Anyone Have any Experience Cleaning Gas Tanks ?

[CruiserHopeful]

Alright, here's the deal - my gas tank needs cleaning. Its aluminum (brb getting Alzheimers lol).

Let me post some pics and you can see what kind of crud I need to vanquish on the inside of the tank. It really is bad guys... I need some sort of miracle


First off, let me say that I already tried the "chain in the tank with some paint thinner and slosh it around" method.... it really didnt do anything at all


TOP VIEW




SIDE VIEW


THIS GOES TO MY ENGINE... the valve is frozen open lol


THIS IS THE BREATHER


LOOKING IN THROUGH THE TOP HOLE (check out all that sh*t... that was going into my engine, fouling fuel filters after like an hour of running... i poured a quarter cup of this stuff out as dust when I pulled the tank and let it air dry)




LOOKING IN THROUGH THE SIDE... (fuel fill line)


if you look to the left you can see the baffle.. its just a single plate of aluminum welded which helps against splashing...



should I just buy a new tank? is it salvagable? is there some sort of magical aluminum cleaning liquid which will fix this?

[canuck dennis]

Try using a mixture of 50% water and 50% alumaprep, slosh around for half hour and thoroughly rinse out, failing that....new tank..

[SailPenelope]

Gasoline?

I let the pros do it for me. I think they used a spray wand with gasoline. But I could be wrong. I just paid up is all.

My tanks were "black iron" and I ended up replacing with aluminum. OK so far.

Maybe a larger inspection plate? Yours looks small.

I cannot say enough for clean fuel. I went through two fuel injection pumps......the fines were going right through the filters........not happy.

[forsailbyowner]

Would possibly get with welder and look over possibility of cutting a hole and closing it up afterward. Possibly shell or soda blast interior to clean aluminum. Cost much less than new tank.

[Liam Wald]

Buy a new one!

[s/v Breakaway]

Gasoline not diesel? If it is diesel, I am just in the process of cleaning out my 36 gal tank myself, after waiting weeks for the local boatyard to have time. Given that my tank is about 6' long with 2 baffles, I cut a 4x6" opening in each compartment with a jig saw. Then I wiped it out throughly, cut a cover plate from aluminum, sandwiched gasket paper between blue RTV silicone "gasket maker" caulk, and screwed down with screws every 1-1 1/2". Cost = less than $20.
I'll let you know if I have a problem, like leaking around the openings.

[SailPenelope]

I think it was gasoline. Not sure. Gasoline is a great solvent. It was a diesel tank they were cleaning, but I think they used something stronger to clean it out.

[Vasco]

Take it to a rad shop.

[AnchorageGuy]

Do yourself a favor and have an access plate installed in a position where you can get to it, open it up and clean the interior of the tank. This should be a routing maintenance item at least every five years.

[FreeSC]

"Foaming coil cleaner" from an HVAC supply store..about $15 ..it is a strong base.... follow the directions ...slouch it around and let it soak a while... rinse well and let her dry outin the hot sun a day or two...she will be clean as new!

[sailingaway221]

I had similar issues....cut a BIG hole in the top then made a bigger patch for it.....now I can easily get in and out of my tank...scrub and clean it fast and fairly painlessly....seal it with diesel resistant goooooo.....I used a degreaser and scrubbing brush...no problem since then.