Cleaning out fuel tanks

We've had quite a few discussions here and Lord knows there's a lot to be found on the Internet, You Tube, especially.

I'm not as experienced as many here but thought it'd be helpful to start a dedicated thread on the subject.

I've tried electrolysis, vinegar, and Evaporust and so far I like the Evaporust method the most.

I just treated a used tank from a RC24 with Evaporust and it took the least amount of effort of all methods I've tried.

I bit the bullet and purchased a 5 gallon container of ER plus already had on hand (2) gallon sized units.

The key to this whole thing is to stop up all the holes, fill the tank to the top with ER, and then let her sit for a couple weeks.

You can leave the petcock and sending unit on without any harm to them.

When 2 weeks are up, use a battery operated transfer pump to take out the ER - I pump it into a 5 gal. bucket. It won't all come out so turn the tank sideways and take off the sending unit - then let the remainder drain into another container - this is the nasty part of the remaining ER and may not be re-usable. What you first pumped out can probably be re-used.

After that, blast as much out with a water hose/nozzle....then use a power washer to blast away again inside the tank. Then re-attach the sending unit and sit the tank upright and fill with water until it pours out the top. Turn upside down, drain, removed sending unit - drain - then dry off outside and set the tank upright with a hair dryer on top to dry her out inside.

After this step, fill with 2 cycle gas mixture - (gas + 2 cycle oil) in the same ratio as you'd put in your 2 cycle power equipment. Fill to the top and just let it sit for a week or so. Or install on your motorcycle and fill with fuel. Keep topped up for a few weeks and you should be good after that.

Would love additional comments, input, and feedback if anyone has anything to offer.

It's a good feeling to get a tank rehabbed!




View into the top:



View into the bottom:

 

I caution against leaving aluminum (like a petcock or gas cap) exposed to ER for extended periods. I don't know the exact mechanism or conditions that creates an issue, but I put a nasty coolant crossover tube and the alum caps in ER and it ate the aluminum. What was left was so porous it was junk. The good is that I also found that the crossover tube was junk.

These were terribly corroded and probably not representative of most conditions, but I am cautious about it to be safe. I use an old petcock and sacrificial sending unit as plugs now.

 

I used the Evaoprust in the Goldwing and it worked great!

 

Good idea to mock up a plate to cover the sending unit hole in the bottom - or as you say use a sacrificial one.

I did that once before but didn't this time.

There's a piece of plastic under the can to help seal it. I saw one guy on YT who used a toilet flapper!

I don't remember where I got these purple plastic plugs but they work great!

 

ER is good stuff. getting hard to find here now, no one carries it anymore. Im hoping to find some hit sweet when I head south, I only know of one store in Canada carrying it now.

 

I got it at Harbor Freight .

 

I got mine from Amazon (the 5 gal. size) and Tractor Supply Co. (the 1 gal. size).

But we're in the states not Canada - and things are different north of the border.......

 

I can get you a 275 gallon tote through work. Judging from some of your videos, you've definitely got the equipment to unload it

List price was about $4,000 in 2021... hmm... that's $14.62 a gallon. You looking to start a side business to fund your motorcycle projects? haha.

It is slightly acidic, so that may have been what caused the issue. I've ruined some (ferrous) stuff by dropping it in my bucket and forgetting about it for a month--but I haven't had any issues leaving things for a day or so. I'm actually surprised it would do anything to aluminum at all. I don't think the chelate in evapo-rust can even bond with aluminum or aluminum oxide--just iron oxide.

 

It could have been that the alum was contaminated with rust, but it started something that certainly f-d it up. I won't take the chance anymore.

 

Did some more work on my tanks yesterday. On the Yellow tank, after the ER treatment, I flushed it with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol. Two 32 oz. containers - one container at a time - with vigorous swirling, shaking, and twirling in between.

Then after emptying all the alcohol out.....I added a gallon of 2 cycle gas mix. Followed by even more vigorous swirling, shaking, and twirling.

Let the tank sit overnight but went back and turned the tank several times in different positions in between. I emptied that out today and am going to place it inside a large plastic bag and put it on a shelf for now.

The point is...this time I skipped using any water to do any flushing.

At such time I decide to use the tank again....I can always give it a quick inside treatment with a pressure washer before drying it out and then adding fuel, if I want. Hoping that won't be necessary. For now my main concern is having it ready for use and storing it so it won't flash rust - or just rust - in the meantime.

I think putting them in large clear plastic bags is SO IMPORTANT to help their shelf life!

 

Also want to add that in the inverted position - not one drop of 2 cycle mix came out the filler cap on top!!!