Cleaning Rusty Gas Tank

[Jose Wales]

Spent hours here and on youtube researching how to clean the Cub tank and a lot of great suggestions. I had 8 acres to mow so I cleaned the tank with washing soda and drained then put in the vinegar and bolts. Wrapped a rug around the tank and strapped to the forks on my Kobota front end loader and mowed the 8 acres along with tilting and turning the tank over a couple of times . This works good so I thought I would share it for anyone looking for a different idea. Two birds with one stone...........

[Clemsonfor]

Yea I have heard bolts, nuts, Bbs,chains. Also heard to secure it 8n the back of your truck and ride it around for a few days.

[inairam]

I am driving back and for to work this week (70 miles round trip) with a tank form a 140 in in my trunk. About a quart of oil and a length of chain in the tank. Been repositioning the tank ever day.

[Jose Wales]

Update on the tank cleaning. I filled the tank with vinegar last week and mowed with it on the tractor forks and then rotated it daily. I had it in a tank to catch any leakage and good I did. Left the sediment bowl on because I have a new one, the vinegar ate through the bowl all the vinegar drained into the tank. The tank was full of rust, used a high pressure nozzle on the hose to rinse and once the rinse was running clear it looked like new, cannot believe what came out of it. The rest of the cleaning/rinse/ pre treating/drying and red coat went good but sure glad that is finished. Used the vinegar rather than muratic acid because of the muratic fumes and would rather get vinegar on me than acid and it did work good.

[Clemsonfor]

The bowl is glass, how did the vinegar eat through it? Vinegar comes in glass bottles?

[Bob McCarty]

The bowl is glass, how did the vinegar eat through it? Vinegar comes in glass bottles?

Vinegar will dissolve the pot metal. I think that's what he meant. Years ago, Buzzardwing lost a carb doing that.

[Jose Wales]

OK guys, you got me, the pot metal dissolved not the glass, I took the glass bowl off to keep from breaking it before I started. because it was completely full of gunk and for the cost replaced instead of trying to save it, the in line filter was also full, don't know how the old girl was running. The PO had put a shut off on the fuel line because it kept flooding and he drained the carb before starting, said it was the cheap KO carb but maybe with the clean tank and lines and cleaning the carb the problem might go away. Also the air cleaner is full, the bottom cap was over half full of thick gunk also so that is the next job on the list.

[Clemsonfor]

Sounds like the air filter wasn't cleans in a few decades!!

[Gary S.]

Long time member Rick Prentice figured it out long time ago-http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18983&hilit=tank+cleaning