MossRoad
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Good luck. I miss my snowmobile, but we just don't get snow like we used to here.
How to get ice out of empty fuel tank?
- Thread starter Sodo
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ovrszd
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It does not require raw gas in the tank to have enough fumes for an explosion. Saw a tank explode that had been empty for several years. Dont ask how I know that...
An empty tank is much more dangerous than a full one....
An empty tank is much more dangerous than a full one....
varmint
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On the vacuuming/ explosion topic- it's fairly common to use a vacuum to pull a line thru electrical conduit by tying a plastic bag to a nylon line, and sucking it. The left-over vapors from plastic conduit solvent can produce quite an exploding vacuum!
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Rut-Roh! I never thought about that. We used to suck mice thru conduits all the time in my day, but they were metal conduits come to think of it...:shocked:
Leejohn
Elite Member
You said the sled is out in the boonies, well you don't have much to work with. Look around and get a long thin green stick, clean the end of it, cut a grove around the end. Heat the end up then stick it on the ice and wait a min or 2 then lift the ice out. How if you don't have a lighter just put it under your arm pits until the stick is warm then try again.
OP
Sodo
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A couple of the ice "dollars" are visible thru the filler hole. I assume there are more that are NOT visible, not accessible. And there's probably ice in the out hole too.
Pretty sure it could be well-evacuated by either blowing with a vacuum for awhile, as its been empty for a year and looks dry.
Just trying to get all ducks in a row to get it gassed up & running with minimum work or time. Only have 2 days sledding, want to get it running asap. Haven't tried the iso-heet yet will pick some up & test what it does to ice..
Pretty sure it could be well-evacuated by either blowing with a vacuum for awhile, as its been empty for a year and looks dry.
Just trying to get all ducks in a row to get it gassed up & running with minimum work or time. Only have 2 days sledding, want to get it running asap. Haven't tried the iso-heet yet will pick some up & test what it does to ice..
Leejohn
Elite Member
If it has been dry for a year and out in the boonies, just pull it home pull the tank and clean. That would be alot better then missing aroud out in the boonies.
OP
Sodo
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It warmed up some and the ice melted in the tank. More than a few silver-dollars, there's a lot of water, like 8oz. Had a hard time figuring out how to remove the tank. Then removed the seat to investigate and discovered the seat and tank are one plastic molding. Four bolts and it was off. Good.
Strangely there was NO gas in it, pretty much pure water.
Having it off, I decided I now wanted it 100% dry, might as well. I had brought a blow dryer just in case, and it turned out to be just the right tool for the job, set on "low". Ran it on the generator.
Motorcycle inner tube, and a piece of scrap pipe for 'exhaust'.
I thought about the warnings but couldn't make any sense of them. In this case, there's no raw fuel, and once evacuated for one second, there's no vapor either. If this was dangerous how could anybody survive putting raw fuel into a tank (in the old days - the vapor billowing out). As happens 24/7/365 in half a million gas stations across the country, and with "reasonable" safety.
Hanging upside down so weight of blow dryer holds the duct open. I let it run for 45 minutes.
It worked great. I ran it until the tank felt warm on the outside. Not a drop inside remained. Last time it was licensed was 2009, but not sure how long it has sat. The carburetor was spotless inside, even though there was water in it. Surprising. Put it all back together and it runs, ready to ride!
Strangely there was NO gas in it, pretty much pure water.
Having it off, I decided I now wanted it 100% dry, might as well. I had brought a blow dryer just in case, and it turned out to be just the right tool for the job, set on "low". Ran it on the generator.Motorcycle inner tube, and a piece of scrap pipe for 'exhaust'.
I thought about the warnings but couldn't make any sense of them. In this case, there's no raw fuel, and once evacuated for one second, there's no vapor either. If this was dangerous how could anybody survive putting raw fuel into a tank (in the old days - the vapor billowing out). As happens 24/7/365 in half a million gas stations across the country, and with "reasonable" safety.
Hanging upside down so weight of blow dryer holds the duct open. I let it run for 45 minutes.
It worked great. I ran it until the tank felt warm on the outside. Not a drop inside remained. Last time it was licensed was 2009, but not sure how long it has sat. The carburetor was spotless inside, even though there was water in it. Surprising. Put it all back together and it runs, ready to ride!
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