Gas Tank Cleaning

[snagroms]

Just picked up a use hull (1983 Wellcraft CC) that sat for about 2 years. I've removed everything from the deck to get access to the foamed in tank. There was a small amount of residual fuel and some water (probably condensation). Once drained I looked over the tank inside and it appears to be in good shape. However I see some sediment and small stuff in the bottom. Any one have experience cleaning a tank out in place in the hull? Some have suggested running multiple filters for a while. Also have suggested cutting a hole in the tank to allow cleaning access then welding a plate in place. Any suggestions?

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

If you remove the gas gauge sender, you will have a small (2") hole to work through. Perhaps you could use a small round brush(bottle brush type) to break the dirt loose (use a solvent like acetone or alcohol). You can then hand-pump out the dirt with the solvent or wrap a rag aroung the brush and suck it up.

 

[jurgenscraft]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

What I do is as follows I empty as much of the fuel that is left, out of the fuel tank I then allowed the remnants to dry over a couple of days, I then use my industrial rated vacuum cleaner to "suck" out the dried up sediment powder rattling around at the bottom of the tank.I am sure any decent home vacuum cleaner will do the same job , use the smallest / thinnest pipe attachment available. The next operation is to blow out the tank with compressed air and repeat the operation once more. when filling up the tank I use a funnel with a fine mesh screen to keep the junk out and I also run inline clear see through filters in the fuel line, this allows me to keep a eye on what is going through the fuel line to the motor , seems to work for me,<br />Regards William Wright

 

[Solittle]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

Yikkkes!! I would want any kind of vacuum cleaner sucking "stuff" out of my gas tank. The brushes on those motors ark and gas fumes and an ignition source are the ingredients for a huge bang.

 

[jurgenscraft]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

In reply to Solittle's posting.I am sure that I mentioned the fact that the tanks left for a few days to dry out completely, and here in South Africa wet and dry vacuum cleaners are availabe that have the brush area sealed off to keep them dry and water vapor free so eliminating the yikkees factor,shorting out etc, industrial vacuum cleaners follow the same design but thank you for the very valid point especially if a 1941 vacuum cleaner is being used,where these saftey designs are not built in,<br />kind regards.<br />William Wright

 

[snagroms]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

Good suggestions by everyone. I used an old primer bulb to get the last bit of liquid out. Then a 1/2 piece of pvc with a rag to initially clean the back area the thru the sender unit opening. Found a small hole in the bottom of the tank, the pickup tube screen is off and a there is lot of stuff where the rag would not reach. I can only guess what was in this thing. Bottom line, the tank is coming out for replacement. I'll be in salt water primarily and was wondering about plastic tanks versus aluminum. <br /><br />Thanks for the help.

 

[Navigator]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

Another option we've used is to remove the sending unit, clean out when we can, then dump a handfull of Stainless Steel Screws into the bottom of the tank.<br />Put on a clean fuel filter, put about 2-3 gallons in the tank (enough gas to have 3 inches of fuel in the tank.) Take the boat out for about 10 minutes and toss it about, hitting wakes and sharp turns. Pull the sending unit again, remove the remaining gas and screws and the tank should be pretty clean. The screws act like an abrasive cleaner and will remove the rest of the residue from the tank. Dont forget to change the filter since it should be pretty well clogged up.<br /><br />Nav

 

[PierBridge]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

Originally posted by Navigator:<br /> then dump a handfull of Stainless Steel Screws into the bottom of the tank.<br />Put on a clean fuel filter, put about 2-3 gallons in the tank (enough gas to have 3 inches of fuel in the tank.) <br /><br />Nav

Just did this on a friends Steel gas tank from an old jet boat that sat for 10 years and was rusted we had the option of taking the tank out and shaking it by hand so we did, it worked great.

 

[snagroms]

Re: Gas Tank Cleaning

Well I finally have the tank out after several hours of foam removal. 3 holes total in the tank. Looks like a corrosion issue with water between the foam and the aluminum tank with no air to dry out. Will have to get a new tank and go from there, darn.<br /><br />Anyone know of a tank builders in the Houston area. The stock tanks that will fit my boat are only 40 gallons or so! Looking to go a little bigger (can't beleive I'm saying that @ $2 a gallon)! Would love to find a plastic belly tank but getting the correct size may be a problem.