Phosphoric acid experiment

The gas hose on my generator cracked and leaked all the gas out of the tank.
This is what happens when an empty carb sits in an unheated pole barn. I think the condensation caused the rust. The dired gas caused the needle jet on the float to stick too.

I bought a gallon of food grade, most concentrated Phosphoric acid Amazon sells.

I mixed one part of Phosphoric acid to 3 parts of water and let it soak for 2 days. Wired brushed off the metal ring which I found along the road. The let it soak another day.
















The metal ring will be a cup holder on my new bike.
The final pic of the cup holder later after the rusty metal I welded to the ring soaks.



You decide if Phosphoric acid does a good job of converting Rust, iron oxide, back to iron.


I bought a new carb from Amazon for $13.
Look at the second pic, this carb was China aftermarket carb.
The gold screw is the fuel adj screw.
The generator was made in China and no adjustment on the California compliant carb. Grr.

I think after I clean up the carb in pictures, it will be good after the rust is gone..

Would you call Phosphoric acid a success?

Have you used Phosphoric acid to clean gas tanks or Carbs?

Looks like some ethanol was used.

Ethanol in my hood for decades.
When the carb sat empty is when I had a problem.
One of these days when I get around to it, I have a second generator I leave E-10 in it year around.
I can easily remove the bowl using a 10mm wrench.
I'll post a pic of ethanol in carb 24/7/364/ 10 years.
I don't blame ethanol. I blame a dry carb that E10 dried out in.

PLEASE don't let this post get distracted with e10.
What do you think of Phosphoric acid ?

Neew bike did you decide to go electric after all?

You decide if Phosphoric acid does a good job of converting Rust, iron oxide, back to iron

Well, it does a good job of stopping further corrosion, but it doesn't turn it back to iron.

The acid converts the iron oxide into iron phosphate, the black layer that becomes a barrier to protect against more iron oxide forming.

Which is still a good thing.

I don't think phosphoric acid converts rust. It eats rust down to bare metal until it is washed out or neutralized.
I used it years ago to clean a rusty fuel tank on my B John Deere. It did a great job.

No
My lazy butt needs exercise.
I bought a 7 speed trike.
Put the saddle off my old trike.

You are right.
A common example is phosphoric acid, which additionally converts some iron oxide into an inert layer of ferric phosphate.

I don't know how well ferric phosphate will prevent rust inside a carb or gas tank?

This is an experiment. Time will tell.

I plan to use the rusty metal ring on my trike as a cup holder after it soaks for another day. .
I have no plans to paint it.

Post my cup holder tomorrow.

Geo. It appears to me that this is more meaningless than your norm. If you want to perform a meaningful experiment you need to have some parameters. One important one would be some possibly effective procedures. What you could do is purchase a product designed for the purpose that your experiment is testing and then.......... G A S P................. follow the manufacturers instructions. Beware! though, you may have to admit that the product works!

And people wonder why folks disappear off this forum.

Don't know about phosphoric acid but I've used vinegar to soak heavily rusted and pitted parts. Can't be in a hurry, takes minimum 2-5 days to loosen the rust so it can be wire-brushed off. Leave it in too long and your part disappears. I like that I can dispose of it by pouring it on my gravel driveway.
Gerrit

I know it does a great job of cleaning calicum out of heat exchangers. Use it by the drums at work.

Well, George, as 007 says, phosphoric acid does not convert rust back to iron. It converts it to iron phosphate, which is a stable, corrosion resistant substance that makes an excellent base for paint. If you remove the black phosphate coating, then you're back to steel. Phosphate coatings are used on military hardware, particularly firearms, due to their corrosion resistance and non-reflective appearance.

If you want to convert rust back to iron, you need to use electrolysis, a topic that comes up from time to time.

I use phosphoric acid (aka Ospho) quite a bit. I've found the best results are when there's just a little rust remaining on the steel. Clean metal doesn't react as well as rust, while heavy rust needs to be cleaned up a bit.

Leave it in too long and your part disappears.
How is that removing rust? Sounds like you are removing metal.
You say you have to remove a layer of rust.

BTW, we yachtsmen use Ospho to remove rust stains from our fiberglass boats. As you know, stainless steel just 'stains less'. When the stainless fasteners and hardware on a boat weep rust, it's Ospho to the rescue.

(quoted from post at 04:53:55 04/18/23)

[b:09c466d49b]Leave it in too long and your part disappears.
How is that removing rust? Sounds like you are removing metal.
You say you have to remove a layer of rust.

Click to expand...

/b:09c466d49b]

The vinegar acts on the layer of rust first, loosening it to the point where it easily flakes off with a scraper or wire brush. Keep it in too long and it starts in on the bare metal. This has been my experience.

Gerrit

I have been using glacial acetic acid lately.
Just a few days ago I put in two welders vise grips that had the plating worn off the handles and thus rusty.
The GAA I have is 99.85% pure and food grade.
After two days all the rust was black and virtually all of the remaining cadmium plating was peeling off.
Wire brushed and sprayed them down with Molykote metal protector.
I didn't expect the plating to come off.

Glacial Acetic Acid, also known as ethanoic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula of CH3COOH. It is the main component of vinegar, which is typically made between 5% and 10% concentration mixed with water. It has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell. Acetic acid is used widely for descaling, as a chemical reagent and as a food additive. In household uses it is often used in foods and cooking.

(quoted from post at 16:57:42 04/17/23) And people wonder why folks disappear off this forum.

Click to expand...

I keep soaking myself in phosphoric acid and I'm still here.