How to clean tank ?

[waterworks]

I have a 102 with brass tank which is full of verdigris, how do I clean it out ?

Any chemicals that will do it?

[andrew]

A common question with these old tanks and from what I can tell no single ‘right’ answer. There are lots of suggestions online for cleaning out old motorcycle tanks which could also apply here.

Usually the cleaning process for me starts with a good degreaser, then onto removing the built up crud.

I’ve had decent success filling with vinegar and as much salt as it can take. Handful of something like loose nuts/bolts/gravel added for friction and a cycle of shaking and resting several times. And obviously a good rinse at the end with some sort of kerosene/petrol/diesel making sure to get all the loose pieces back out.

I’m sure others have their own approach and there are several threads on the forum discussing this topic, available via the search function.

[Oyster 49]

This is what I do.
Remove the fuel tap and blank off the hole with an old fuel tap, or a bolt.
Fill with paraffin and leave overnight.
put a couple of handfuls of clean pea gravel in the tank.
Shake it, repeat, then shake some more. Keep doing this.
Remove gravel and wash out with washing up liquid and water.
Fill with a caustic solution. Caustic soda crystals/powder can be bought at a DIY store.
Leave to soak.

Then drain and wash out all the caustic solution. Inspect and see how it looks.

[Gilmore1]

Try 10% cleaning vinegar , fill it up and leave it for a few days .
Eddie

[Collector Inspector]

Dry it out. Fill with mix. A few marbles. Use the motor with external inline filter.

Three tanks and all good aye.

B

[waterworks]

I have boiled it out with citric acid and shaken it up with copper nails inside, it's not going to be practical to clean it this way, has anyone tried epoxy fuel tank lining ?

[andrew]

Is the tank leaking (pinholes etc)?

[Collector Inspector]

Goodness me

It takes many years of sitting with fuel to make any fuel tank an absolute mess so....quick fix aint going to cut it.

Get a bit of endeavour and soak in something like vinerger or acetone.....fill it up and come back every two weeks later to check.

Bad things over time and corrected over time.

B

]

[waterworks]

I used this method in the end, I cut up a load of thick copper wire into a polishing media similar to pins, added a bit of degreaser and every time I'm waiting for the kettle to boil in the workshop I gave it a good shaking, its removed all the flaky crud and it's getting back to clean brass inside. Job done.

[waterworks]

I used this method in the end, I cut up a load of thick copper wire into a polishing media similar to pins, added a bit of degreaser and every time I'm waiting for the kettle to boil in the workshop I gave it a good shaking, its removed all the flaky crud and it's getting back to clean brass inside. Job done.

[Collector Inspector]

Good job!

B