Cleaning Old Jerry Cans

[Bull]

I found a very old olive green Jerry can in my barn that I would like to use to take to the gas station to get diesel fuel for my tractor. It has not been used in decades, and is dirty inside. There is regular dirt, from the lid being off, as well as what looks like either light rust on the bottom, or maybe old varnish from ancient gas.

I'm looking for suggestions regarding how to clean this before using it. I was going to just use dish soap and hot water, but then wondered whether I was asking for trouble by introducing water, which might not fully evaporate from the inside. I dunno.

 

[rsieracki]

dish soap and hot water then rinsed a few times, then a lil gas swished around and poured out... good as new

 

[Cars&Classic]

if there is a little rust somthing abrasive will help. not sure if I would use water but if you do add some ice cubes and shake it they will knock the scale off. I would use gas or deisl with some nuts and bols or somthing.

 

[fflintstone]

White vinegar, let it soak for a few days, then hot soapy water, then set it somewhere warm to dry.

 

[BlindViper]

I used water and sand 2 clean a 5 gallon can a few weeks ago.

 

[Cardboard Man]

I cleaned a 15 gal. tank on my old tractor a few weeks ago by dumping in some nuts and bolts and then agitating. This broke loose the the rust, scale, and crud that had accumulated over the years. I then flushed it with copious amounts of water and set it in a place that got full sun to dry for 3 days. Reinstalled on the tractor, filled up with gas and on my way with no problems.

 

[WhiteTrash]

I usually clean my gas tanks with some gasoline and a length of chain. The chain is easier to remove than a bunch of nuts and bolts. I often follow it up with a good rinse with the pressure washer. I also use a 99 cent bottle of rubbing alcohol as a final rinse to help dry everything. It had always worked for me.

 

[Steevo]

Put a few pounds of gravel in it, a gallon of diesel, cap it and bungee it to side of the back wheel of your tractor for a day or two of tractor work. The gravel rotating around in there will scour it shiny clean.
Then wash/rinse and dry in the sun, and fill with diesel.

 

[JimDon]

Bull,
Remember your chemistry lessons. LOL You can flash dry anything that had water in it with a nice acetone rinse. Buy it at any paint department. Gasoline dryer at the auto store is the same thing, but much more expensive in those small cans. It's fun to watch acetone being poured onto a bunch of water. It "eats" up the water so fast it just disappears before your eyes.
Cheers,
JimDon

 

[930dreamer]

Clean as stated, how about coating the can with a POR-15 fuel tank type product?

 

[Bull]

I love this place. So many good ideas here.

I thought about the POR 15 coating, but that stuff is expensive. If I keep diesel in it, shouldn't it stay corrosion free?

 

[Okie Pete]

Be sure it is clean Diesel will carry all the rust , tiny dirt particles out of the can.

 

[Bull]

Now, it's not dangerous to agitate the can when it has diesel in it? If I were to add diesle and gravel and shake to clean, I mean. No pressure buildup issues? Is the same true of gas?

As you can see, my chemistry knowledge hovers right around zero.

 

[iBuckethed]

You could try using electrolysis...
I used this process a while back to clean an arbor press that I found in a warehouse. Below is a link to a related YouTube video (it’s not mine).

Do a Google search for ‘electrolysis rust removal’, and you will find many ‘how-to’ sites describing step-by-step the process and why it works.
Use this for your tank, or put it in the back of your head and use it down the road for another project.

Hope this helps!

- iB

 

[Kevin54]

How about dumping a little bit of Muratic acid in there to clean the rust, then neutralize it with some Baking Soda? Or pour some Naval Jelly down into it, swish it around and rinse it all out. Once rinsed out with water you can drop some Drygas into it, or just leave it set out upside down to drain out. Whatever you are going to use the diesel fuel in, (tractor maybe) does it have a filter in the neck of the tank to catch debris?

 

[BlindViper]

Now, it's not dangerous to agitate the can when it has diesel in it? If I were to add diesle and gravel and shake to clean, I mean. No pressure buildup issues? Is the same true of gas?

As you can see, my chemistry knowledge hovers right around zero.

Personally I would use diesel all day before I used gas. You can hit a rock with a hammer and make a spark. I would imagine rocks and the steel gas can might have the same effect.

 

[Frank The Plumber]

Diesel needs a lot more spark or heat than gasoline to burn. I wouldn't play with rocks and gasoline too much but I don't think the diesel will hurt you.

 

[hh76]

go over to jockey journal and search. Tons of info on how to clean and seal fuel tanks.

 

[Lippyp]

TBH by the time you've spent money on cleaning it and sealing it you may as well have bought a new can. I have a couple of old jerry cans and the internal coating is flaking off and it caused havoc in my old diesel trooper blocking the fuel filter. I was going to try and do the same as you but I looked at the price of new cans and it worked out way cheaper to just buy a nice shiny new one and have no risk. I use the old ones now for storing waste oil before it goes to the recycling centre. If you can clean it out on the cheap then fair does but I'd not waste any money on it.

 

[ibedayank]

Bull diesel is differnt than gas it really doesnt vapor but uses very high compression to set it off so sparks really don't have all that much effect on diesel. Because gas turns into a vapor and then can be ignited by a spark is what makes it so dangerous.

all fuel tanks rust over time its more from water being in the fuel than the fuel that is in them

 

[1320stang]

Put a few pounds of gravel in it, a gallon of diesel, cap it and bungee it to side of the back wheel of your tractor for a day or two of tractor work. The gravel rotating around in there will scour it shiny clean.
Then wash/rinse and dry in the sun, and fill with diesel.

I'd start here, maybe add some chain too, then do the acetone rinse. See how it looks from there.

 

[cashishift]

Take it to a radiator shop that cleans out fuel tanks, let them do it.

 

[Bull]

I used bits and pieces of advice from this thread, and got 'er clean.

Started with hot water, dish detergent, and vigorous shaking via my brawny arms. That knocked some scale and a lot of dirt out, but there was still plenty left inside since I only shook it for a few minutes.

I added a gallon of white vinegar and let it sit for a day. That stuff works great. Poured out the first gallon to inspect the interior, and saw it needed more time to work. Put in a fresh gallon, and left it in there for a few days. I'd let it sit in the sun as often as possible, and would shake it, rotate it once or twice per day, to get the vinegar on all interior surfaces. Emptied and rinsed it, and it was like fresh steel in there. After the rinsing, I added some rubbing alcohol and sloshed that around to try and get rid of the moisture in there so it didn't flash rust. It then sat overnight until I had time to go to the gas station to get some diesel for it. A small amount of rust did form in one spot, but nothing major.

Now, I need a spout. Are the openings on these things standard? In other words, will any of the clamp on/screw on nozzles that I see on eBay fit this thing? Also, one Army surplus store mentions separate nozzles for gas and diesel. What would the difference be?

 

[Adrien]

Is it the style with the female threads? My Grandpa has always used a pipe ****** for a spout.

Adrien

 

[Toolhorder]

Thanks for this thread Bull, I have two old jerry cans I want to clean and keep for gas. In CA. you can't just buy them anyone cause of the air nazis.

 

[HOTFR8]

Not to hijack the thread but how do you fix a pin ***** size hole in the side of a Jerry Can ? I cleaned one of mine recently and then filled it with fuel only to find it was leaking in the side.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Not to hijack the thread but how do you fix a pin ***** size hole in the side of a Jerry Can ? I cleaned one of mine recently and then filled it with fuel only to find it was leaking in the side.

JB Weld maybe.

Or at your own risk


Clean the tank out thouroughly, fill with water and braze hole shut.

 

[bazzateer]

Tank sealant will probably seal that pin-hole.

I would never use gravel to clean it. you'll never know if you got it all out. Put in a known number of nuts and bolts, count them in and count them back out again.