Any ideas for cleaning out a rusty gas can?????

[nikdfish]

These folks sell products for cleaning & coating rusty fuel tanks....
Gas Tank Sealer - Gas Tank Liner - Diesel Tank Sealer - Fiberglass Tank Sealer
No personal experience, but I remembered them from when I was researching the topic a while back. Probably pricey for fixing one jug, though.

Nick

 

[grm61]

For all the problems the rust can cause you I would s**t can it.
Buy a plastic can and put a vent in it so it will pour.

 

[94BULLITT]

Thanks for all the replies. You guys have lots of good ideas. Right now I am trying the apple cider vinegar method. I already had the apple cider vinegar and it is a easy method. I probably should have put some rocks in the can and shook it a little to remove the worst before I put the vinegar in. It is really not that rusty, just a couple of spots.

I carried the can up to the house and sat it on the deck when I went to get the vinegar. I had a few people looking down in the can to see how bad the rust was:laughing:

 

[rd_macgregor]

I have a can exactly like that one. I found it floating in a backwater in the Potomic River after a hurricane over 25 yrs ago and have been using it ever since. If it developed a rust problem, though, I think I'd toss it rather than try a repair; life is too short to waste time and money on something like that.
Bob

 

[Gale Hawkins]

One distributor uses washed gravel for cleaning rust out of 300 gallon round tanks.

 

[DT86]

I think I'd toss it rather than try a repair; life is too short to waste time and money on something like that.

 

[sixdogs]

I took a good look at my metal five gallon "safety" type gas can that has rust in it and I got for free at an auction. Anyway, I read the applicable tips and costs in this thread and decided the best thing to do was get rid of it. I put it down by the road and it was gone within a half hour. That was my solution. Let someone else invest the time and energy into something that likely won't have a happy ending.

 

[brin]

Watch out for sparks....rocks maybe but not any metal in the can to shake around....

 

[94BULLITT]

The apple cider vinegar has been in there for 2 days now. I can tell it is working. I can shake the can and hear sediment in it. I think some of the vinegar evaporated. I had the caps on the can and one is supposed to have a vent on it and a nozzle on the other so it was not sealed up. I had to add white vinegar to it because that was all I have. When I looked down in the can to check the progress I got a whiff of the vinegar working on the rust and it was nasty:yuck:

Watch out for sparks....rocks maybe but not any metal in the can to shake around....

Thanks for your concern. There are not any gas fumes in it. I don't think it has had gas in it in years. I am not sure where it came from:confused3:

 

[Fallon]

Vinegar is an acid, & acids eat metal. I wouldn't leave an acid in there that long, especially if it's already a bit eaten up due rust.