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Ive just acquired an unloved Triumph Bonneville T120. Its almost 5 yrs old and has done 1200 miles.its not been ridden in at least the past 24 months.
The fuel tank is steel and as its been about 1/4 full, the process of warming up amd cooling down has allowed damp air into the tank and there is some surface rust in the tank.
There is good access into the tank from underneath and 3 levels of filtration for the fuel to the pump.
So how do i tackle this? Im thinking syphon the tank empty, invert and remove fuel pump and wipe out and small amounts of petrol remaining. The dry tank with compressed air and maybe hoover it out after im certain no vapour remains inside?
Any thiughts or advice? There is a replacable canister filter which i will swap and 2 levels of gauze that can be cleaned too.
Thanks
Ian
Remove the tank.
Fill it with water to ensure there is no petrol/vapour in it.
Empty the water and dry with warm air (hair dryer)
Start whatever cleaning etc you want to do
Allen Millyard, and others, recommend a mixture of molasses and water and leave for a few days.
Don’t vacuum whilst there is any possibility of any petrol vapour left in the tank. Some vacuum cleaners cool the motor by drawing sucked up air through it…. There have been documented cases of fuel vapour igniting in the cleaner.
I'd suggest filling with water and some degreaser of sorts and then run it full and allow to overflow. Leave to overflow for a few minutes and then drain, allow to air dry for a day and the hair dryer on cool...
My thinking (based on absolutely no experience of this) is to fill available.space and force any vapour out and the overflowing will help rinse any remaining petrol out. Allow to air dry gets rid of any vapour and the cool air hopefully shifts the remaining moisture.
Liking the molasses tip!
[s]Don’t[/s] vacuum whilst there is any possibility of any petrol vapour left in the tank. Some vacuum cleaners cool the motor by drawing sucked up air through it…. There have been documented cases of fuel vapour igniting in the cleaner so make sure you film the results.
FTFY
Let it dry out, add some dry sand and block the filling and exit hole then shake around a bit to remove any rust spots then thoroughly wash out and dry again?
I'm not a mechanic or anything so it might not work!
All, this is great help. Thanks
Ian
Remove tank, put some small nuts, washers and some petrol in the tank shake until you get bored/is clean. Rinse with more petrol.
Only use e5 or better to avoid more rust.
add some dry sand and block the filling and exit hole then shake around a bit to remove any rust spots then thoroughly wash out and dry again?
I’m not a mechanic or anything so it might not work!
Neither am I but I'm pretty sure sand in a tank is a very bad idea!
some small nuts, washers and some petrol in the tank shake until you get bored/is clean. Rinse with more petrol.
This sounds better.
If it's only surface rust, I wouldn't be that concerned.
If it's flaking I would be.
There are products specifically for rusted tanks if you look. Also for sealing post-treatment.
Outraged to see WCA first in with the health & safety tips - you've changed, man !
Just empty it and let it air dry. Then drop in a lit match. That will get rid of any petrol vapour 😀
I have an old bike that had LOADS of rust in the tank and I used Deox-C to clean it out. First I shook out the loose stuff, you can see that here - https://automotoav125.blogspot.com/2014/09/first-post-fun.html then filled and left as per the instructions and this post shows what came out - https://automotoav125.blogspot.com/2014/09/made-some-progress.html
It was really easy and the tank looked great inside after, I haven't got a pic of that I'm afraid
I used POR15 products from www.frost.co.uk on my Triumph Spitfire fuel tank. It helped seal some pinholes and had no issues in the 11 years from treating it until I sold the car.
If it’s only surface rust, I wouldn’t be that concerned.
+1 only worth bothering with if there is any likelyhood of rust getting to fuel pump, from then on keep it topped up with quality E5 fuel (the top price Esso & other fuels actually have zero ethanol)
Back in the day they used to hook up the exhaust to the tank, run the engine and then use a lighter to 'pop' the petrol fumes. Health and safety? Never heard of it, squire...
Bilt Hamber Deox C (basically citric acid powder, you could use that instead if you want to save money) - whack a packet of that in the tank, top up with water, and leave for a few days.
(the top price Esso & other fuels actually have zero ethanol)
(depending on where you are in the country)
Look at frost restoration products they do a couple of kits.
Checking out Deox-c thanks all!
Project Farm on YouTube do tests on various things.
One vid is molasses vs Evapo-rust.
Another is Evapo-rust and various other stuff.
I had some good results using cheap coca cola left to soak and some nuts and bolts to agitate every so often
I heard of some people attaching the tank to a cement mixer to agitate!
Second MrSparkle, I've seen that trick done, I was bricking it at the time, but it didn't go pop, more sort of a quiet umph and that was it.
Put nuts and bolts in wrap in old duvet place in cement mixer turn it on go have a cuppa