How to clean a diesel fuel tank???

[John White]

Any one have any method to clean out the algie in a diesel fuel tank. Recently purchased a diesel power plant. Got it running but was doing a routine check over. Change oil filter, fuel filter. When I removed the fuel filter the crud that came out of it looked like tar. From the hour meter and date scribed on it, it hasn't been run since 2008. Diesel smelt bad. I drained it out (30 gal at $3.80 a gal) and when I got it on my hands they really had a foul oder. I shined a light down in the tank and I could see water floating around and looked like the sides and bottom was covered with something that looked like tar. I wrapped a stick with a rag on it and it would just smear around. Took tank off. Took it to a car wash and washed it down, but in places I can still see the black stuff. Any idea what I could put in there to dissolve it and clean it out good.?

 

[Gary Fowler]

If it is organic, bleach will kill it. Add in some good degreaser detergent and a hand full of bolts and nuts to scrub the tank (this assuming you can retrieve them later) Shake and or agitate to slosh the liquid and scrubber nuts around and it should clean up.

 

[user.69169]

The stuff that looks like tar is paraffin wax that fell out of suspension. Happens with all #2 oil. ThAt's part of the reason they got sumps on the oil trucks that fuel jet airplanes.

Long as you got the tar on the bottom of the tank it won't rust out.

 

[DT86]

I bet the car wash owner would have loved to have caught you washing a fuel tank.

 

[Jstpssng]

I bet the car wash owner would have loved to have caught you washing a fuel tank.

It does a good job though, for those of us w/o a pressure washer. Actually if they offer a degreasing option I don't think it matters.

I cleaned out a small gas tank that was have full of shellac; starting with a paint stripper, then followed it with the car wash method.