Cleaning the inside of the tank for indoor storage

[Darkstar]

I'm pulling my bike into my living room for routine maintenance this winter, Nov-Feb. My main concern is the gas fumes coming out of the tank. I want to eliminate them while also preventing any rust from developing during this time. I drained the tank yesterday. The interior looks great. It's clean, with an even gray coating, and no rust spots. Some folks suggest an acetone wash, followed by a WD40 fog. Then let it all dry and seal it up. Is this the best way?

[Big Rich]

I've always used gear oil, or better yet: 2 stroke oil. Roll / splash the oil around in the tank every couple weeks, and rinse out with a half gallon of gas. Drain it best you can, but ddon't worry if you don't get it all. After a couple tanks of gas, your engine won't even notice it.

[Darkstar]

Thanks, but I think I may not have asked this question clearly. To clarify, I want to know the best way to clean the tank out so I can bring it indoors, so that it doesn't smell like gas, while also preventing rust from building up. It will be in my living room for 4 months while I work on it.

[EdChen]

I think one way or another, it'll have some kind of smell. I honestly wouldn't worry too much about rust. Will you be actually working on the tank over the winter? Or are you just bringing it indoor and storing it? If just storing it, I'd seal it up in a bag to avoid the indoor gas smell. If you're working on it, I would drain it and try get it as dry as possible, maybe blow it out with some compressed air to get all the gas dried up from all the nooks and crannies (I'd try to be extra safe while doing this). Then let it air out in the garage as long as possible. Maybe put it in a box with some desiccant to keep moisture from getting to the metal.

[Big Rich]

Oh! There are a couple ways to "help" get rid of the smell of gas fumes. I have a bad sense of smell, so can't say it's a sure bet though.....

Start with draining the gas as much as possible of course. Then prop op the tank so the open filler cap is almost directly in front of a car tailpipe. Let the car idle for 15-20 minutes..... the car exhaust will purge the gas fumes out of the tank. After the car exhaust, use a blow dryer or heat gun set on the lowest setting blowing in the open filler cap for another 15-20 minutes. The inside of the tank should be bone dry and free of gas fumes.

[twocool]

use a blow dryer or heat gun set on the lowest setting blowing in the open filler cap for another 15-20 minutes. The inside of the tank should be bone dry and free of gas fumes.

Heat gun + gas fumes...what could possibly go wrong?

Yeah...the fumes will all be gone after the big "boom!!!!  So will the bike and most of your garage!

Cookie

[Big Rich]

Actually, the car exhaust purges all the gas fumes. The heat gun just removes any condensation to prevent rust.

Cookie, I understand it sounds like a bad idea. But there are many professional shops that use the same (or at least similar) technique for purging gas fumes.

[lucas]

Rich your idea sounds reasonable to me, exhaust temps at the tailpipe are not warm enough or contain enough o2 to  ignite gas fumes.  The exhaust is warm enough to help the remaining gas evaporate but car exhaust typically has a higher water content than you want inside your gas tank.  A hair drier does not get hot enough to ignite gasoline vapor and is good for pushing any moisture out of the tank.

I don't think there is much to be afraid of, gasoline is not as explosive as you might think.  Even if you were to empty a gas tank and then try to ignite the fumes inside by using a lighter you would not get an explosion that destroyed your bike and garage.  If you succeeded in igniting the fumes at all you would at most get a small flash or a flame at the cap opening that would go out by itself if you didn't blow it out yourself.

That said, you don't have to do things that people on the internet recommend if it scares you.

[ohgood]

drain the tank
drain the oil
put the used oil in the tank
drain the oil from the tank
dump in some two stroke oil and slosh it around

and put a reminder on your key chain to add oil to the engine

[1034am]

How about an epoxy tank liner? I did mine earlier this summer and so far, no rust. Picked up a kit on Amazon, was pretty easy to install.

Thoughts?

[Daeouse]

Lot of good suggestions on here. Maybe you could put WD40 in the tank and slosh it around periodically. But that's just my un-knowledgeable idea.

[Big Rich]

Wd40 can get pretty messy. A thicker oil would line the tank well.