Cleaned out fuel tank on 25' sport cabin

[Bitesomthing]

Hello,
well this weekend i sucked out all the fuel in my 173 gallon fuel tank and found a few small spots of that gunky white stuff. Well i flushed out the fuel tank with loads of water. I think i have the tank as clean as i can get it but my question is this.
Since i only have about a 1 1/4" hole to work with i can not tell how clean
the tank is and or if i have all the water out. I have used a small mirror and flashlight to check to the best of my ability. Does this parker tank have any pockets that might hold water in them? I also have small air blower blowing air in the tank to circulate the air and am going to let the tank stay open for about 4 days. Is this enough time to make sure the tank is completely
dry. I live in Ca where its nice and dry.
Thanks
Chris

 

[Megabyte]

Not sure I would have used water to flush it out, but whats done is done.
The good news is that you don't have to deal with 90% humidity on the west coast like we do here in the east. :shock:

There should not be any areas in the tank to hold fluid, except for maybe along a tank baffle, but with air circulating and your low humidity, everything should dry in the 4 days you've allotted to do the job.

 

[Bitesomthing]

If i should flush with something else, can you give me any idea's on what to use?
thanks Chris

 

[Parker23]

Not ETHANOL! :lol:

 

[Outta Here]

Can you take a shop vac and let it blow thru a couple of days?

 

[Megabyte]

Can you take a shop vac and let it blow thru a couple of days?

Whatever you do, be very careful not to use a non-shielded electrical blower around any residual (flammable) fumes. It could ruin your whole day. :shock:

Any hygroscopic agent ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopic ) you introduce into the tank to absorb the water is also going to be flammable, not to mention almost impossible to 'slosh' around to absorb the water.

I'd call around to some of the fuel polishing and tank cleaning companies to see what it'd cost to have the tank professionally cleaned. Those guys have the know-how, the proper safety gear, they are bonded, insured, and provide a guarantee. :wink:

 

[goinsfishin]

What's done is done. If you got the crud out and the pichup is clean then you should be OK. It should dry fine over 4 days.
Ive done a couple tanks in the last few years in similar fashion and it's worked out.
When you get it back together start with maybe 20 gallons and take it out and run it hard to slosh it around good. Any remaining crud should loosen up and end up trapped by the filter. Run it as low as possible, drain the rest and inspect. If its clean your done. replace the filter add fuel and go.
Ive found that for the first couple runs don't put in more fuel than you are willing to pump back out, but you should be OK.

 

[DaleH]

Acetone ... and STAY away 'til 'dry' ...