Fuel Tank Refurb

Grit dog wrote:
Some are unknowingly on the "better lucky than good" camp with fuel.

That's me.

Since we got the SxS, I don't ride our bikes anymore. Our kids all expect the bikes to be ready to ride when they come home to visit, but the reality is that they've been sitting there since the last time the kids camped with us the year before.

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten away with just draining the tanks, running some Seafoam through the system, and starting the bikes right up. Our CA gas blows chunks, but I've been lucky year after year.

I chalk my good fortune up to clean livin'. :B

Sagebrush wrote:


I just tried burning some E10 that's been sitting for over 6 months says the previous owner. It didn't go well. New purchase, who knows how old the fuel really is. I thought it was clean looking normal smelling fuel too, it ran okay for a couple times and then things went south. Hopefully I can just drain and refill with something a bit fresher...

Since OP isn't really participating, I'll keep the off topic going.

Some are unknowingly on the "better lucky than good" camp with fuel.
Hear it all the time. And miracles do happen. Our new camper had, at least 4 year old gas in the genny tank. As evidenced by the orig owner literally only put a few hours on it and believed it ran off of LP. LOL, seriously...
Tank smelled like mineral spirits and it didn't even have enough to pickup and pump from the gas hose nozzle. Unbelievably, it actually started and ran! (Runs better on fresh gas though)
That phenomena is in direct conflict with the dozens of plugged carbs I've cleaned out on personal, others or work engines over the year.

What does work though, without argument, is fresh fuel. Non E lasts longer than E blends. Fuel stabilizers work and higher quality, more stable fuel works even longer. The last few years I've quit running stabilizer or draining dry all the small engines in the shed.
But I run AV gas in them, either exclusively or for sure at the end of the season. And they start like it was just last week after sitting for half a year.

Just drain, siphon or pump some of it out, put it in a glass jar or something clear and see if it separates after a while. That will show the water content.

Vented tank of unknown age equals moisture issues probably. Boats are the worst, not so bad if the tank is full for one winter. But years of sitting in a vented metal tank will kill that fuel's usefulness and rust the fuel tank.

I just tried burning some E10 that's been sitting for over 6 months says the previous owner. It didn't go well. New purchase, who knows how old the fuel really is. I thought it was clean looking normal smelling fuel too, it ran okay for a couple times and then things went south. Hopefully I can just drain and refill with something a bit fresher...

jdc1 wrote:
Just put an extra fuel filter on it before it gets to your generator. You can do the same thing at the pump side. Just Google "fuel pump hose filter". And inline fuel filter.

He's not talking about that tank.

Put some gas in it and turn the pump on. 99% chance it's literally still like new and dry in the tank.

I agree with the posts suggesting to add fuel and filters to it and use it. My dad bought a 57 Suburban that had been parked for 14 years. Within an hour of getting it home we had it running on the 14 year old gas that was in the tank. this gas was so old that it was before alcohol was being added, so I am sure that helped. It did plug up a couple of filters pretty quick, but eventually the fuel flowed clean.

If its dry then put some gas in and see if the pump works. At that age there may be some issues, dried out fuel hose, filler hose issues, stopped up vent, dead float/sending unit ect. Or it may be good to go! I would test the fuel station pump first with a few gallons, if it pumps fill it up and see if there are any leaks. You can always pump it out into your car or whatever. You can add a fuel filter for your pump hose too, you can get a water separator with a clear bowel or the all in one spin on filters. I get mine from my local TSC. Goldenrod brand I think.

Grit dog wrote:
Define “never.”
Never used means it’s clean.
If never doesn’t really mean “never”, does it smell like gas. Does it pump any gas out? Does the pump work? Have you tried?
I wouldn’t even consider dropping the tank unless it was deemed necessary which is highly unlikely.
You need to be more specific as to the issue with it. Rvnetters are pretending it’s a 60 year old tank in a Studebaker!

If pump works IE makes noise, dump in 5 gal and pump it back out after sloshing around and see what comes out.
If you have a generator it has a inline filter. Keep a spare in case it plugs up.

It does not smell like anything. He never added anything to it. I figure that means there would be some moisture that found it's way in there. Maybe not.

Any idea whether the pump even works? Do you know how old the pump is? If it's old enough to have the problem with the gears swelling, then you'll need to tackle that.

Check the hose and nozzle too and make sure the hose isn't cracked.

My fill line is kind of fussy. There's no good way to tell how full I'm filling it until it's actually full, but the line (or maybe the vent) must not be in great shape because I can smell gas when the tank is full. If I'm not going to be at camp soon to dispense some fuel, I'll turn the pump on and run a little bit of it out into a jug to bring the level down just a little.

Just curious, do you have a separate tank for your gen? Did the previous owner put many hours on the gen?

Just put an extra fuel filter on it before it gets to your generator. You can do the same thing at the pump side. Just Google "fuel pump hose filter". And inline fuel filter.