Oil Tank Cleaning mechanism

Ive almost get everything cleaned and ready for reassembly, but I still need to clean the oil tank. The oil has been drained and eliminated (my dad got it boiled in some solution at his friends transmission shop) however the rust hasnt left it yet. I seem to remember reading in a post about some contraption that someone here made to rotate or shake the tank so you can leave it for a day or so. I think it was DogT or SwooshDave if i remember correctly. I did a search but couldnt find it. Any suggestions are appreciated, also what type of solvent should i use to eliminate the rust?

Matt

Well think about a bucket turning with tank inside fixed of padded as stuff inside bangs around. Could go to a laundry mat if wanting to stay happy in marriage.

I made that rube goldberg contraption. Used a spackle bucket, wedged the tank into it with foam/Styrofoam/whatever and had a dc motor I glued a rubber hose on the shaft and rigged up a wood arm, mounted the motor on the arm to let it sit on the edge of the bucket that was resting on 4 seat rollers attached to a wood frame. Pretty sketchy, but it worked fine. I used sheet rock screws in the tank and a whole bunch of WD40 squirted into the tank. You have to seal the outlets somehow from the WD40, I used duct tape for the large hole and the WD40 kind of ate it up, so think of some plug to put in it. I let it run for all day and you wouldn't believe how clean it came out. It was pretty rusty to start and the screws went in black and came out like clean metal. The inside was clearly clean too. I think I turned the tank in different positions during the day too.





You have to have some way to keep the bucket from wandering off the wheels, and it's kind of a one time situation where you have to play with the angle and the stop to keep it running. The motor needs to have a bit of oomph to it or it won't turn the bucket too. The wood arm just let the motor and it's weight press on the bottom lip of the spackle bucket. There again you have to play with the pressure and the motor/arm. I was pretty lucky and it worked first time out. It really didn't take me that much time to put it together, maybe a couple of hours after buying the castors.

I think it was one of the most rube goldberg things I have ever made, my wife laughed all the way to the bank that day.

Dave
69S

Phosphoric acid cleaner from janitorial supply stores will remove the rust from a tank. I've used it on my Roadster gas tank every few years with good results. Fill the tank and let it sit a few hours until the inside is bright and shiny/all rust dissolved, then rinse with water. Immediately follow with several rinses of rubbing alcohol then dry the tank with a heat gun. The alcohol absorbs the water and dries quickly without leaving rust. >OK

DogT said:

, my wife laughed all the way to the bank that day.

Dave
69S

Click to expand...

i don't blame her - that seems like a lot of effort, but if it works 4 U :? photos did have me crackinup - will it wash your clothes for you too w/ a bit of dat der lye soap

Being retired, it wasn't that much of an effort, I'd probably been thinking about how I was going to do it for a week or two laying in bed in the mornings waiting to get up. It was pretty hilarious though, but it really worked great. The inside of that tank was shiny. I still have the stuff, if anyone wants to send me their tank for cleaning, I'd gladly do it, just pay for the postage.

I'm trying to think how I could adapt it to the fuel tank for the Caswell treatment, but it would take a larger motor to turn over that weight.

I'm thinking about making a rotor (mangeto) regenerator too (magnet charger). I guess I have too much time on my hands.

Dave
69S

Thanks for the help. I've been thinking about it for a while, maybe ill be able to rig something up similar to that one too. How fast did it spin? (if theres an easy way to describe the speed :? )

Matt

I'm sure we are considering this instead....

Colorado Norton Works Oil tank Mod.

My tank came back "hospital clean" on the inside. It was mess before.

*Not to mention the rewelding done.




Description:
Send us your old oil tank and we will do a number of upgrades and modifications to improve on the original design. The original upper mounts fail and when the lower mount gets over loaded it will fracture the tank. If you are fortunate it will only create hairline cracks and the tank will just leak, if you aren't so fortunate the entire mounting boss and part of the oil tank will come off and the oil will pour out (on your rear wheel to make it all worse) and in a matter of seconds your oil tank will be completely empty. Your sweet old Commando engine is now running without oil and it won't do that for very long.
This is what we do to your old tank:
- The oil tank gets completely boiled out to remove any sludge and build up. This also strips all paint off.
- The lower tank mount gets cut off and a plate is brazed over the area to ensure any hairline cracks are covered up.
- The rear mount is beefed up for added strength.
- The spigot to the chain oiler (if equipped) is closed up
- The oil tank gets a gloss black powder coated finish.
- The finish is removed where needed to ensure proper sealing when installed.
- Included are two rubber mounts that are far stronger than the original.
- Stainless steel hardware to mount is included.
- A high density foam pad to install between the battery cover and oil tank is included
- We have some tanks on the shelf ready to go so the turnaround is fast. We just need your old tank as a core.

mattthomas4444 said:

Thanks for the help. I've been thinking about it for a while, maybe ill be able to rig something up similar to that one too. How fast did it spin? (if theres an easy way to describe the speed :? )

Matt

Click to expand...

It didn't spin that fast, maybe a turn per second or in that time frame. Doesn't matter how fast it turns as long as the screws don't stick to the walls because of the speed. The screws need to roll around inside the tank.

I know it's a pretty ridiculous method, but it worked real good for me.

Dave
69S

I did my roadster tank in a cement mixer. Abot 30 RPM I guess. Seemed to work OK.

Russ

rvich said:

I did my roadster tank in a cement mixer. Abot 30 RPM I guess. Seemed to work OK.

Russ

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Cool, hadn't thought about that, but I don't have one. There must be something else out there that will work.

Dave
69S

Strap it on the car wheel / hubcap with cable ties , and go for a spin . :?:

How about fill your oil tank with your best cleaner/rust remover. Then place an air line into the tank crimp hose to restrict air flow so u have a bubbling action in tank. Leave in in this condition for a time and bubble away the rust and grime. I find this works for me and can be used with a bucket for cleaning other parts.
Dox

If you are going to spin a tank to coat it with resin like Caswells, you need to spin it really slow. Like one revolution per minute or even less. My experience with resins is basically you can turn it by hand once the resin starts to sag but because of long set up times people get lazy and don't keep at it long enough. I would look for a BBQ rotisery that was hefty enough to spin a prime rib or turkey and had adjustable speeds.

Russ

Well this is what i rigged up. Doesnt go too fast only about 3 RPM. Used my barbecue rotisserie and its been going for most of the day now. Ill leave it overnight too and see what its like in the morning. I checked about 6 hours ago and it was quite a bit cleaner. I plugged the holes with duct tape and zip ties but it didnt work too well on the filler hole and the banjo hole on the bottom so i went and bought a cork stopper for the banjo and a bathtub stopper for the filler hole (about $4 for both)

I couldnt call myself Canadian if i didnt use duct tape





Matt

I gave mine to my machinist and he hot tanked it. $20 and it was cleaned and stripped. Best $20 I ever spent.

Radiator shops would certainly have the ability to boil it out. Do we still have radiator shops anywhere? We haven't had one here for years and new cars are mostly equipped with plastic and aluminum and don't get repaired the same way. So maybe that is another one of those things from the past.

Matt, let us know when you will be serving dinner. What goes best with oil tank? Is it done when the tape is tender?

I still owe you some photos of the side covers. I guess I should do that today if the sun ever comes up.

Russ

mattthomas4444 said:

I couldnt call myself Canadian if i didnt use duct tape
Matt

Click to expand...

Cool. Just let it run until it's clean. Don't tell me you watch the Red Green show?

Dave
69S

"Keep your stick on the ice", I love Steve's delivery!

Vince

Sheeze seems like lots extra fun and assembly just to get oil tank up to snuff inside.
You can easy if tedious reach sludge crust in bottom by screw driver then flush and fill with favorite pickle agent and be done with it. Coating is a waste of time and risky to flake into pump and what sludge remains in nooks will be there forever not into engine.