gas tank slime

[sportfire1961]

I have a plastic gas tank and I have read about varnish and gunk from old gas burning engines up. What should I use to clean this sludge out? I have tried soapy water, and mineral spirits, not at the same time, and neither one worked.
Mike

[harleysportster]

sportfire1961,
You will need to remove the tank and power wash it. If you don't have access to one, take the tank to a car wash. Place the wand inside the tank and try to spray the entire bottom, then dump it out.
At the end of every sledding season, the perferred method is to drain any remain gas out. A helpfull thing to do is mix a gas stabilizer with every tankfull. Thegas will last alot longer with the stablizer.

[JDFanPa]

Harley is right on about the car wash deal. Since I work on so many sleds usally I wait and take a couple tanks at once. Best to go at night when its not busy to avoid the strange looks. HAHA

[quadfamily]

I have a method I used on two sleds with plastic tanks that sat with gas in them for 8-10 years. Needless to say there was alot of serious sludge in these tanks. I took the tanks off and tried gasoline first and that did practically nothing. Then I tried Methanol, the stuff race car engines run on. Put about a gollon in the tank along with a length of chain. Shook the tank aggressively to let the chain do it's thing and the inside of the tank cleaned up amazingly well. Drained it and then put more methanol in it and did it again. This time the result was an absolutely perfectly clean tank on the inside. Honestly it looked like a brand new tank. I cannot imagine anything working better than this! The pressure washer method sounds good but you can't get into all the areas with one. The plastic tanks on these sleds have areas behind the glove box that is impossible to get to. That's why the chain worked for me. It can rattle around in there and get into all the area's you cannot get into with tools that reach in from the gas filler hole. Good luck in whatever method you choose.
John

[Rodimus Prime]

small round chain links work best length i use is about 8 feet 1 inch link chain. i also power wash the tanks after cleaning them with solvents.

steel tanks can be done as well but you need oven cleaner instead.

coat hanger is best methond for getting chain out btw.

[JoeRainville]

Hey Guys,

Yes, Methanol is very effective at cleaning out fuel tanks. However, straight methanol is also very, VERY poisonous to humans. I think it would only take about 10 cc's in your bloodsteam to kill you. So, if you use it, make sure you wear proper gloves and don't get it on your skin. I suggest burning the crud that come out with the methanol in a fire pit, as methanol is water soluable, and contaminates ground water easily.

As for the car wash method, a 1,000 psi water jet is pretty effective at cleaning most things of gunk. But, since my Dad owns a coin-op drive in wash in upstate NY, I am not sure how happy he would be if I recomended that one on the net, LOL!

Later guys,
-Rainville

[sportfire1961]

Hey thanks for all of the input, I tried the car wash first without much luck then the solvent and chain, you're right , that worked great. Now I just have to put it all back together and it should be fine. Thanks again, Mike

[buddyc]

Someone told me to use pinesol !!!

[JDT]

Pine Sol does work and will only set you back a couple of bucks.

Leave it set in the tank for several days and slosh it around every now and than.

Last summer I had two old sleds on the trailer at the gas station and pumped a gallon of diesel into both tanks.
These were non removeabale metal tanks that were the worst, full of crap and sludge.
I let it set in there for two months. When I drained the tanks all the stale gas smell was gone and the insides were clean.
Looked like chocolate pudding runing out the drain hole.

I got a couple of questions from people at the station.... " I did not know that some of those old sleds ran on Diesel."

[burt87]

I used Pine Sol. Pour in the whole bottle, slosh around a couple times a day for a several days. Pour out and flush with water several times and let air dry completely. It turned into a milky looking substance when in the tank but it did the job.

Good luck,
Rob

[a572mike]

I used Simple Green on my Trailfire's Tank. Let it sit, shake it around, repeat. I used a spray nozzle on the garden hose to rinse it out.

[S_Kyle]

I generally take plastic tanks to the car wash and pressure wash them out with soap/degreaser. It seems to work well but you generally will get wet so its more of a summer thing. Just move the nozzle around in side and watch for spit back.