Converting gasoline tank to diesel?

I picked up a 125 gal tank with a hand pump. It had gas in it, there is a bit sloshing around in there yet. There is no drain plug. I have a siphon that I can use to get most of it out but what should I do next, rinse it with a gallon or two of diesel and discard?

If the tank is clean and just contains residual gasoline just fill it with diesel and go. The diesel will disperse the gas and it will just burn no problem.

Do you thing those single hose pumps get all of the diesel out before they pump gas?

You get it down to a couple or less gallons gas in it and it will be fine.Fill her up and go.

Unless of course the gas is full of rust or dirt.

Gary

Get out all you can and then you can leave the tank open on a hot day and the rest will evaporate out. I'd try to get as much out as possible. I knew of a problem with a compact tractor injection pump because they had some gas in the diesel.

If you've got it down to where the hand pump won't pick up anymore, fill it and go.

You can do it both directions; gas to diesel or diesel to gas. It ain't a gonna matter one iota.

Allan

Just turn it up-side down and let it drain.

And add a good filter on the hand pump.

I think a lot of us geezers are still stuck on the misconceptions about diesel back in the '50's when it was much less common and therefore more "mysterious". I remember being told by someone who should have known better, that even one drop of gas in a can of diesel would ruin everything. Worked for a guy who bought a new diesel Oliver 550 in about '62, and sent a couple gas jerry cans with me to town to get diesel- told me to put a little diesel in each can, slosh it around good, then dump it- repeat three times- then fill the cans. Made perfect sense to me at the time.

I'd be more concerned with water left in it than gasoline.

If you've got a way to tip it up and finish draining, you'll never have a better opportunity to do that than right now.

Hi Jonaspear,

From reading a few hundred threads about someone filling up there diesel tanks with gasoline at the pump, it appears the DI engines don't like about a 50% or higher mix of gasoline and #2, for idling that is.

I would bet that if a test was done on any of the newer IDI engines, very little, if any, preformance would be lost too a 1% mix. On a 125gal tank that would be about 1.25gal of gasoline.

A IDI engine runs well on a 10% gasoline mix at full load RPM.

I think alot of people forgot that diesel and gasoline come from the same source, crude oil and will mix well with one another.

T_Bone

Used to be a bit of gasoline served to winterize summer diesel when the summer diesel didn't flow good. Some diesel makers suggested it, some said never do it.

Gerald J.

LOL, that's retarded. With fuel prices these days, every drop sounds nice.

I do it all the time. One trip to town I fill with diesel, next time I get gas. I just make sure the tank is as empty as possible.

Gas and diesel tanks here are close together, but clearly marked. The gas in a diesel is less trouble than diesel in gas. The diesel will at least run back to fix the problem if needed but the gas quits! Happens about once a year here no damage in 44 years don"t worry about it.

A couple of gallons wont hurt anything.Just put whatever you are going to use in.There is one thing you dont want to do right after you start mixing the gas and diesel,the fumes are highly explosive.Dont strike a match and see how much gas/diesel is in the bottom or it could explode.Theres a old man running around this town where I live thats got lots of scars on his face and not a lot of hair on one side of his head and part of his ear gone from doing that.Theres another one in the next town 13 miles away that did the same thing and it nearly killed him and burnt his hair all off,just not as bad as the other guy.Dont know how many times they did that and nothing happened,but that one time sure was bad.Its a lot like jet fuel they say gas/diesel mix.Dont know the ratio,but I knew a Marine that fueled Harrier jets and he said they had a ground strap hooked to them so that static electricity wouldnt ignite it.
Not trying to scare anybody,but it is a remote chance of something happening,you may want to remember.I think its right at first when they mix is when its most dangerous.
Striking a match to see inside of a fuel tank is not a real smart thing to do anyway,but who knows what somebody will do.Ive caught myself almost doing it fueling up my truck,with a bic lighter,at night,it was almost like telling youself it was the thing to do until you get the lighter in your hand and think wait a minute,better not do that.Diesel fumes probably wont do anything,gas either,but I dont want to find out when they explode.