Tank rust

Have you guys & girls noticed your steel tanks are going rusty very quickly with the crap new fuel ?

Yes. It sucks. I switched to AVGas for now.

Just had a look in there yesterday and was shocked at the amount of rust. It was a tank that stayed very clean until two years ago.
Think I know why the left hand carb float kept sticking during the trip I did in July.

Glen

Fuel varies around the world - and even by the brand of fuel ?

You waz warned, here too, about ethanol and its side effects....

Even though I live in the heart of the corn belt, I'm very fussy about keeping ethanol out of my bikes and mowers. Cars, no problem. Fortunately, we still have plenty of stations that sell 91 or 92 octane premium with no ethanol. Regular unleaded without ethanol is getting a little more scarce, just in the last few months. I keep several gas cans full of fresh premium around, and top up the tanks on the old bikes as needed. I'm getting so skeptical of what the ethanol to gas ratio is, that I fill those cans after filling my wife's Mini Cooper. It likes premium, and the thing gets such great mileage, the cost difference doesn't mean much. After filling that, I figure any residual ethanol is out of the pump lines, and the stuff I'm pumping into the cans is about as good as I'm going to get from retail service stations. Both of my current newbies - 2003 R1150R, and 2008 FXD are both injected. When out of town on those, I've had a few problems finding premium at smaller stations, so a little planning is in order. I don't think either one would really misbehave too much with a small amount of ethanol. The old stuff, when out of the road, I just try to run them low as I safely can, and hope for the best. I know I'm being a little silly and overly anal about this, but I even had a Toro snow blower recalled to put in a new needle in the carb, since ethanol was damaging them. I don't want the crap in my old stuff, and will go to these types of extremes to minimize it. You can't just lock them away and not ride them of course, but I'm trying to cope.

If you live a major metro area, your chances of finding a station that sells ethonol-free are slim to none due to EPA mandate. The website that list the stations in Texas that sell it show them all in rural areas.
This stuff works great for removing the rust. I just did an extremely rusty Trident tank and it turned out great. Used 2 gallons in a 4 gallon tank and let sit for 48 hours rotating occasionally. Home Depot carries it. Bit pricey but does the job.
Also used the Dry coat.
http://www.metalrescue.com/home.aspx

White Vinegar is 99 Cents to clean. Fuel choice should be the opposite ,expensive Premiums from the big companys. :?

Is there a high percentage of water in ethanol or is some other crap ?

some other crap. political corn.temporary fix for :| arab oil embargo start there...

splatt said:

Is there a high percentage of water in ethanol or is some other crap ?

Click to expand...

Ethanol, or any alcohol absorbes water.

This may sound crazy, guys, but I once used Coleman camp fuel in my Atlas. I was in a remote area,running out of fuel,and stopped in at a general store. He had no gas but had Coleman fuel. The Atlas ran fine on it.

I don't know the price of a gallon of Coleman fuel these days, but it might be competitive with av- gas.

If the price doesn't preclude, getting it in bulk may.

according to the compatibility charts, epoxy has a good resistance to ethanol, but I have heard epoxy lining a tank is not recommended. any comments?
Slick

texasSlick said:

This may sound crazy, guys, but I once used Coleman camp fuel in my Atlas. I was in a remote area,running out of fuel,and stopped in at a general store. He had no gas but had Coleman fuel. The Atlas ran fine on it.

I don't know the price of a gallon of Coleman fuel these days, but it might be competitive with av- gas.

If the price doesn't preclude, getting it in bulk may.

according to the compatibility charts, epoxy has a good resistance to ethanol, but I have heard epoxy lining a tank is not recommended. any comments?
Slick

Click to expand...

I used Tank Care Products liner on my Combat, and it's epoxy-based. Holding up so far, and I'll definitely be using it again. I know it doesn't bond that well to fibreglass (nothing does!), but as it has some flexibility I'm optimistic.

Miller Oils do some additive that apparently neutralises ethanol and includes lead substitute and octane booster, but I've never used it.

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... ne-booster

Some UK fuel suppliers don't put ethanol in their fuel, but don't brag about it - not eco-friendly, man.
I believe Murco fuels are OK as is BP Ultimate, but It seems the only practical way is an alloy tank :roll:

Alcohols absorb H20. Is that why we need glasses of water after the party- time ? Thanks for the tip ,I'm going to get some of that Tank care stuff to line my 2 steel tanks though (winter project) and the 70 fiberglass ,well I give up. Alloy plays on my head for future.

anybody know about/ used KBS sealer?

How about Red Kote?

I did a tank with por15 ten years ago and its had ethanol gas in it everyday since. Absolutely no degradation. Steel tank, though.

Believe it or not i have tank rust envy...Im living with a fiberglass tank... for now.
Adam Cramer from liberty vintage in Philly, PA. swears by a product named "Casewell" lines all his tanks with it. It doesnt solve the ethenol equasion but it seals the tank from rust. I used "creem" in my glass tank years ago and recently spent a good week getting it back out.(mostly) he's going to casewell it.... we'll see
Ps. looking for good condition steel roadster tank.

From what I've seen and read the only way to do a proper job is to cut open the bottom of the tank and paint it on by hand. (It will eventually fail. I went steel.)

I' am doing some research on the various coatings ( not finished yet). Caswell is very thick and will reduce your tank volume by about a pint for every 2 gal of tank capacity. It will not solve the fiberglass problem (probably nothing will if the fiberglass has ever been exposed to gasoline or oil). Caswell, Red Kote, Por 15 all depend on scrupulous surface prep which is somewhat "iffy" considering the difficulty in swishing out the tank with the proper prep agents.Done properly, users report no failures with ethanol. These products are mainly intended to seal leaks, not protect against rust or ethanol, although the suppliers claim they are alcohol-proof.

There are some zinc coatings available....I don't have all the info yet.

I intend to contact a large commercial plater in Greenville, TX and pursue the zinc solutions, and electroless nickel plating.

Will report again.

Slick