New boater! New boat! Need help!

Hey Team,

Just bought a 16 foot Crestliner tin boat. I had a boat for two years about 5 years ago but it was an inboard motor. Still new! Still trying to learn! Your expertise is appreciated.

1. I have an old metal gas tank that was stored outdoors. I want to clean the inside of it so it has no debris or old fuel build up before hooking it up to my motor. What's the best way to do so?

Thanks in advance!

 

2. I know the big tube is for filling with gas. What are the two little ones? Ones a vent and one goes to the motor, but which is which?

 

I like to dry the inside of the fuel cans to perfection. Then fill the can with small metal objects like washers and screws. Like 100 pieces.. Close it, and start shaking and moving the can around. You can get quite a bit of surface rust off a can this way.

not to be done with gas as a spark would be bad

 

Do you just use water with the washers?

I'm worried if I don't get 100% of the debris out of there that some of it will go through my motor and mess it up.

 

You'll need a good quality fuel filter anyway, this will pick-up any debris left after your cleaning.
Flushing with fuel once cleaned can help the effort too.
Just be careful as you're dealing with a potentially explosive situation.

Oh, and the vent comes off the top of the tank while the main fuel draw will come from near the bottom of the tank.
EDIT: I wasn't very clear, the fitting is on top but runs down a pipe to near the bottom on the inside.

And... welcome to the Forum.

 

Just remove all the metal parts, blow the can out with compressed air.

No water!

Rinse it once with about a cup of fuel.

 

Thank you so much guys, really appreciate it. Means a lot. Went from feeling so lost to feeling slightly confident Haha

So is the top one the vent or the one that goes to the motor?

 

There's a lot of crap in here....

Should I swish the nuts and bolts around in fuel or just dry? Seems like it would be better with liquid to help.




Also, would seafoam help? Never used it before

 

No gas and clanging metal! You can use a screwdriver at the top a bit...

vent is 5/8" id hose

big one is fill

other one is supply

 

Ok awesome. So swish with metal. Then when it's clean do the same with gas. If it's still dirty after that then just repeat both steps?

Is the ID hose the one with the plastic cap?

 

If the tank is too far gone; all the cleaning under the sun won't help it. But you won't know unless you try.

 

It seems solid. No rust on the bottom. Still has all the paint. No soft spots. Like it'll hold gas.

Just dirty on the inside.

 

Use MEK or acetone if varnished badly. My technique is for surfsce rust.

Just pour a quart of mek in there and swish it around a bunch and let it sit overnite. You can reused the solvent after removing settle solids; perhaps try a coffee
filter. It may take several quarts to clean bad varnish.

 

The right hand fitting with the 90 degree fitting is the draw as FG covered
Depending on where the tank was wrt to the motor, (elevation wise) the draw fittings might contain an anti siphon check valve.
This is to restrict fuel siphoning into the bilge if a fire has occurred and melted the hose. When you take off the draw line hose, just have a look into the straight fitting, or very gently push something like a tie wrap GENTLY into the inlet to see if the pathway is clear. Often on old tanks, the check valve can accumulate crud and restrict fuel flow.


Attached is a very good youtube video on the process

Some other pertinent points
The clamps that you use need to be marine type. Most automotive clamps will use a stainless band but a plated screw which will rust over time
Two clamps are required on the filler hose at each joint, to the tank and the filler fitting on the hull
The pick up tube maybe in good shape or not and without taking it out, you will not know for sure. Removal can be difficult as the fittings can seize up. I am assuming that the tank is aluminum so removal of the 90 degree fitting may damage the aluminum fitting that is welded to the tank.
The tank fitting location is supposed to be accessible so I would not take it out unless you cannot get fuel out of the tank and you should be able to get to it.

Taking a closer look, perhaps the tank is steel which has been hot dipped plated. If so,
AFTER THE TANK HAS BEEN CLEANED AND PURGED, IE NO RESIDUAL FUMES
I would look very carefully for rust on the inside through the fill pipe. If it has a lot of rust the tank may be unserviceable.

 

Lots of great information thanks so much guys. I'm still going to clean this tank and see what happens. It was 20 bucks so I took a flyer on it. And it was put of town so I wasn't driving back to get it.

Would it be easier to try and convert this guy into a bot tank? It's only ever held gas. Maybe add a hole and run a fuel line or something?