Need some help here. I have a boat with built in gas tanks that I'm either going to sell or fix and use. Right now, I'm trying to see what shape the motor is in. However, I opened the top of one of the 13 gallon built in gas tanks and there is nothing but sludge.

I talked to a guy who works on older boats and he recommended pouring alcohol in and pumping it out with a 12 volt pump. He said don't use a 110 volt.

Ok, I have poured in a pint of 91% rubbing alcohol and shot a can of carb cleaner in it and will start messing with it again tomorrow.

I bought a 12 volt inline (one hose at each end) water pump. However, I got nervous and read the instructions and they said don't try to pump anything that is flammable. Well, this stuff is certainly flammable.

I don't know if this is their due diligence or not. Have any of you pumped gasoline or other volatile substances with a 12 volt pump? I guess I also ought to ask if you would ever do it again.

I would get a 12 volt inline fuel pump for that duty. I have one with a 3/8 inlet and outlet that has pumped a lot of tough stuff over the years. At one time it even did duty as a parts cleaner pump. An auto/truck/tractor salvage yard should have one for cheap. You coud also get a new one at the local auto parts store.

Dave, how about just siphoning the liquid out with a big hose.

One of the big issues with motor safety as it relates to flammable fuels is the spark created by brushes at the commutator. This is big in boating. The fans that are used to vent the engine compartment of a boat are a perfect example. The motors of these fans are sealed to isolate the potential source of ignition from the accumulated vapors within the engine compartment. Liquid pumps for boats also have this option available. In houseboats, the water pumps must also have these isolated motors for the exact same reason. Now, that being said, many of these pumps are not built this way and are used only in areas where atmospheric ignition is not a potential hazard.
It is possible that the pump that you have is not a sealed ignition. This "might" be the reason that it is not recommended for flammables.

good post, Brettski. Lots of DC motors have brushes. Some are brushless. Some 115 vac motors have brushes. They are actually DC motors that run on the rectified AC voltage. I would do as AP said and siphon it out. Not worth taking a chance. Did the alcohol actually soften up the sludge? I would have bet against it. I would prefer you take it to someone to have it done. I like your picks of bbq joints.

If the alcohol doesn't work, maybe a couple quarts of Gunk degreaser might do it.

Personally I think the electric external automotive fuel pump is a fine idea. For only 13 gallons, even a smaller one will work. I've used those for the exact same project, although it wasn't sludgy. At work we have (well, had...) an air driven grease pump that we drained gas and diesel fuel tanks with. It worked fine, but maintenance borrowed it and "lost" it. They are too expensive to buy for your job tho, IIRC, couple hundred dollars.

There is no gas. Just some black nasty stuff, somewhat dried, in the bottom of the tank.

I bought a small $10 hand pump and am using it. However, it isn't really doing what I want.

Somehow I need to get all of this stuff out before I even think about checking out the motor. I don't want it in the carbs or cylinders. I am going to try to get this stuff out, add some gas and pump it out. Probably several times.

The auto fuel pump sounds like the best idea.

You may ask around like at auto repair shop. They may have some varsol around that you can pour in there. Or whatever solvent they use for that type gunk.

Use SeaFoam to dissolve the sludge. Cover the bottom of the tenk with it and about a 25-100% mixture of gasoline and let it set a couple days. Then just open the tank drain or use an AirTex EP-12 universal 12v fuel pump (35 GPH).

Dave,

Any centrifugal pump is pretty safe. The pump is isolated from the motor, so you won't get any sparks. The solvent may eat up the seals if used too many times.

A hand or drill operated oil suction pump will probably work. They're made to go down the dipstick hole and change oil without getting under the car. They're plastic, so won't have any dangers of sparks. They're cheap, too.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stor...03+90401+502426

I use one of these to change the oil in the car. I was hesitant to use one, but after I used it the first time I pulled the drain plug and at the most a tablespoon of oil came out. The oil needs to be warm or hot for it to work the quickest.

Pela oil extractor

An air power diaphragm pump will work and be safe...we pump flammables with them all the time at work. However gasoline will swell buna-N seals. We use PTFE for hydrocarbons, but viton would work for this job. No electricity so it's not a problem. Larger ones are pricy, but a 1/2 or 3/4" could be affordable.

Dave,you could also use an airblower with a siphon tube made into it.I use one alot to siphon trashy gas out of lawnmowers.Just pay attention to where your blowing the gas at.You should be able to find one just about anywhere for 5-10 bucks.Heck,Id loan you mine but I use it just about every day.

Tom, where can I find one of those? It may be the only toy I don't have.

I finished the job yesterday. I took Dwights advice about a 12v gas pump. $10 at the wrecking yard. However, the one I bought didn't have enough pressure to pick up gunk. It kept stopping up. I added some diesel and that didn't help.

Then I started thinking about other alternatives. I bought a toilet brush that was bent like an elbow to stir the stuff up and get is suspended. $1 at the Dollar Store and I mashed it as flat as possible to get through the 50 cent piece sized hole.

Then I thought about the 12 volt water pump that I had bought. It said no flammables so I filled the 13 gallon tank with water and tossed the water hose in. I did that about 3 times until I had the tank pretty clean. Then I ran the 12 volt auto pump for awhile to clean it and sucked the remaining diesel/water/ alcohol/carb cleaner/Berrymans B12 and whatever else was in there out. Then I repeated everything on the other tank. There was still a little bit of water so I added about 3/4 qt. of 91% alcohol. I'll try to suck it out today or tomorrow.

Soon, I'll be able to fill with gas/oil mix and see what I have to do to the 200 HP motor. More than likely, at least one coil and pull and clean the carbs. Sure sounds like fun.

My wife is rolling her eyes again.

Dave –

You may know this stuff so if you do, just ignore me and I will go away.

I would pull the plugs and add a shot or two of two stroke oil to each cylinder. If you use a pump-type oil can you can shoot the oil toward the top side of the pistons. The oil will then flow down around the rest of each piston. Crank the starter a bit to spread the oil on to the cylinder walls and then put the spark plugs back in place.

If your motor has fuel pump(s) separate from the carburetors, they will need to be disassembled and cleaned as well.

For the first start-up I would use a heavy oil/gas mixture like 15 to 1. This will help lube all the surfaces that have sat dry for awhile. Once the motor has run up to operating temperature satisfactorily you can return to the normal gas oil mixture.

If there are no in-line fuel filters in the gas lines running from the tanks adding them would be a good idea.

Before you take her for a test run on the water, lube the cables. No sense having a cable stick at WOT with you hanging on for dear life!

I think Dwight is right on the money here.Use your Echo 2 cycle oil to crank it.It lubes better than any other oil I know of,2 cycle that is.

Dave, I love the SeaFoam products because they work!

Deep Creep is an aerosol version of Seafoam and when sprayed into the cylanders, it lubricates, dissolves rust and sludge to free the rings.

SeaFoam in the tank mixed at 16oz per gallon of gas will usually eliminate the need to pull a carb by disolving any lime scale or sludge in all the carb's passages once it is running. Spraying Deep Creep into the vent hole of the carb will dissolve everything it reaches from the bowl of the carb.

Of course, if this is an outboard motor, I doubt there will be a vent hole, but everything else will work great for it.

Can't tell you how many customers I made happy with this procedure instead os selling them the carb kit they intended to buy when they came in..

Thanks Guys, I'm at least a week or so from the next step. Tied up the next couple of days and then leaving Saturday to go to Seattle for 4 or 5 days. Gotta see a 3 month old Great Grandson. Then my Wife wants to take her Parents to Oklahoma to play in some Casinos for a couple of days.

+1 on the SeaFoam. Good Stuff!