Rusty Fuel Tank

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2012

I have rust in the fuel tank of my Farmall H but there is a beautiful paint job on the outside. Is there anything I can do to solve the problem without taking it to a radiator shop that treats rusty fuel tanks? Most of the shops say they won't assume responsibility for the paint job.

uncle henry · Sep 10, 2012

i have had good luck with clear ammonia that i got at wal-mart

rustyfarmall · Sep 10, 2012

(quoted from post at 07:45:10 09/10/12) I have rust in the fuel tank of my Farmall H but there is a beautiful paint job on the outside. Is there anything I can do to solve the problem without taking it to a radiator shop that treats rusty fuel tanks? Most of the shops say they won't assume responsibility for the paint job.

Don't worry about the rust unless it is causing some problems. Just watch the sediment bowl, and when you see an accumulation of rust in the bottom of it, clean it out.

JT · Sep 10, 2012

The correct police will probably bust my chops for this comment, but it were mine, i would drain the tank, take it off flush it good as you can, the get a can of red kote, dump it in the tank, rock the tank to coat it best you can, drain out any excess red kote, let it dry, put it back on and back to work you go. The red kote will seal all the little rust particles n keep them out of your fuel system. I know, redneck engineering at its best, but it works great, done it on my H and M both that way and have not had rust issues again...

Anonymous-0 · Sep 10, 2012

I am having a problem. Tractor only runs for a short period of time. Gas is not getting to the carburetor. Sediment bowl fills slowly .

FBH44 · Sep 10, 2012

Had the same problem, on my H, sedimnent bowl filled very slowly. Found after I unscrewed the sediment bowl, it was not a straight shot from tank into bowl, like you"d think. There were a few smaller passages inside the bowl itself, the gas had to go thru, that you didn"t know about, before it got into the bowl. And mine were plugged up with some bigger gunk. Got that cleaned out, Red-Koted the tank after i had it steamed out, and all is well.

Jason the Red · Sep 10, 2012

You can take off the sediment bowl assembly and and add a short piece of pipe to the top. This will allow the gas to enter the sediment bowl through the pipe (which you want to be about an inch above the bottom of the gas tank) but leave the rust and gunk on the bottom of the tank. If I recall correctly, I had to drill out the top of the sediment bowl a little bit to accomodate the pipe (maybe 1/4" pipe). Hope this helps, it worked for me.

gbs · Sep 10, 2012

this may sound crazy but hat full of pea gravel poured into the tank and some acetone or paint thinner or eq. slosh it around let it set a little while do it again several times, then remove the mixture flush the tank and install a sealer

gbs · Sep 10, 2012

forgot to mention be careful with the solvents they could possibly hurt the paint

LMack · Sep 10, 2012

It is a multi step process but to do it right go to Eastwood.com and get a gas tank cleaning kit.
Follow the directions and you will have a tank that will be as good as new. I would buy the kit because you get a coating that will seal leaks and last a lifetime. I did it to my tank that had been filled with water for years and was very rusty with several leaks. It has done just fine since I did the Eastwood treatment. Be sure you get a kit sized for your tank since the motorcycle guys also use these kits on a smaller scale.
Eastwood.com

sflem849 · Sep 10, 2012

(quoted from post at 13:46:12 09/10/12) The correct police will probably bust my chops for this comment, but it were mine, i would drain the tank, take it off flush it good as you can, the get a can of red kote, dump it in the tank, rock the tank to coat it best you can, drain out any excess red kote, let it dry, put it back on and back to work you go. The red kote will seal all the little rust particles n keep them out of your fuel system. I know, redneck engineering at its best, but it works great, done it on my H and M both that way and have not had rust issues again...

That is actually the most correct way. There are a few more steps than that, but that is the simple way.

If it is just surface rust it may be best to ignore it until it causes problems. I would put it at a 99% chance of messing up the paint if you try and clean and seal the tank.

Kippster · Sep 10, 2012

I did exactly the same as what you suggested on a Case VAC for a friend of mine. He about had a heart attack when I dumped an old Sheetz soda cup full of pea gravel directly from his driveway into that tank followed by about 5 quarts of nasty old kerosene. Cleaned up really well. He had some sealer stuff from workin on his Harley but had no ideas on how to clean the tank. Always get a laugh out of the guys that say you'll get stuff stuck in there. Done it tons of times an never had anything get lost. Kippster

LarryM · Sep 12, 2012

Go here. http://www.htpaa.org.au/article-electro.php I have used this concept to clean several tanks that were full of rust. I do have to say that I use a 24VDC 10 AMP battery charger to do this. I use large amounts of sodium bicarbonate that comes in 50 lbs bags for livestock. I keep adding bicarb until I get my amperage up where I want it. I use a pvc pipe as an insulator and place a 1" dia x 8" long shaft as an electrode down in the tank. When I get it up to 240 watts within a couple hours the tank is quite warm to the touch. It really works well. It is messy but cheap and effective. I cleaned an old skidsteer tank up that was so full of rust that it was pitted on the inside after I cleaned it out. After "cooking" for 4-5 hours I use a pressure washer to clean it out.

dstates · Sep 12, 2012

I just did a Farmall H tank with a tank sealer kit from KBS Coatings. It did a great job and if you are careful you won't cause any damage to the paint.

Rusty Fuel Tank

Anonymous-0

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uncle henry

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rustyfarmall

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JT

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Anonymous-0

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FBH44

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Jason the Red

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gbs

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gbs

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LMack

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sflem849

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Kippster

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LarryM

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dstates

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