Author Topic: Gummie steel fuel tank (Read 4074 times)

tom creasey · « **on:** September 03, 2015, 07:07:19 PM »

Any ideas on cleaning out the inside of a tank that has gummie fuel inside of it. Fuel was left inside of it. Put in red fuel and comes out brown. Muric acid ? carb cleaner? Can't remove it from the airplane. Airplane givin to me to fly in the Ringmaster fly-a-thon in October. It is a Super Ringmaster. Got it all cleaned up and it looks super. I need to get that tank cleaned out. Thank you

Tim Wescott · « **Reply #1 on:** September 03, 2015, 07:12:24 PM »

If it's coming out in the fuel then it's soluble still. I'd rinse the tank out with rubbing alcohol several times.

If it's turning red fuel brown there may be significant corrosion -- I'm not sure what you want to do with that supposition other than to take it into consideration when you go fly.

Put in a flight for me -- I'm going to be on business travel over that weekend and there's a good chance that I won't be able to put in a flight.

tom creasey · « **Reply #2 on:** September 03, 2015, 08:43:35 PM »

Quote from: Tim Wescott on September 03, 2015, 07:12:24 PM

If it's coming out in the fuel then it's soluble still. I'd rinse the tank out with rubbing alcohol several times.

If it's turning red fuel brown there may be significant corrosion -- I'm not sure what you want to do with that supposition other than to take it into consideration when you go fly.

Put in a flight for me -- I'm going to be on business travel over that weekend and there's a good chance that I won't be able to put in a flight.

Had a buddy say flush it with acetone and install good 2 stage filter.....then go fly......You bet Tim....I will fly a pattern lap for you buddy.

Air Ministry . · « **Reply #3 on:** September 03, 2015, 08:55:51 PM »

Cut an inch off two tanks thatd been sitting a few years the other day , coagulated castor in them .

Another a while back had rotted out , was a waste of space , tho no alternative to using it , at the time .

Often squirt a bit of C.R.C. or WD 40 in them , on lay up .

New tanks ive found arnt consistant for the first few runs , even rinsed in methanol ,
but if flushed with fuel , prior to first flight - they dial in fine , from the start .

Probly best to Jump on It . Saves a lot of agravation prevarication & maybe an aeroplane .

Phil Krankowski · « **Reply #4 on:** September 03, 2015, 09:07:24 PM »

I've had good luck filling them with denatured alcohol, dropping the tank into a jar of denatured alcohol, then about a week, or a month later flushing them with alcohol and later fuel. It is pretty amazing how much yuck comes out.

Unsoldering an end on a hotplate then cleaning is another choice, but then you need to put the tank back together...

Phil

Bill Johnson · « **Reply #5 on:** September 04, 2015, 07:06:46 AM »

Quote from: Tim Wescott on September 03, 2015, 07:12:24 PM

If it's coming out in the fuel then it's soluble still. I'd rinse the tank out with rubbing alcohol several times.

If it's turning red fuel brown there may be significant corrosion -- I'm not sure what you want to do with that supposition other than to take it into consideration when you go fly.

Put in a flight for me -- I'm going to be on business travel over that weekend and there's a good chance that I won't be able to put in a flight.

I take it the same way: What's inside is soluble. I'd recommend denatured alcohol over rubbing alcohol. It's a much better solvent. I've used it on several old, old tanks I've collected recently and after I shoot a little Kroil into them and cap for storage.

Not sure what corrosion could be present. Tin is pretty resistant to corrosion but the tubing inside may not be so much.

Flush it, install filter and fly!

Bill Little · « **Reply #6 on:** September 04, 2015, 06:24:39 PM »

I have used bout everything to clean out tanks. Now I take off the rear cap, plug all the tubes and fill about 3/4 full with cheap lacquer thinner. Let it soak a good while and it comes out fine. then some fuel, slosh it around and dry it well.

Bill

RknRusty · « **Reply #7 on:** September 04, 2015, 09:31:53 PM »

Brake parts cleaner has worked pretty well for me. I fill it 1/4 full and give it a good shake. Rinse and repeat. And a good filter, of course.
Rusty

GregArdill · « **Reply #8 on:** September 04, 2015, 11:12:20 PM »

Put the tank on a nice big fire, any congealed mess will be gone very quickly.

Steve Helmick · « **Reply #9 on:** September 05, 2015, 12:07:37 AM »

Since the tank is inside a "perfectly good" airplane, I'd be careful what I got too close to the finish. I'd look at Naptha. Lots of folks who finish with butyrate dope use it to clean their planes between coats. NOT next to the furnace or water heater!

Steve

RknRusty · « **Reply #10 on:** September 05, 2015, 08:10:14 PM »

Is Naptha the same thing as Coleman fuel?

Dan McEntee · « **Reply #11 on:** September 05, 2015, 09:38:55 PM »

This may sound crazy, but give white vinegar a try. I use white vinegar to clean out old vintage dirt bike gas tanks. They are usually contaminated with congealed grunge and surface rust. White vinegar removes both. Needs several days or more to do the job, and on m/c gas tanks, you have the option of adding a hand full of fish tank gravel to slosh around now and then to help scrub the tank sides. Model fuel tanks are much small, naturally, and you can't add anything to help scrub the sides. But tin tanks will get some surface rust on the inside also, and the vinegar will cut this also. Fill about three quarters full, shake it around every now and then, flush out and refill. Repeat until it comes out clean. Then fill with fresh fuel and slosh around. The advantage of vinegar is it won't bother yous skin, or the finish on a bike tank or your airplane, but has enough acid in it to cut the stuff in the tank.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee

Steve Helmick · « **Reply #12 on:** September 05, 2015, 09:55:33 PM »

Quote from: RknRusty on September 05, 2015, 08:10:14 PM

Is Naptha the same thing as Coleman fuel?

No...Naptha is the major ingredient (at least, if not sole) of Ronson Lighter Fluid. I used some just today to remove store barcode labels from PVC pipe caps. Didn't affect the plastic at all, but then I have no idea what would damage PVC. But I know that acetone or lacquer thinner would eat nitrate or butyrate dope in a flash, and some say denatured alcohol is worse than nitro. As for rubbing alcohol...it's isopropyl alcohol and water, often 10% water. Not what I'd put in a metal fuel tank.

Steve

Motorman · « **Reply #13 on:** September 05, 2015, 10:23:27 PM »

Castrol Super Clean melts dried up castor. Let it soak longer for thicker deposits. Works every time.

MM

Bill Johnson · « **Reply #14 on:** September 06, 2015, 08:25:53 AM »

Quote from: Steve Helmick on September 05, 2015, 09:55:33 PM

No...Naptha is the major ingredient (at least, if not sole) of Ronson Lighter Fluid. I used some just today to remove store barcode labels from PVC pipe caps. Didn't affect the plastic at all, but then I have no idea what would damage PVC. But I know that acetone or lacquer thinner would eat nitrate or butyrate dope in a flash, and some say denatured alcohol is worse than nitro. As for rubbing alcohol...it's isopropyl alcohol and water, often 10% water. Not what I'd put in a metal fuel tank. Steve

Aliphatic naphtha is a good, slow evaporating cleaner/solvent. It can be safely used on just about any plastic or paint.

Denatured alcohol is a very effective solvent, which is why I recommended it to clean out the tank. Yes, it will attack some finishes, to include butyrate dope, but it's very effective in removing oil/fuel. I just used it to clean the wood on an ARF Vector that broke in half during an inadvertent inverted landing. Sprayed on until it's running off with the oil/fuel, then blown dry with compressed air, it evaporated so fast that no damage was done to the finished areas at all. It's the most common cleaning agent used on full size aircraft because it's so effective and doesn't bother normal enamels and epoxy finishes.

I like the vinegar idea! While maybe not useful in Phil's situation, I have a bunch of old tanks I've collected and I think I'll dump them all in a coffee can with vinegar for a week and see what happens. Being mildy acidic, it should work good but will cause hydrogen embrittlement in copper / copper-based alloys over time.

bob whitney · « **Reply #15 on:** September 06, 2015, 11:18:15 AM »

Quote from: Dan McEntee on September 05, 2015, 09:38:55 PM

This may sound crazy, but give white vinegar a try. I use white vinegar to clean out old vintage dirt bike gas tanks. They are usually contaminated with congealed grunge and surface rust. White vinegar removes both. Needs several days or more to do the job, and on m/c gas tanks, you have the option of adding a hand full of fish tank gravel to slosh around now and then to help scrub the tank sides. Model fuel tanks are much small, naturally, and you can't add anything to help scrub the sides. But tin tanks will get some surface rust on the inside also, and the vinegar will cut this also. Fill about three quarters full, shake it around every now and then, flush out and refill. Repeat until it comes out clean. Then fill with fresh fuel and slosh around. The advantage of vinegar is it won't bother yous skin, or the finish on a bike tank or your airplane, but has enough acid in it to cut the stuff in the tank.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee Dan, i got a hold of a 1983 Honda Fat Cat for chasing FF's the tank was total rust on the inside .got some stuff they use to clean the rust off of the side of a house from well water from ACE hardware . dumped it in the tank and filled it with water ,let it sit over night and the next day after flushing three or 4 times it was spotless no signs of rust ,that was a year ago and still no rust.

Tim Wescott · « **Reply #16 on:** September 06, 2015, 02:51:47 PM »

Tom, do you have enough conflicting advise yet? If we put our thinking caps on we could probably come up with some more.

(I still like my rubbing alcohol idea, because I've used it for cleaning up engines before and it works -- Steve has a good point, though, so I would probably make it a point to immediately run some fuel through the tank, either to wash out the dregs of the alcohol, or to make sure the engine runs, or both).

Bill Johnson · « **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2015, 04:41:18 AM »

Quote from: Tim Wescott on September 06, 2015, 02:51:47 PM

Tom, do you have enough conflicting advise yet? If we put our thinking caps on we could probably come up with some more.

Then there's pure grain alcohol. My buddy swears it'll take the hide off a mule so it should clean that tank out.

Tim Wescott · « **Reply #18 on:** September 07, 2015, 12:20:54 PM »

Quote from: Bill Johnson on September 07, 2015, 04:41:18 AM

Then there's pure grain alcohol. My buddy swears it'll take the hide off a mule so it should clean that tank out.

And if it doesn't work you can mix whatever you haven't used yet in orange juice and console yourself in your failure.

Dennis Toth · « **Reply #19 on:** September 20, 2015, 04:00:08 PM »

Tom,
I think you could use the denatured alcohol (which is ethanol with methanol mixed in so you can't drink it) or even old fuel. Fill the tank through the pickup tube about 1/4 cap the vents and pickup lines. Shake the plane around, let it sit a few minutes then shake again. Uncap a vent and pull the fuel out with a hypo fuel syringe through the pickup line, it will likely be brownish color. Repeat the process until the tank empties clear.

Do one last rinse with fuel, put in a good fuel filter and you should be ready to fly. Check the fuel filter after the first couple flights, flush as needed. If you find a lot of crud in the filter do a couple flushes till it again comes out clear.

Best, DennisT