rust/dirt in gas tank

Cleaning it's easy. A handfull of nuts and bolts followed by normal use will do that. Collecting the resulting rubbish is the problem. I've heard of sealants that you pour into a fuel tank. The problem is that you have to swill the tank about to ensure they're spread out. That's difficult with a truck attached. I've also heard bad tales of said epoxy stuff peeling off and causing more problems than it saves. How about forgetting the original tank and adding a new external tank. It should only need to be small unless you're into 8 hour days. Are LPG conversions available in US? They're quite common here but our petrol costs about =A34.50/gal where LPG is less than half that.

John

If you can open up the bottom to allow large flow, try flushing sand and high pressure water to remove loose rust.

Yes, you can use epoxy once the tank is clean and DRY. Use thin epoxy and apply it so it runs down the walls. WARNING!! Make sure you don't epoxy the drain shut.

There's special material for aviation use called 'slushing compound'. I don't know if it's epoxy or something else, but it's great for sealing pinholes in new tanks, and for capturing rust in old ones.

It's also good for clogging outlets, which you have to prevent somehow.

Karl,

If its a gasoline forklift, the "new" alcohol spiked gas may be your problem. I know when the blend was first on the market alot of cars crudded their fuel filters and stopped dead on the road since the alcohol is a great solvent. Since you can't remove the tank, I'd just have a large filter that is easily inspectable. I really don't suggest cleaning the tank too well or you may develop leaks. Also the epoxy solution (Kreme was a product for motorcycle gas tanks.)required that you rotate the tank to slosh it around. It also plugged more petcocks than you can imagine. With most motorcycle petcocks at $50 per it made for some very unhappy customers. That's why we sold the product but did not offer to install it. We warned them profusely to remove the petcocks but....

Just my 2 cents.

Bart D. Hull snipped-for-privacy@inficad.com Tempe, Arizona

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Tim Wescott wrote:

Electroysis rust removeal. Fill the tank with the fluid..make the tank the negative side of the battery charger and drop an insulated chunk of Rebar down inside so its hanging and not touching.

Ive heard it works very well for this sort of thing.

Gunner

"I think this is because of your belief in biological Marxism. As a genetic communist you feel that noticing behavioural patterns relating to race would cause a conflict with your belief in biological Marxism." Big Pete, famous Usenet Racist

That sounds like MTBE - that ate gas lines that were 'old'. A lot of engine fires were started that way - people moving in and buying a new mixture - flame!!

Martin

Martin H. Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH & Endowment Member NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member

Bart D. Hull wrote:

convert to LPG

Thanks for the tip. I'm going to go with this idea. Tommorrow's job. I'm also moving the fuel pickup two inches off the bottom of the tank. I'll keep a spare fuel filter right with the machine and keep the tank clear full all the time.

Karl

"Karl Townsend" wrote in message news:YVfxg.9595$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...

Many trucks use a filter with a screw-on housing and replaceable element that will contain a lot of residue before clogging. They are also very easy to clean. My 1980 Chevrolet C5 has one.

Don Young

If you are willing to put chemicals in the tank consider using vinegar saturated with table salt. It dissolves rust and is cheap. It is best to keep oxygen out during this process. A flush with an inert gas would be sufficient. You won't need to worry about throwing power with this method.

The electrolytic method is going to have problems reaching areas away from the electrode.

I have a 1951 International pickup that I restored. The gas tank was really rusty inside, so I removed it and rattled rocks around in it to loosen the rust, then flushed it repeatedly. May as well not have bothered. The system has a filter just before the fuel pump, and another at the carb inlet. The pump filter was coarse enough that the carb filter plugged up within 1000 miles, and I had to clean or replace it several times. Then I realized that the contaminants were all rust particles, and since the pump filter is a plastic canister, I taped one of those rare-earth magnets to the outside of it. Both filters stay clean now, since pretty much all of the junk immediately goes to the magnet and stays there. I just pull the filter out every so often, take the magnet off, and blow it out. A guy could make his own plastic canister, no filter in it, and put it upstream with that magnet on it and leave it for a long time. Next idea is to put one of those magnets in the tank, on a wire that I can reach to pull it out in about a year. The rust will collect on it as the fuel sloshes around. One more idea: There's a sloshing sealer used in fuel tanks and aircraft floats to seal them. This stuff would encapsulate the rust and lock it up almost forever. Got to have the tank off, though, to coat the whole inside. Randolph makes it. See

And not approved for Alky fuels.

On Mon, 24 Jul 2006 18:58:49 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, Nick Hull quickly quoth:

(You can't properly clean a tank in place, Karl. "Partly clean" is the exact opposite of "a little bit pregnant.")

Hehehe. That sounds like a DAMHIKT if I ever read one, Nick.

there is stuff you can buy from aircraft supply places and also from automotive restoration shops called "sloshing compound" - look in Hemmings Motor news, for example - it's used to seal gas tanks - sounds like what you want