3hp Fuel Tank Cleaning

[JohnnyGuy]

Hey all,

I have a '53 Evinrude Lightwin that I have been working on.
On Sunday I decided to clean the fuel tank. There was gelled fuel in it when I went to empty it small pieces of solidified fuel came out.
I emptied as much of it as I could.

I then put in about 2 cups of undiluted simple green pro HD degreaser with some old small sockets I had laying around. I gave it a good shake let it sit for a while gave it another shake. Did that Monday and then again when I got home from work today.
I opened it up to empty it and the solution inside was a creamy white. I poured out as much as I could, then added some premix fuel and shook it up and drained it again.
It​It was still pretty creamy, (somewhat thick, thicker than fuel. Almost like a somewhat watered down hand cream). Right now I have it sitting with some more premix after having removed the small sockets.
There's a long piece of what appears to be tubing still loose in the tank, which after further review appears to be a fuel filter that is attached to a piece of the petcock assembly. Guess I broke that off when shaking around the tank with the sockets inside. 'doh!

Anyways, a couple of questions for where I am at now and where I should go.

1) Do I keep adding premix fuel and emptying until I don't have anymore of the milky residue?
2) when I get that filter out is it possible to solder it back on to the threads?
3) petcock valve is pretty slow flow, take it apart, clean with carb cleaner, put back together?
4) with petcock assembly removed from the tank it still drained pretty slow. Common?

I really like the "natural" patina the motor has, so I was/am really hesitant about using any chemicals on the tank that could possibly effect the finish if accidentally spilled, dripped, etc...

TIA,
JG

 

[Rook66]

I've had good luck putting Chem-Dip carburetor cleaner in gas tanks with gummed up gas in them. Pour it in with a hand full of hex nuts and let it set over night. Give it a good shake and repeat as necessary. Then rinse it out with white gas and pour the contents in a clear glass container and hold it up to the light. If it's clear it's finished if there still something floating around in it then do it again.

 

[F_R]

Chem-Dip certainly will clean it, but it's mighty expensive. I've always used plain ol' rubbing alcohol from the grocery store. Works, and it's cheap. And doesn't remove paint. And, though it will burn, it is far less flammable than gasoline or lacquer thinner, ect. That stuff can kill you.

 

[JohnnyGuy]

Cheers fellas!
I think I'll try the rubbing alcohol! Got some of it sitting around at home.

 

[oldboat1]

Pine Sol?

 

[JohnnyGuy]

Well, the sintered fuel filter came off the brass threaded fitting. I have been reading that it can be soldered back in to place.
I​I have ​never done any pipe soldering before, only for electronics.
Any recommendations for doing this?
Do i put the sintered filter on the fitting and heat them both up, then apply solder? Will the solder be pulled into the sintered filter to bond it to the brass fitting?
Thoughts, recommendations?
TIA.

JG
​​​​​​

 

[oldboat1]

epoxy or a thin coating of Marine Tex.

 

[JohnnyGuy]

epoxy or a thin coating of Marine Tex.

Thanks oldboat1. I was contemplating some JB weld.
I was also thinking about buying some brass filter screens (sold as screens for pipes) and soldering one in place instead of the sintered filter...

 

[lindy46]

Most likely the filter is clogged and needs replacing anyway. I've tried cleaning them with little success. New ones are available.

 

[Rook66]

I put a new filter on my 1966 3 hp Johnson Seahorse 2 years ago. They're still available. No need to waste the time and effort trying to make something that might or might not work and it needs a filter that works.