Fuel tank sludge

[gollane]

Can anyone recommend a suitable method of getting rid of the black goo left in my tank by stale fuel.

Ta

[Darren Groves]

I have used POR15 Cleaner Degreaser (previously known as Marine Clean), Frost sell this as part of a Tank Repair Kit or on it's own. Always worked well for me, though I usually use a very hot jet wash before hand.

 

http://www.frost.co.uk/cleaner-degreaser-por15-marine-clean.html

 

Darren

[Pete Lewis]

Have you tried clean petrol

 

is the tank fitted or ..out and what car ??

 

just googled and theres some interesting idea, s

heres one thread

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-to-dissolve-old-gas-varnish.191335/

 

 

pete

[gollane]

Thanks for the link,the tank out of the GT6 mk 3,the deposit is black and gooey .This after 12months off the road .

 I'll try new petrol when I have unblocked the outlet,it really is quite a mess.

[dougbgt6]

I used strimmer plastic cord to dyno-rod the fuel line, worked very well.

[Pete Lewis]

I wonder of white spirit would work , less volatile than petrol/ thinners and dispose mixed in old engine oil

at the tidy tip.

[Colin Lindsay]

I wonder of white spirit would work , less volatile than petrol/ thinners and dispose mixed in old engine oil

at the tidy tip.

 

Same as I do with old petrol.

The former method used to rattle the windows and rearrange my hair a bit... but that was back in the 1990s....

Disposal of substances is now becoming a problem; the painters have left me a dozen empty tubs of white masonry paint that no-one wants to take from me....

[Pete Lewis]

ours takes paint if you leave the lid off and let it go solid

 

but if they are empty whats the problem  its just a tin or plastic tub 

 

making some household diy things difficult to dispose will end up with fly tipping ....  shame 

 

Pete

[dougbgt6]

My local dump now charges for old tubs and removed tiles. The charge, imposed by the borough council, goes towards "correct disposal and saves the environment". The reality is residents now put this stuff in the bottom of  the kitchen bin liner, one tub and one tile a week.  It won't rot down in land fill and has the exact opposite effect the council supposedly intended. The real purpose is to squeeze more cash out of us without raising the council tax.

 

We now have brown wheely bins, hired at £50 a year from the council for garden waste, which used to be taken away for free, but they still say they haven't put the council tax up. What happens? Residents fly tip their grass cuttings on the woodland path out the back of our estate.

 

Thread drift rant over.

[Pete Lewis]

back to it all goes in the black one 

 

they started the brown bin lark and wanted to charge but it got thrown out by the opposition  who ever they are.

 

pot hole filling died this year , and if they close a road for grass mowing  or a surprise tarmacing they only tell you when your at the block with nowhere to turn around and a 5 mile de tour you could have saved with some early warning

bring on the revolution, i think all politics and councils are now totally out of touch with reality , all in their own little power struggles.

 

pete

[Colin Lindsay]

I was in the local Council Office recently and couldn't believe the luxury or the grandeur. A lot of the decor and the paintings are all newly purchased and I'm looking at my rates and taxes going on cups saucers and biscuits for the hob-nobs.

[dougbgt6]

I thought hob-nobs WERE biscuits?   

[gollane]

I considered drain cleaner but locally it comes as gel in 500ml bottles not practical to circulate around the tank.

So plan B caustic soda,I added 500gms  to 5 litres of water threw a few stones into the tank and agigated it for

about 10 mins. and when it had cooled down about another 10 mins emptied it into 25lt old water carrier for later disposal 

at our local centre(hope they take it)

Repeated the procedure and now the tank is really clean inside.

On each treatment I thoroughly rinsed it with water to stop any future corrosive action.

 

If you decide to try this wear protective clothing,gloves and eye protection.

[Unkel Kunkel]

Good morning,Gollane - or perhaps "Moghrey mie,Gollane"? - for the benefit of those on the adjacent Isle, it is Manx.

The sodium hydroxide worked which is interesting.As you point out, a really serious potential for skin burns and eye problems can be disaster.

The solvents in general ,don't seem so successful

 

The general answer may be with detergents rather than solvents , especially when you consider that is what they put in petrol to lessen Gumming up.

On the detergent rather than solvent approach , I see someone was succesful with Comma Manista and a variety of brushes and success claimed from use Ariel washing powder.

Incidentally, After hours of carb. cleaning from failure to drain off fuel from 2 mowers in winter storage,I now put tiny amount of Shell Advanced fuel additive in the tank- no problems.The motorbikers use it to prevent gumming up of their stored steads and also users of garden machinery

Gollane,you can buy it at Eden Park Garden centre in Douglas

[gollane]

Fastyr mie,or good evening Vanadium 23, not bad for a stopover!  .Thanks for the info,well worth looking into should this horror crop up again.I've always drained my bikes in the 'off season' but have so far got away with it on my mower.

 

I've been dormant for a while on the forum, not really a newbie ,been a member for 27 years.