So I posted something last weekend and had a bunch of people ask me about it so I thought I would make a little how to on cleaning out a fuel tank that has been sitting for years.
With our tanks being metal they will rust if you don't keep them full of fuel. Air gets in and the water vapor will cause it to rust. Normally it's very slow over time and the filter takes care of it but if you let the vehicle sit for years it can become covered in rust.
I use the electrolysis method as it uses no expensive chemicals and pretty much anyone can do it at home with very minimal effort. Sure there are faster ways using chemicals but this is cheap and easy.
You will need some arm and hammer washing powder, some old metal rods and an old style battery charger. If you only have one of the new fancy battery chargers then you can still do this by taking the battery from the truck and using it with the charger keeping the battery topped off.
Here are some pictures of the tank and the setup. You will connect the negative side to the tank, the positive side to the piece of metal, fill the tank with water and washing powder. The positively charged rod cannot make contact with the tank, it needs to be in the water without touching the actual tank. I used a furniture clamp with rubber ends to hold it and isolate it.
Just let it slowly work it's magic and it will boil the rust off and collect it to the metal. You will need to change out the metal several times (think 50+) if you tank is as nasty as this one.
When you pull the rod out a few hours later it will be covered, just swap it out and then when the rust covered one is dry grind the rust off and be ready to swap them back. After a few days you will have a tank ready to go back in. i tend to use a drink can with the top cut off to skim the top of the water when i change the rod. the rust floating on top can be collected that way and then just top the water back off as needed.
I will post updates as this goes and give everyone an idea of how long they can expect a process like this to take.i am not checking the rods as often as i should so i expect a week or longer.
With our tanks being metal they will rust if you don't keep them full of fuel. Air gets in and the water vapor will cause it to rust. Normally it's very slow over time and the filter takes care of it but if you let the vehicle sit for years it can become covered in rust.
I use the electrolysis method as it uses no expensive chemicals and pretty much anyone can do it at home with very minimal effort. Sure there are faster ways using chemicals but this is cheap and easy.
You will need some arm and hammer washing powder, some old metal rods and an old style battery charger. If you only have one of the new fancy battery chargers then you can still do this by taking the battery from the truck and using it with the charger keeping the battery topped off.
Here are some pictures of the tank and the setup. You will connect the negative side to the tank, the positive side to the piece of metal, fill the tank with water and washing powder. The positively charged rod cannot make contact with the tank, it needs to be in the water without touching the actual tank. I used a furniture clamp with rubber ends to hold it and isolate it.
Just let it slowly work it's magic and it will boil the rust off and collect it to the metal. You will need to change out the metal several times (think 50+) if you tank is as nasty as this one.
When you pull the rod out a few hours later it will be covered, just swap it out and then when the rust covered one is dry grind the rust off and be ready to swap them back. After a few days you will have a tank ready to go back in. i tend to use a drink can with the top cut off to skim the top of the water when i change the rod. the rust floating on top can be collected that way and then just top the water back off as needed.
I will post updates as this goes and give everyone an idea of how long they can expect a process like this to take.i am not checking the rods as often as i should so i expect a week or longer.
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