spliter valve & hardware.
I am open to suggestions.


Top tank



Bottom tank

[Blue_Heron]

I wish you luck, but if you can remove varnish from fuel tanks, without removing them, with detergents, degreaser, or solvents, you’ll be my new hero. I didn’t try alcohol, but I did try lacquer thinner and acetone. They removed the soluble constituents, but left a crust behind. I put acetone, lacquer thinner and marbles in my tanks and carried them around in the back of my truck for a few weeks. The marbles knocked loose some of the solids. After siphoning out the solvent and cleaning with detergent, this is what came out:




Ultimately, I had to invent the Tank Tumbler TM to get the last of the varnish.



Like I said, I wish you luck, but I think you’re going to have to pull the tanks to get the varnish out.

Dave

P.S. That was a nice post about the family history behind your boat. You done good.

[copout]

Thanks blue! I'll now only need it for the bottom tank. That's if I really need the extra fuel! Fumes are getting to my brain but VICTORY sure feels good!
I'm gonna need some help with sealing the console back down? Bring on the old, I mean wise salts!

[FELLOW-SHIP]

Hi Copout:


I did not try to repair my old tank I replaced it so I really did not have to face your problems but I didn’t have a choice. Your aluminum tank looks like you could save it and the poly tank should be able to save as well.
I agree with Blue Heron you probably need to pull both to work on them and use all the chemicals he did as well. On the aluminum tank you might consider paint thinner or a oven cleaner as well. I would take some samples of the junk and test them with both to see if they will break down the varnish.
It looks like to me the aluminum tank has no baffles in it so you might be able to do one more thing Blue Heron did not try a commercial pressure washer running it through all the access holes and trying to strip away all the varnish.

On the poly tank you might be able to use a rubber hammer to tap on the outside of the tank to help break up the varnish then use the pressure washer but I would be careful with the chemicals in it. Do some testing on the outside of the tank before you put anything on the inside to see how it reacts.

Make sure you pull the fuel sending devices first and remove all rubber gaskets that might be present.

After its all over make sure you invest in a Racor fuel filter with the see through plastic piece and drain in the bottom so you can see what’s going on. There is only one thing worse that pulling the tanks and cleaning them and that is destroying your motor because crap got into the engine and not it needs a rebuild.

Don’t you just love Ethanol it brings new meaning to the word S**T.





FellowShip

………………………….

Just for the Grins

Official 23’ SF Antique Classic SeaCraft Owner

[tgilchrist01]

Copout,
One of the pictures above, shows a flange that holds your sending unit and pickup tube. I'm making a new tank for my boat this year and interested in that setup. Does it have a manufacture's name one it?

Tom

[copout]

Tom, that flange is on a poly tank. I believe it's OEM from Kracor tanks.
http://4wings.com/lib/files/fueltanks.pdf
Based on measurements I have model 88-7059 seen down on page 9. I will be looking to replace the gasket, so when I contact them I can ask about replacement flanges for you.

Ryan