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Bedford QLW - How to get rid of old petrol...


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I have made a start with the QLW restoration and am in the process of removing, cleaning and checking over various components including the carburettor, fuel pump etc. and trying to ascertain what condition the radiator is in and all of those things you do to get a feel for how much work, time and money is going to be required.

 

The carb and the fuel pump are choked with old, stinking evaporated petrol which is thankfully still semi-liquid. The carb spent a week soaking in kerosene and is now clean and I anticipate I can clean the pump and fuel lines in the same way.

 

My problem is the tank which appear to have about an inch of this glop in the bottom. Can anyone out there advise on the best way to get this out and to clean the inside of the tank? Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

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Steam clean is probably the easiest and safest way. Caustic soda can be used, but obvious problems. What I'd suggest, get some cheap Dish washer tablets from the supermarket, boil up a bucket of water and dissolve the tablets in, then pour into tank and leave.

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Unless you have the correct interceptor facilities the contence should not be washed out. Both the vapour and gell in the tank are Toxic, Hazardous to Health. A local garage with engine wash facilities may let you pressure wash the tank out as they have catch tanks necessary to collect the contence for disposal. It is illegal to flush the contence down the drain. You may have to take it to a profesional tank barrel cleaning company. There are at least two on Teeside. Wear protective clothing when handleing immediatly wash off any splashes. If you can catch all of the fluid, diesel is probably the easiest to work with to dilute the glopp. Then you can probably dispose of it at the local council waste oil collection point. I would not use household washing products in a fuel tank as they contain salt and other chemicals that can calcify and cause you problems with the rest of the fuel system. If you need a hand I do not live that far away and would be happy to help.

Edited by john1950
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Then you can probably dispose of it at the local council waste oil collection point.

 

Following my experience check which sites you can dispose the liquad at, some do not hold containers so you may need to get some for disposal.

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Many thanks for the advice. The tank itself appear to be sound from an external inspection anyway - no obvious thin spots or excessive flexing that I can see. The next step is to get the thing off which is a job for next weekend!

 

I'm certainly up to date with the legal and environmental considerations and I think that the professional approach may be best even if it costs a few quid. Having had experience of some tank sealing products previously, I would take some further advice on what's best to use....

 

We had a nightmare with a Dingo fuel tank a few years ago. the sealant had turned into something like shellac and had shattered clogging up the whole system.

 

Assuming the tank can be cleaned and is sound, can anyone recommend a product that isn't going to make me say bad words?

 

Thanks again for your help, chaps

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