Gas Tank Flushing Solvent

A

AlfinCT

Member
I have to help a friend whose family Model A has sat unused for 10 years. A borescope shows the gas tank has no rust but does have a gasoline residue coating the tank. What is the best way to flush the tank and gas lines? What solvent do we use to dissolve the gas residue, acetone, fresh gas, laquer thinner? We have the carb apart an it cleaned up well withcarb cleaner.

Thanks
 
If the tank is dry now I would stick a long blow gun down the filler and blow out what you can. After that I'd keep running gas through a cloth over a funnel and into a gas can. Dump it through until it doesn't leave junk on the filter cloth. Be sure to use the pencil filter in the tank valve, and you should be good to go. As Tex said, 15% ethanol will clean it, but I would not use it for fuel to run the car.
 
Hi Al,

FWIW:

If you had a bottle of POR-15 Marine Clean, poured out about one cup, & mixed it with about 8 cups of hot tap water water, poured it in the tank, rocked the car for about five (5) minutes, and let it drain, the mix would have entered looking like clear water, and it would exit the color of your tank's varnish ..... next you would witness a much cleaner tank bottom ........ good thing is that this same POR-15 Marine Clean can be reheated and reused over and over.

After conducting several tests, I found where water based POR-15 Marine Clean can outperform and dissolve old gas varnish better than Lacquer Thinner, PB Blaster, Kroil, Alcohol, Acetone, Paint Thinner, or any other Carburetor Cleaner.

It acts like paint remover in lifting and getting down into the open pores of metal, and dissolves and emulsifies the varnish far better than any other product I have witnessed.
 
AlfinCT said:
I have to help a friend whose family Model A has sat unused for 10 years. A borescope shows the gas tank has no rust but does have a gasoline residue coating the tank. What is the best way to flush the tank and gas lines? What solvent do we use to dissolve the gas residue, acetone, fresh gas, laquer thinner? We have the carb apart an it cleaned up well withcarb cleaner.

Thanks
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Interesting, but I wonder how they were able to get the scope bast the baffles? I was never able to do it with one. The areas we find the most rust is on each side in the top corners behind the baffles.
 
Get the blow gun that syphons liquid. I use diesel fuel. Air pressure and a solvent is like a mini pressure washer. Knocks the hell out of crud.
 
Big hammer said:
And one little spark, Instant flame thrower! Or kaboom and knocks hell out of crud! :-(
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I was going to suggest that the metal blow gun have a grounding wire between it and the tank, but I can't imagine diesel being any problem. I use a syphon gun a lot for final cleaning, and I use gas.
 
Grounding is a must, my thoughts where some may not know that compressed gases moving though hoses can create static electricity! Even liquids moving though hoses can create static, that is why refueling hoses have metal in the hoses to keep static electricity from happening. I was taught to ground refueling nozzles to the tank, just in case there was not a path for the static! Nervous Nelly maybe! Be safe!
 
I had to put a grounding clip in my blasting cabinet due to static electricity shocks zapping me through the rubber gloves. Sparks create ozone, and ozone destroys rubber. It wasn't too long before my rubber gloves turned to mush and would even stick to my skin as they deteriorated.
 
Thanks for the input. I'll try the POR-15 Marine Cleaner. Sounds like it does a great job, is safe and disposal is easy.
 
Hi Al,

Water based POR-15 Marine Clean can be re-used over & over to clean oil and grease deposits off of garage concrete slabs; clean insides of axles housings; insides and outsides of engine blocks; old grease off of transmissions & differentials; grease between multiple layers of engine and undercarriage paint; etc. etc.

When I cleaned my gas tank with POR-15 Marine Clean, I knew it would get down into the pores of the gas tank metal and remove all petroleum products.

After draining POR-15 Marine Clean, I added about a pint of 30 wt. oil to the tank and slowly filled the tank with fresh water to rinse out the POR-15 Marine Clean ......... but ........ because oil floats on water, I was able to slowly oil all of my tank's interior rust spots as the water was slowly entering the tank, and again, as the water was draining draining out of the tank.

Afterwards, always used MMO, (4) ounces to tank of gas, to keep inside of my rusty tank slightly oiled.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
I was going to suggest that the metal blow gun have a grounding wire between it and the tank, but I can't imagine diesel being any problem. I use a syphon gun a lot for final cleaning, and I use gas.
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The county where I live has some of the biggest inland refineries and oil handling facilities in North America. I have worked in both refineries and the oil sands as a computer technician and some of our relatives and neighbours are still engaged in working with the stuff.

I have been told many times that grounding is a must especially when dealing with diesel. My brother-in-law drives a B-train delivering diesel all over Alberta and northern BC. He told me that diesel running through an ungrounded pump and pipe while loading or unloading will draw an arc many inches long Several years ago there was a serious explosion and fire at a diesel loading rack near here when an inexperienced driver forgot the ground.
 
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