Muriatic Acid..........

Goose

Well-known Member
I have a gas tank from an H Farmall that must have been parked for a period of time with the gas filled to about 3" from the top, 'cause about the top 3" inside the tank has surface rust.

I've heard muriatic acid will remove/help remove the rust. I see Lowe's website shows muriatic acid for about $9 per gallon, but what I don't know is do you use it full strength, diluted, or how?

Can anyone give me any advice? This is an extra tank, but if I can reclaim it, I may as well.

Thanks in advance.
 
Heads up. I just did my model T tank. It took the rust and crud
out and now I can see through my tank. Be prepared for some
possible fixing.
 
Sure, it'll remove the rust, but will also remove the thin "tin" protective coating from the steel in the rest of the tank, making the whole inside susceptible to very rapid rusting in the future from any moisture.

I don't think there's much point in cleaning a tank with acid unless you follow through and coat the inside with a good "tank liner" once it's "clean".
 
The pool version of Muriatic acid (sold in the hardware store) is plenty hot stuff. It will knock down some surface rust initially and then keep right on going into the base metal. Ive experimented with it some and concluded that it's too strong and too hard to control for general rust removal. As soon as you open the lid you see a little acid vapor cloud wafting out of the jug like in a cartoon.

Diluted and controlled it could be useful but probably more on an industrial scale.

If you could knock the loose stuff off with some mechanical means then you could follow up with a phosphoric acid which will react with remaining rust and leave an iron phosphate coating. I haven't tried it myself inside of a fuel tank but have used it numerous time for external paint prep.
 
Thanks for the responses!

I think I might scrap this idea and try something else.

Like I said, it's an extra tank so there's no timeline or hurry.
 
Most gas tanks on older tractors have rust...if it is really a problem run a 1/2 standpipe into the tank and attach sediment bowl to that. One way to do it.
 
(quoted from post at 09:35:42 10/05/19) Sure, it'll remove the rust, but will also remove the thin "tin" protective coating from the steel in the rest of the tank, making the whole inside susceptible to very rapid rusting in the future from any moisture.

I don't think there's much point in cleaning a tank with acid unless you follow through and coat the inside with a good "tank liner" once it's "clean".

I cleaned a couple of tanks with muriatic acid 15 to 20 years ago. No indication at all that it removed any kind of tin coating.

I did install a liner in one of those tanks. a few months later I had to remove the tank again and use muriatic acid to remove the liner.

That liner is designed for tanks that have rusted pinholes. The Farmall tanks do not rust through. No need for a liner.
 
Home depot sells it for $10.00 two gallons i have done numerous tanks over the last forty years with no prob;ems i use a gallon on a 10 gallon tank fill with water let set 18-24 hours wash out with clear water then NEUTRALIZE with baking soda and water i use a box of baking soda then fill with water wash it out good then spray it with WD40 or used motor oil make sure you get it all over inside of tank i am not an expert just my way of doing things,
 
I used it to clean out a radiator a couple years ago. Worked great, but use caution to the duration of time you let it soak.
 
Was it diluted and if so about how much?
I'm assuming you plugged one end and filled it with the solution.

I'm curious as to how to get the stuff to work effectively without overdoing it.
 
For radiators (old style brass- not plastic/aluminum) I use the acid for pools sold at hardware stores. I think its $8 a gallon at walmart. Here is the procedure that I used and it worked great.
..remove the radiator or heater core
..empty the remaining coolant
..position the openings facing up and fill with muriatic acid. Let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes--no more
..flush with clean water, and repeat the procedure.
..flush thoroughly with clean water, and re-install

I also did a final baking soda neutralizer rinse, just in case.
 

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