simicrintz 177 Posted April 16, 2012 Have any of you ever had to clean a neglected gas tank? I'm not 100% positive that it is rust (I took the carb apart and cleaned it, and while it was varnished up, I didn't see any signs of rust and it did not have a filter inline) but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Feeding fuel through a makeshift assembly produced a running bike on the second pull (it's an '82 Honda 185S Three Wheeler that I'm working on and it hadn't run in almost ten years) and a quick couple of turns had it idling easily, so I think I've got the carb pretty much handled, and I don't want to risk running any rust or varnish to it. I appreciate any help or guidance anyone can give. I Googled it but would rather hear from someone that's done it as opposed to trusting some of the videos I saw! Thanks for any help! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 917 Posted April 16, 2012 I've cleaned up a bunch of rust in a tank by putting a bit of kerosene in it and a handful of steel nuts. Shake it up,this works best if you have some good music playing so you can go with the beat. Then, pour it all out in your neighbors yard. Use a magnet to get any left over nuts out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simicrintz 177 Posted April 16, 2012 I've cleaned up a bunch of rust in a tank by putting a bit of kerosene in it and a handful of steel nuts. Shake it up,this works best if you have some good music playing so you can go with the beat. Then, pour it all out in your neighbors yard. Use a magnet to get any left over nuts out. I really like the part about pouring it in my neighbors yard, especially since that is my sister and brother-in-law next door! Do you think diesel fuel would work as well as kerosene (I have 100 gallons of it on the back of my truck!)? I've seen some suggest muriatic acid (I'm a pool guy, so I have a lot of that too), citric acid, etc., but that all involves water and something tells me I just don't want to put water in there. Thanks for the response, and the laugh about pouring it in the neighbors yard! Classic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 917 Posted April 16, 2012 I really like the part about pouring it in my neighbors yard, especially since that is my sister and brother-in-law next door! Do you think diesel fuel would work as well as kerosene (I have 100 gallons of it on the back of my truck!)? I've seen some suggest muriatic acid (I'm a pool guy, so I have a lot of that too), citric acid, etc., but that all involves water and something tells me I just don't want to put water in there. Thanks for the response, and the laugh about pouring it in the neighbors yard! Classic! Diesel is good too. I've heard of muriatic acid also, never tried it. I've also seen some people set up an eletrolysis deal with a battery charger online, never done it either but just letting you know of the options. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unhuskyman 0 Posted April 20, 2012 I've personally done the electrolysis system using a battery charger. Positive lead hooked to piece of mild steel tube, ground goes the bare metal on tank. Fill tank with water/ cleaning soda mix, and dip steel tube without touching tank wall. Took a seriously rusty inside of a tank to nice smooth metal. Makes some funky green bubbles though, and apparently not great to breathe... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
