Back to Idaho and the 1200's fueling issues, aha!

Charley said:
Not so nice tank story.

Maritime education insists on following pre prepared protocols and ‘enclosed space procedures’.
Failure to do so resulted in a submarine engineer being shut in a torpedo tube.
He was found suffocated when an extensive search to find him took place.

At least his family had a body to bury.
Click to expand...
We had much the same. Extensive training and certification in breathing masks and fit checks, hydrocarbon sniffers and tank ventilation protocols, constantly monitored hardwired communications with the person in the tank, standby rescue crews. Special jumpsuits with heavy duty loops sewn onto the ankles so you could be dragged out in case of collapse, etc. That’s when I first grew my beard: if you had one you couldn’t pass the mask fit check and thus I no longer had to go into tanks.

The incident mentioned above occurred during the building of the aircraft when none of that applied since there were no hydrocarbons ever in the tank yet. Nonetheless, the guy who signed off on the tanks as safe to fill was ultimately responsible for what happened.

BTW, the outside tank crew had none of that! And they were pretty pissed off that they had to be monitored by us during their work. A very sketchy bunch to say the least, but also very well paid and flown around the world to work their magic.
 
So I took a very conservative approach to removing the tank liner, and it has been very successful, save for one item, more on that later.

Conservative, remove fuel taps remove the fuel cap, and place a 2-foot length stainless chain in the tank along with 30 wood screws and 30 sheet metal screws, and tape up the filler hole. Then for the next few weeks place the tank outside in direct sunlight to get it good and hot, then pick up the tank every day giving it a good rotation and shake about. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a clothes dryer or cement mixer for automated rattle and roll. A hairdryer or heat gun would do the same thing as the solar heater but I did not have either so solar it was. Keep in mind it has been very hot lately and the tank would get so hot I needed gloves to pick it up and shake it, global warming aye.

It may be a testament to how badly the liner was applied but after several weeks of direct sunlight onto the tank along with shake rattle and rolling the liner quite literally fell off, see photos. OK, a few minutes of scraping with a wooden spatula got some stubbornly stuck pieces off.

No chemicals needed, none, no vinegar, nothing.

I can't photograph the tank interior but to my eye, it shows no evidence of rust or it ever having rust the inside is as good as it gets, why would someone put a liner in it?? I believe based on its color it is a product known as 'Red Coat'

Now there is that one item from my first sentence or should I say a piece. Yes, there is a chunk of liner and I mean a chunk, for the Aussies and Brits picture a large bar of Cadbury chocolate, while Americans think of a Hershey bar. This solid chunk of epoxy? It's approximately 210mm x 125mm x 30mm (8 x 5 x 1 inch) that's not gonna fit through the filler hole, f...! Hard as granite, its shape mirrors the shape and contours of the rear of the 1200s tank,exactly, from the pooling of the liner during installation no doubt, f...!

What now?
 

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IMO, E10% ethanol fuel avoidance would certainly have delayed the compromised tank liner you see in the fuel lines. It is proven, ethanol is naturally caustic to fuel systems not designed for it.
 
Steve, ethanol-free gasoline is not readily available to the public in California, E10 has been the normal ratio for many, many years no matter what grade of gas you choose in Cali it's all an E10 formula. That is about to change as President Biden has approved the mandatory increase of all gasoline to E15 in his efforts to lower fuel costs.
Idaho is a different story I can choose ethanol-free gas at many stations close to where I am living and it is far cheaper than the E10 in Cali, taxes, taxes,taxes.
 
78jotadave said:
Steve, ethanol-free gasoline is not readily available to the public in California, E10 has been the normal ratio for many, many years no matter what grade of gas you choose in Cali it's all an E10 formula. That is about to change as President Biden has approved the mandatory increase of all gasoline to E15 in his efforts to lower fuel costs.
Idaho is a different story I can choose ethanol-free gas at many stations close to where I am living and it is far cheaper than the E10 in Cali, taxes, taxes,taxes.
Click to expand...
Ethanol free gasoline was outlawed federally last July 30/23 in the socialist post state region called Canada. The ethanol shortage across this country, with
Me and my ethanol testing kit, have found 2 local entities that sell it without advertising it. As well, i
Live 6 miles from the U.S. border, where many fuel companies in Washington state have set up station islands less than 400’ away from the border crossings, to take advantage of dudes like me with my silly motorcycles, and especially boat owners, who are reeling from this move.
 
78jotadave said:
Steve, ethanol-free gasoline is not readily available to the public in California, E10 has been the normal ratio for many, many years no matter what grade of gas you choose in Cali it's all an E10 formula. That is about to change as President Biden has approved the mandatory increase of all gasoline to E15 in his efforts to lower fuel costs.
Idaho is a different story I can choose ethanol-free gas at many stations close to where I am living and it is far cheaper than the E10 in Cali, taxes, taxes,taxes.
Click to expand...
There do appear to be a few in California, but a very few!!
 
It would drive me crazy to leave it there. If you can't figure away to get it out, worse case is cut a flap on the underside of the tank and remove it. Good body man/welder could weld it back up good as new....but probably ruin the paint job in the process??
 
Did I remember right and you're in the medical field, maybe some kind of 90-degree retractor or G clamp could hold it via the fuel cap hole after removing the actual cap and an air saw could bisect it. Where is that keyhole surgeon when you need one? You're going to need to do all this with the tank upside down, tricky but doable. MAYBE
 
The only thing to avoid is tank liners.
If you're worried about alcohol in fuel, rinse the tank out yearly with a phosphate solution and avoid many, many problems..
Alcohol is here to stay.
Paul
 
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