Cleaning gas tanks?

R

Rokjok777

New member
My CD 22 has twin 20-gal tanks held in place by Seaboard and a strap and two runners screwed into the cockpit sole. It's time to clean them, I have a few questions:
How do I go about this (tips, tricks, etc)? If I remove the strainer/supply tube, what sealant do I use when re-connecting it? Do I need to remove the runners, if so how to screw them back down? Do I also want to replace the filter element in the Racor separator, if so, does it just screw out (sure is on tight...)
Thanks to all for any advice... :roll:
 
What makes you think they have to be "cleaned"?? We've got a '94 and just, out of curiosity, cleaned our tanks. They did have "stuff in them" but with our suctions where they are (yours may be lower), it was no problem. They even sat for 5 years, unused, before I bought Captain's Choice in '02 and all I did when I lit the twin 45 Hondas off for the first time, was to fill them with clean fuel and change the Racor filers. You need to be careful but not overly so. Some may disagree....

Charlie
 
My Honda dealer books say to "clean the tanks" at 200 hours.....maybe I'm going overboard? Just change the strainer, the Racor, maybe later the internal gas filter, and that's good enough?
I was 50 miles offshore last weekend and I just want to be as safe as possible...
 
Hmmmm -- 50 miles offshore would make me clean the tanks first. Les Jr. and I have been way out thar -- boat rolling around from the heavy swell and mixing up the crud in the bottom of the tanks. Voila - no engine.

So many different versions of CD tanks that it's difficult to address the prob. The ones with the higher pickups that leave an inch or two of gas in the bottom should be cleaned IMO. Not so on the later ones... I always run each tank dry in the 22, and change filters often. A tow from 50 miles out in the saltchuck ain't cheap.

Dusty (who hates oars)
 
I've had to rebed the runners in frort of my gas tanks, as they have pulled out of the deck after a few years. As long as I've had those up, I've removed the tanks and cleaned them. It's not hard. It takes about 1 Hr per tank.

It is easiest to remove both the side and front runners. The fill and vent hoses can be disconnected from the tank by hand twisting and pulling, then the tank can be removed and cleaned.

After scrubbing the tank bottom, and deck areas in way of the runners and tanks ( It's surprising how much stuff gets ground in underneath the tanks), I reinstall the hoses with no sealant, just double hose clamps. Then the tank can be put into position, and the runners reinstalled. I vacuum out the screw holes, and use 4200 in the holes and to rebed the runners. I've added 2 screws to each of the forward runners to try to reduce the pullout.
 
I just acquired an '84 Angler (Classic?) with a gas tank (probably around 20 gallons) located under the berth. The gas left in it was at least five years old. When I went to pump it out, ithere was a mucky, rusty, gunk in the gas. The brass fitting at the top was a nice fluffy green on the inside. Apparently, there has been a bit of water in there over the years.

I'm ready to tackle cleaning the tank, but haven't done it before. Should I remove it from the boat? It's surrounded by a sprayed-in foam (like Great Stuff), but I'd imagine there are screws to keep it in place as well.

I have no problem with removing the tank, but would like to know what can of worms I may be opening before I do.

Are there cleaning solutions available on the market to assist with this task?

Should I just recycle the tank after removing the gas and replace it?

Thanks,

Tom Herrick
 
I had the same thing in my rebuild project. I'll bet your sending units are hosed and will need replacing. Remove the tanks and the old sending units. Just loosen the SS bands then pull and twist.

I had luck with dawn dish soap and hot water then flush the gunk and sand clear with a garden hose. Dry really well (compressed air works well). Apply some armor-all to the outside. They looked pretty good after a good cleaning.

Reinstall the tanks. No sealant was used on the fill line hose or the fuel line hose. No leaks to report. Did use some on the new sending units.

Hope I helped

Chris Bulovsky
Washburn Wi
 
Hi Folks,
Has anyone tried an enzymatic fuel tank cleaner like the one described in this link?

This seems too good to be true. I'm hoping the chemists amongst us will offer their learned opinions concerning this product.

Thanks,
Mike 'Levity'
 
Seems to me that if you have a 10 micron Racor filter with a clear drainable bowl at the bottom and

1) watch it carefully and

2) drain it whenever any water or sediment appears, and

3) change the filter cannister regularly (~100 hrs),

you should be good to go unless the amount in the bowl tells you that the filter cartridge and water separator bowl don't look up to the job of stopping the gunk from getting past your fuel filter system and into the motor.

You also have a secondary filter in the motor as well.

I've got 19 year old tanks and have never cleaned them throughly, but the Racor has done it's share of stopping water and sediment from reaching the EFI fuel system since changing over to the new Yamaha and ditching it's carburereted 2-cycle predecessor.

Also, don't forget the hoses get old, too, and should be changed every 5-10 years or so. The date of manufacture is stamped on them. This includes filler and vent hoses as well as fuel lines. (Old hoses get hard, brittle, and crack easily.)

Joe.
 
My port tank had some crap in it, if I was out on the water running at cruising speed it would burn though. If I was in the harbor, running at the harbor speed limit of 5 mph, it would foul the engines. I tried a few remedies- none that worked.
I finally broke down and removed both tanks today, wasted about 10 gals of fuel, cleaned the tanks- inside and out. After draining the tanks, I put about a quart of alcohal in each one and sloshed it around before draining.
I will let the tanks dry out for a week, rinse again with alcohal and dry for a week before re-installing them.
Has anyone put anything under the tanks to raise them about a half inch so it could be flushed out under them? This is what I found when I removed the tanks- ugh
Maybe set the tanks on some Dri-Deck and every so often spray some bleach/water solution to clean with?
 
At the end of last season, whilst on the Columbia, Journey On suddenly would not run over 4000 rpm. No signs of missing, just hit a wall. When I got home, I changed the Racor and the motor filter, which solved the problem. The Racor is a standard gas replacement (S3240,) which is no cheaper than the Honda equivalent (also made by Racor.) The engine filter was a bear to change.

Couldn't see anything but some white powder.

Boris
 
What does water look like when it is in the clear bowl at the filter
bottom?

What micron filter do you usually use? My Honda dealer changed from
a 30 micron to a 10, saying 10 is what Honda speced. Don't know
who put the 30 on.

Mike
 
Years ago Bill and El told me that I should separate the two tanks so if I got bad fuel or a plugged filter I could switch over and continue to run... what great advice... I installed two Racors and two feed lines.....now at least if I get a load of bad fuel, I can run the other tank while I am servicing the Racor

Alcohol will absorb water and allow it to pass through the motor... so a can of Dri-fuel in the tank once a year will do away with any water build up...

Joel
SEA3PO
 
Water in the Racor looks like little round blobs....they will pool at the bottom of the Racor.... if there is enough water in the filter...it will form together and look like another layer.... gas floats on top of water......all ya need is open the drain and run it out...easy...
I moved my filters to the sides of the tanks...so they would be easy to see and service.... the stock location above the tanks is miserable to get to.

Joel
SEA3PO
 
SEA3PO":hhmu0ara said:
I moved my filters to the sides of the tanks...so they would be easy to see and service.... the stock location above the tanks is miserable to get to.

Joel
SEA3PO
Click to expand...

I like the filters mounted up in the engine well and at the back so you can always see them and draining the clear bowls at the bottom of the filters can be done either from inside the boat or when standing on the ground outside. Also, accidental spillage will run out through the engine well drain holes rather than all over the cockpit floor, which is safer in terms of fire danger.

My mechanic/technician installed my Racor there when I bought the new engine in '05. Good choice!

Joe.

Pict0899.jpg
Unidentified photo from "Fuel Systems Detail Photos"
 
This thread weighed heavily on me mind when, as we were pulling out of the slip, the motor stalled. I had just switched to the starboard tank, too.
Sorta. Actually, I turned the fuel off :-) Hondas run fine so long as the fuel is turned on!

Mike
 
I had to clean my tanks last summer. It was an easy job. The only hard part was that the gas in the tanks made them heavy to lift out of the boat. (I should have pumped it out first!)

While at it...I took apart the gas lines and blew air through them. I was advised to replace the pressure bulb (which I did), and I also installed a new RACOR filter. I used the stainless steel screw-down clamps (which are easy to install) at the end of each line.

All of this, including an hour run to the store, took about a half-day.
 
While the tanks are out, I cut some viewing slots in the tank cover plates. Now I can see the fuel levels in each tank.
I won't be able to re-install the tanks until May 12. My son and I are taking the motorhome up to dive for jade at Jade Cove north of San Simeon this weekend with the dive club.
 
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