Rust in Gas tank of MF 35 Gas burner

I have rust in my Gas tank of a MF35 deluxe and it will run about 5 minutes before it stops and I have to take the glass bowl off and It looks full of rust and I Remember Having to take the sediment bowl off and empty and clean the bowl when I last used it over a year ago.

Is there any thing I can Pour or put in the tank to help clean the Rust out of the tank ?

I really do not want to have to buy a new tank for it.

Thanks

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First step is locate a gas station that supplies non-ethanol fuel. Buy that fuel. Ethanol absorbs water from the air, rusts tanks, and also turns to jelly that clogs the fuel system in as little as six to seven months even if you try 'fuel stabilizers'. That will halt/stop future rust.

A test done by a lawn mower channel on various fuel additives shows how bad ethanol is and how none of the additives really do anything. Look at all the rust in the carburetor bowls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWL7p0Pnb8Y The only one that lasted was the one with non-ethanol fuel. They have several earlier motor reviews in that series if you want to take a look at their channel (Taryl Fixes All), that one linked is their most recent. Sure, if you are using the vehicle or tractor or lawn mower every week then no problems with ethanol fuel but if the machine is going to sit over winter you need to ensure it is all out of there or replaced with something else.


Drain out the old fuel and remove the tank. You can get clean pea-stones or maybe fish-tank stones to put in the tank and slosh around with a little fuel to scrub the interior. Get the stones all out and rinse the tank well. Reassemble.

Get an 'inline fuel filter' typically used on lawn tractors/etc and install that after the bowl but near it on that side of the engine. I have one tractor the prior owner installed it right under the exhaust and that thing bubbled and melted some when the tractor got hot. That filter will stop all the debris that happens to get through the sediment bowl from getting to the carburetor. It won't stop the ethanol 'jelly' problem of fuel sitting in the line or carburetor.

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I have good luck with Meratic acid and water. Takes the rust out. Just dry it out good before putting you gas back in.

There are stripper and liner kits you can buy to strip it down and
pour a liner in there, but I wouldn't recommend the liner unless
you're leaking. Liners have a habit of breaking down/degrading over
time, and then they cause even more problems and are nearly impossible
to strip again. If you can buy just the stripper, it does a very good
job of cleaning the tank. It seems to be hard to find just the
stripping agent though.

As mentioned, muriatic acid works. I have really good luck with
industrial degreasers. Had a tank on my 555 that varsol and solvents
wouldn't touch, but some Super Clean degreaser (comes in purple
containers - available at most auto/farm places) took it back to
bright shiny metal. Even though it's meant for grease and not rust it
seems to do a phenomenal job. There are several other brands of
similar products that do the same job.

Putting stones/ball bearings in and rolling around to help strip it is
a good idea. Remember that several small washes with a little
cleaner/acid are far more effective than one big wash. You only need
enough cleaner in there to cover the full surface area inside the
tank. Pour in cleaner, shake around, let sit, shake around again,
drain, and repeat.

Be very careful with acids, and rinse the tank out well between using
different products - some of them (especially acids) don't mix well,
and can react in pretty nasty ways and give off gases that will burn
your lungs.

Whenever I'm done cleaning a tank I pressure wash it as best I can,
rinse the heck out of it to get rid of any leftover product, then dry
it as quickly as possible (air gun and sitting in the sun). The brief
spell of water in there isn't enough to cause any rust. Once dry I
throw in some WD40, shake around and drain out a few times. The WD40
displaces the water and gives it some measure of corrosion protection.
Once clean, I make an effort to keep the tanks as full as possible to
keep from happening again.