Cleaning the Fuel Tank

[Jon W]

Ron, Thanks for your write-up. When you cleaned your fuel tank you found pouring in acetone and swished around is all that's needed? No need to scrub/scrape the inside to clean it?

[lazybone]

Hi Paul,
You have likely figured this out already but here are some pictures of my fuel tank removal for cleaning from several years ago.  Different boats may have a different configuration but the job was surprisingly easy.  (something rarely said about boat projects! ) 
Four hoses; Fuel Fill, Fuel Vent, Fuel Pump Suction, Fuel Pump Return.  Two wires; Fuel Level Sender and Ground.  And several screws fore and aft of the tank.
Lazybone is right - it is easy to remove the tank and get it off the boat without spilling any fuel even if there are a few litres of diesel left sloshing around the bottom of the tank. 
I checked my records and I used 8 litres of Acetone, not 3 litres  as I said in my earlier post.  As I recall, I used half for a first cleaning and after shaking the tank around and dumping the acetone (it wasn't really all that dirty), I repeated the process with clean acetone.  Have a container ready to catch the used acetone

Fresh diesel fuel is an excellent cleaner and much cheaper than acetone.  Getting rid of diesel is also much easier,  just put in in to your or someone you know home heating oil tank.  Use a coffee filter or a wad of tee-shirt first.

[Ed Shankle]

Paul,
Do you know if the tank has ever been replaced? If it hasn't, you probably should give it a good inspection externally around the base, particularly the welded joints. It can develop pinhole leaks if water has been in there and not picked up by the tube or emulsified. Would be a drag to do all that work only to find the tank needs repair/replacement.
Regards,
Ed

[Noah]

Or, wait a few months and just burn it in a pit on the beach--the NEW EPA won't mind and I don't believe the USCG will have the funds to bust you either!

[lazybone]

Hysteria from California

[Ron Hill]

All : In my Mainsheet Tech note article I mentioned that the first solvent I put in the tank was alcohol to assimilate any water that may had been inside. Then I used the acetone to clean any junk from the bottom and sides and repeated that until I could pour out clean acetone on the cement driveway.

The baffle prohibits the use of a pressure washer although I did try it thru the fill pipe and the fuel gage hose - for what it might have been worth.  The acetone seemed (with an inspection mirror to do the job!!

From what Ken says - the C30 tank apparently does NOT have a baffle.

A few thoughts

[Jim Hardesty]

A little off subject.  I've been thinking of making a fuel polisher.  Using a like electric fuel pump, and whatever economical filter.  I think a dip tube into the fuel gauge plate to get to the tank bottom and a return to the top.  I think using this when the boat is still on the hard and the fuel has settled for the off season would work very well.
Has anybody made one?  Parts? and Cost?
Jim

[Ron Hill]

Jim : Don't try to "reinvent the wheel" look in the Mainsheet tech notes.
 
Both Hank Recla and Bill Nuttall have written articles on the "Fuel Polisher" that they made!!

A thought

[britinusa]

Thanks everyone.
Ron, great write up. http://www.c34.org/projects/projects-fuel-tank-cleaning-sender-replacement.html

With 2 spare filters onboard, we just completed a 100mile cruise to biscayne bay  and have an accumulation of tank debris in the bowl.
Watching the fuel flow in the bowl, I could see the particulates swirling around and eventually settling on the bottom.
I checked the bowl regularly but the accumulation was slow.

I'll follow Ron process taking lots a pics. I had previously replaced the non functioning sender with the magnetic model who has worked great.
Down to 50% fuel Guage level, which should be something around 12 gallons of fuel in the tsnk.
I hope to be able to collect the goop .
We have a local gov. Drop off for dirty fuel & oil, so that won't be an issue.

? The return hose should be clean, but the tank to filter hose not so. I'll probably replace it.

Any idea how much the rank weighs empty?

Tia.

Paul

[Ron Hill]

Paul : The tank empty (with some residual fuel you can't get out) is only about 15 lbs??  Not very heavy!!

[britinusa]

15lbs - great - easy peasy

The tank is #5 in my project list.

Paul

[Indian Falls]

My tank has baffles.  I siphoned the tank empty with it's own fuel lines into a 5 gal diesel can in the head.
I then emptied the rest by shaking upside down into a tray.  Then I put a gallon of simple green in the tank and put the tank in the back of my truck for most of the winter driving all over Western NY Pennsylvania and Ohio for work.  Rinsed with water and then rinsed with a 1 gal pot of boiling water twice.  Left it in the sun to dry.  Clean as a whistle. 

[britinusa]

My tank has baffles.  I siphoned the tank empty with it's own fuel lines into a 5 gal diesel can in the head.
I then emptied the rest by shaking upside down into a tray.  Then I put a gallon of simple green in the tank and put the tank in the back of my truck for most of the winter driving all over Western NY Pennsylvania and Ohio for work.  Rinsed with water and then rinsed with a 1 gal pot of boiling water twice.  Left it in the sun to dry.  Clean as a whistle.

That method sounds good and I have family in Ohio!   


Paul

[britinusa]

Update.
Looks like it was a good decision to pull the tank for cleaning.

While looking at how to disconnect the fuel fill hose at the tank, I found that the hose has hundreds of splits around the outer cover and one along the cover about 8" from the tank.

Cleaned out the tank as Indian Falls suggested (just drove around locally - kidding!)

I found a lot of grit in the tank, a few chunks of jello-ish stuff, but mostly grit from can't see individual specs up to about 1/2" They're in the bottle that is settling right now.

In the morning I'm going to get the fuel hose and a big jug of sea Foam to washout the tank which has the residue from the simple green.

Paul

[britinusa]

Fuel Hose. 1 1/2" Internal Diameter, Diesel Below Deck.

Didn't realize there would be such wide range of types that cover those simple requirements.

Any recommendations?

Paul