6 Gallon fuel tank

[03sp500]

Marshman rom what I understand walmart gas tanks are made by Attwood and so is West Marines tanks, If you have a west marine or any boat stuff store look for older replacement caps. I filled it last nice and no worries. My hose says OMC on it and looks pretty good shape but I agree with you get what you pay for.

 

[Kismet]

OK:

Rust in the tank. This is from a motorcycle forum, RIDING OUT LOUD, by a buy nic'd Motoman. I stole for you.
I've done similar things to old motorcycle gas tanks.

Enjoy:

Removing Rust From A Motorcycle Gas TankOne of the most common problems with buying used motorcycles and certainly ones that have been sitting for a while is rust in the gas tank.

If this rust is not removed or sealed it will continually clog your fuel filter and carbs. This will cause you to be unhappy and on foot.

Now, you can buy a sealer that coats the inside of the tank isolating the rust from the fuel. When done properly these work just dandy. The problem is that many times the coatings flake or peal and become as big a problem as the rust itself.

I prefer to remove the rust. It is a bit of a project but not that difficult to do. This is how I did it on my 1986 Kawasaki project.

First remove the tank from the bike. Then I removed the petcock and fuel sender. I sealed the resulting mounting holes by cutting out a gasket from an old inner tube and sandwiching it between the tank and a small piece plywood held in place by using the mounting bolts or sealing with duct tape. My seal was not perfect so I did the following steps involving liquid over a plastic muck bucket to contain any leakage.

Using acid is the most common method to clean a tank but I found a product called Vapo-rust that contains no acid or solvent so it is less hazardous and disposal is not an issue. This stuff is so effective that the Army uses it to remove rust from battle tanks.

Now with my fuel tank I had both rust and pealing sealer to deal with so I needed some way to clean off the loose sealer and rust. I did this by pouring 4000 BBs into the tank and shaking it for several minutes. This beat off all of the loose sealer and rust without damaging the tank. I have also heard of people using a few hundred small hex nuts to do the same thing but the BBs cost a lot less.

Most of the BBs will just pour out of the tank when you are finished however a magnet on a teliscoping handle is helpful for get the last stuborn few out.

At this point I rinsed the tank out with water, this removes the rust and sealer that you just knocked off with the BBs.

After draining the water pour in a 1/2 gallon of vapo-rust. Leave this in the tank for a couple of hours, turning the tank every 15 to 20 minutes so as to expose the entire interior of the tank to the chemical.

Next drain the tank and reassemble the parts that you removed and remount the tank. This would be a good time to put on a new fuel filter.

It is possible on a tank that was severly rusted that cleaning that out may open up small pin hole leaks. so put a small amount of fuel in and keep a sharp eye out for any signs of leaks. If all appears dry filler up.

I add a half of a can of Sea Foam to my first tank of gas (if you haven't heard of Sea Foam it's been around for about 60 years and is the best in my opinion for cleaning your fuel system including removing varnish and contaminates from carburetors ). That's really all there is to it.

Please be mindful you are working with a fuel tank here so don't do this around any open flames.

That's it.

 

[sawmill]

A steel boat gas tank should be very easy to clean. I have several old tractors and have cleaned the tanks on them with a piece of chain and paint thinner. Just add in the tank and roll the chain around. The first one I did I was told to use rocks and that was a big mistake as it still has some rocks in it behind the baffle. I have heard of some using bolts and nuts and shake the tank with them in it and they said you can use a magnet, have you ever tried to take a magnet and pick up something off a piece of steel. As for the hose and fitting. I had a problem with the fitting that was sold by Walmart and couple of other place. These I think were made by AttWood. They did not fit. Everything hooked up fine but they did not fit tight and would starve the motor for gas. Switched to a factory fitting and problem solved

 

[03sp500]

I have 49 cub and had to use a lenght of chain to clean that. Its a big tank. I did the best I could but the sediment bowl still has some junk to this day that keeps coming out of the tank. I'll clean this tank and use it as a backup.

 

[marshman]

sawmill » 21 Jul 2013, 06:19[/url]"]As for the hose and fitting. I had a problem with the fitting that was sold by Walmart and couple of other place. These I think were made by AttWood. They did not fit. Everything hooked up fine but they did not fit tight and would starve the motor for gas. Switched to a factory fitting and problem solved

i had the same results...

 

[jethro]

For a metal tank, I know this from restoring motorcycles, go to Home depot and buy Behr Concrete Etcher. It's phosphoric acid and will probably cost you $20 for a gallon. like the post above, an old chain or a pile of nuts and bolts will do the trick. Put them in the tank, and fill with a gallon of the phosphoric acid, then add a gallon of cold water. Seal the filler and the fuel output. Shake around for a few minutes, then let it sit for a half hour. Then shake for a few minutes, leave it sitting on it's side for another half hour. Repeat for all four sides and the top, then drain and rinse the tank. You'll find the phosphoric acid reacts with the rust and neutralizes it. To dry it out I leave a shop vac on blower setting with the hose in the tank for a few hours.

 

[lovedr79]

There is a 3 step kit you can get at most bike shops called crem tank restore. It's awesome I have used it many times on older bikes I have fixed that had a rusted tank. Pour the acid in, etch the rust out, rinse and dry, pour in the rubber. Make sure the inside gets coated. I think the last kit I bought was $25.