I have removed the 5 + year old diesel from my tank. I have a 5" wide access port and I'd like to clean the tank in place within reason. I cannot remove the tank without removing the motor. What's the best solution to pour in there, let sit and pump out, to break up crud and varnish? Mineral Spirits, Alcohol, other? Thank you.
Cleaning my monel diesel tank
- Thread starter GABristol29
- Start date
I used lamp oil. It is chemically similar to diesel, and no where near as volatile as some other solvents. If you can do a wipe down first using an adsorbent pad, that would get most of the crud out. The lamp oil would be a final clean.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,913
@GABristol29 there are two lines of thinking on this subject.
- Use a lighter grade of diesel such as lamp oil. Get inside the tank by adding inspection ports and wipe it down spick and span clean... Discarding of the wipes and any crud.
- Or... break down the crud with additives (enzymes) to the fuel. Stir the fuel about in the tank either by recycling the fuel through a filter and pumping it back into the tank spraying the recycled fuel about in the tank to get the crud stirred up and mixed into the fuel. Then continue recycling the tank and filtering. Changing filters as needed. Once the tank has been cycled 6 Plus times, fill with clean fuel and additives to break down any residual crud. Be ready to change your fuel filter a couple of times till the fuel is clean.
Kerosene. It has higher levels of petroleum aromatics like toluene, and xylene, more powerful solvents. In small residual it would not mess with a Diesel engine. But you will still need to scrub and wipe the tank.
I installed a suction gauge on the outlet of my Racor filter. Very helpful in monitoring the condition of the filter.
Yes, yes and yes. I did the same.. No more guessing! I cleaned the tank, cleaned the pickup tube thoroughly, removed the strainer from the pickup tube and added the vacuum gauge. Happy motor now.
A pressure washer is highly effective. That's how pros do it. Much easier for tanks that are deep, have some baffles (with a few fittings, you can works around things), or other limited access. No need for solvents.
@GABristol29 Normally a 5+ year old tank doesn't need cleaning just due to age. Did you buy some bad fuel? Do you find you're clogging filters frequently? If not you may be making work for yourself.
Cap'n Larry - my initial post was not as clear as it should have been. The fuel was 5 plus years old; the tank is 48 years old. Almost as old as me and I feel like I could use cleaning. Anyway, it's really not too bad, but since I drained it, I want to do what I can, within reason, to clean the tank before I refill.
I had a portable plastic tank that had some crud in it dried in the tank. I tried a few solvents to try to dissolve it but nothing seemed to work. I then tried some Acetone (small amount) and it was like magic, it dissolved the crud instantly. I then poured what I could into a mason jar. I used a rag on a paint stirrer to soak up what I couldn't pour out of the container. The container was squeaky clean, better than new after. If you could get in there with a rag and your hand to wipe it out I'd recommend that but the volatility of acetone preclude pumping it in and out and you would need a really good vapor respirator or an air pack to keep you alive. Acetone is extremely flammable, be careful.