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ebonyandivory
ebonyandivory UltraDork
12/20/16 9:45 a.m.
smokindav wrote: Electrolysis and I'm not going to say it again. :) You don't need to use a handful of washers, nuts and bolt or gravel.

It's scaly rust along with varnish-goo.

Using a 12v/6v batttery charger, how would you set up electrolysis?

(Im going to look up in the thread to see you already mentioned how)

gearheadmb
gearheadmb Dork
12/20/16 9:52 a.m.
Trans_Maro wrote:
gearheadmb wrote:
Trans_Maro wrote: Apple cider vinegar and some rocks. Wrap it in a couple blankets and toss in the dryer on no heat.
DO NOT PUT AN OLD FUEL TANK IN YOUR WIFES DRYER! I tried to heat up a connecting rod in our oven once to install a press fit wrist pin. It got all smoky and smelly. Not just the oven, the whole apartment. My wife got pretty upset.
What part of "no heat" did you miss?

I got the no heat, i just know that in my experience it's best to keep my project car stuff away from my wife's house stuff. Even if no harm is done. She wouldn't appreciate a transmission torn apart in the bathtub either. Agitating the tank by hand is worth the extra effort.

Wayslow
Wayslow HalfDork
12/20/16 9:58 a.m.
gearheadmb wrote:
Trans_Maro wrote:
gearheadmb wrote:
Trans_Maro wrote: Apple cider vinegar and some rocks. Wrap it in a couple blankets and toss in the dryer on no heat.
DO NOT PUT AN OLD FUEL TANK IN YOUR WIFES DRYER! I tried to heat up a connecting rod in our oven once to install a press fit wrist pin. It got all smoky and smelly. Not just the oven, the whole apartment. My wife got pretty upset.
What part of "no heat" did you miss?
I got the no heat, i just know that in my experience it's best to keep my project car stuff away from my wife's house stuff. Even if no harm is done. She wouldn't appreciate a transmission torn apart in the bathtub either. Agitating the tank by hand is worth the extra effort.

I got caught using the dishwasher as a parts cleaner once. FYI the right answer to her question was not "I thought you were going to be gone longer".

gearheadmb
gearheadmb Dork
12/20/16 10:27 a.m.

In reply to Wayslow:

How did it do? I have an extra dishwasher sitting around. I could set it up in garage.

smokindav
smokindav New Reader
12/20/16 11:56 a.m.

I posted a link earlier. You make a solution of washing soda and water, suspend a metal rod into the solution into the tank - the rod must not touch the edges of the tank. Clamp one lead of battery charger to iron rod. Set tank on pieces of wood or otherwise isolate so it can't ground - especially important if you are working on a metal work bench or table. Clamp other lead to tank. Plug in battery charger. It took about two days and I had to change the solution once. The end result is a tank that looks brand new inside and a rusty nasty iron rod.

ebonyandivory wrote:
smokindav wrote: Electrolysis and I'm not going to say it again. :) You don't need to use a handful of washers, nuts and bolt or gravel.
It's scaly rust along with varnish-goo. Using a 12v/6v batttery charger, how would you set up electrolysis? (Im going to look up in the thread to see you already mentioned how)
ebonyandivory
ebonyandivory UltraDork
1/19/17 7:48 p.m.

Wanted to follow up with a before and after using nothing but white vinegar and about a week of soaking:

[URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/IMG_4723.jpg.html][/URL]

[URL=http://s265.photobucket.com/user/derekrichardson/media/IMG_4981_1.jpg.html][/URL]

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
1/24/17 9:21 a.m.

Ok, this is a stupid question...

Does varnishing affect performance? Does it ever break loose and get in the fuel, etc?

It always looks to be like a fairly permanent discoloration that would be kind of inert. Wrong?

Knurled
Knurled MegaDork
1/24/17 11:59 a.m.
SVreX wrote: Ok, this is a stupid question... Does varnishing affect performance? Does it ever break loose and get in the fuel, etc? It always looks to be like a fairly permanent discoloration that would be kind of inert. Wrong?

Varnish is what's left over from fuel after all of the good stuff evaporates away. Thus when you put fresh fuel in it, if there is still varnish in the tank, the new fuel will start to dissolve the varnish, which makes the fresh fuel not so fresh.

This is actually not a bad thing if you use the car regularly, constantly exchanging the fuel with fresh fuel. On the other hand, we had a 280ZX here that sat for a long time. Put fresh fuel in it and it would start and run fine. After a week, it pulled enough varnish from the tank that cold starts were iffy. After a month you had to drain and refill the tank as the fuel now had the characteristics of kerosene.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
1/24/17 12:00 p.m.

In reply to Knurled:

Makes sense. Thx

Knurled
Knurled MegaDork
1/24/17 5:30 p.m.

And now I remember how "fun" that car could be if we had to move it on the old fuel. You could pull the plugs and preheat them with a torch, or just crank it as-is so you foul them and have to pull them anyway. An oxidizing flame cleans spark plugs right up, just make sure to not apply so much heat that the ceramic starts to glow, at that point the plugs are ruined. Put the hot plugs back in and maybe it'd fire, maybe not...

ultraclyde
ultraclyde PowerDork
7/27/17 8:06 a.m.

I have a couple 6 gallon metal outboard tanks I should do this to over the winter and then actually fix the gasket leaks around the gauges/connections. They were original to my '73 boat and were still in use when I bought it last year.

ebonyandivory
ebonyandivory UberDork
7/27/17 9:03 a.m.

Photobucket sucks.

Emptied my tank last night to replace the petcock and the inside is still looking new and shiny! It's been several months since the vinegar treatment and I'm very happy about the $4 I spent!

Photobucket sucks

iceracer
iceracer UltimaDork
7/27/17 2:07 p.m.

I recall that lye was used to clean outboard motor tanks when the gas was left in it to long. At least I think it was.

Jerry From LA
Jerry From LA SuperDork
7/27/17 4:40 p.m.

I wonder if the electrolysis process could be improved by using galvanized steel plumber's tape.

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