Fuel so old it was solid!

[Doc]

My neighbor asked me to take a look at a 5200 watt generator his inlaws had. It went into storage in 2004 when they passed away. The tank was 3/4 full and the fuel valve was left open when it went into storage. No idea how old the gas was at the time it went into storage. The fuel in the tank now moves like cold syrup. The fuels lines are plugged solid. literally solid goo.... cannot squeeze or pry the goo out of the rubber lines The carb bowl was 1/2 full of the solid goo and I had to pull it away from the float. I have a gut feeling the carb is toast but I will give it a try to clean. I will have to say, This is the worst fuel line/carb I have ever seen in 30+ years of tinkering on small engines. Any reccomendations to get this clean??

 

[cyamaha2007]

I used a chemical called mek to un goo a 31 model a carb after 7 years of sitting.

 

[marty_p]

Man, do I ever feel your pain!!!

Other than trying a can or two of aerosol Berryman's B12 Chemtool carb cleaner, I offer you my prayers!

 

[FunkyfullWidth]

Hopefully the float wasn't stuck and let fuel into the crank case. Replace all the fuel lines, replace the inline filter if there is one. Might be one bolted to the bottom of the tank. Take the whole carb apart and just let it soak. then blow it out check for damage to the bowl o-ring, and the needle and try it out. definately give that sucker an oil change, new plug, check air filter... all of Which probably goes without saying.

 

[Rust]

I used a chemical called mek to un goo a 31 model a carb after 7 years of sitting.

methyl ethyl ketone

I've used it on gummy carbs and it works wonders.

 

[03protege]

Fully disassemble the carb and blast it with carb cleaner.

I had one that was gooped up with solid debris that I had to clean out before this last hurricane. Also get some toothpicks I found them very helpful for removing the solids out of the pathways.

 

[03protege]

Is that MEK the same that is used as the activator for fiberglass resins?

 

[slip knot]

Small drill bits work well to clean the junk out of the carb passages too. Find a bit thats a close match in size to the orifice you want to clean and slowly turn it by hand while feeding it in. The gunk will come out like shavings, in long spirals sometimes. I've saved a few carbs doing this.

Needless to say ,dont use a drill to turn the bit.

 

[Frank]

Lacquer thinner has worked well for me after a good long soak. Never tried the MEK before. Just as long as you don't have a plastic float.

Careful where you dump that old sludge. I poured some out of a tank in my driveway once and even after cleaning it up, a year later, you could still smell that stuff in the air.

 

[Doc]

I just pulled the bowl from the ultrasonic cleaner after 30 minutes with boiling hot water and purple stuff mix. It pulled about 75% off. I will let the bowl soak oversight and see what happens to that before I throw the whole carb in. still a sticky glue/varnish in it....

 

[dladcock]

I just pulled the bowl from the ultrasonic cleaner after 30 minutes with boiling hot water and purple stuff mix. It pulled about 75% off. I will let the bowl soak oversight and see what happens to that before I throw the whole carb in. still a sticky glue/varnish in it....

That will do the trick 99% of the time. Boiling a carb to clean the ports is as old as carbs themselves. Good Luck!

 

[trbomax]

Is that MEK the same that is used as the activator for fiberglass resins?

NO! Methylethylkeytone peroxide is the catalyst used with polyester resin.It is a strong oxidizer,not a solvent. MEK is methylethylkeytone,its a strong solvent. It used to be one of the main ingredients in paint remover. It is also a known carcinigin.If I wre doing it I'd try zylol or lacquer thinner,but either one will go after the paint on the unit.

 

[EW57]

I've been a longtime fan of Avgas for winter storage and/or anything that might sit longer than planned as it seems to be resistant to varnishing. I bought a bike that sat for >12 years with a half tank of avgas & after draining the fuel from the tank (it was darker, but still not stinky/varnished), replacing the fuel line & filter, & refilling with fresh fuel, it started up on the 2nd kick. YMMV.

 

[rlitman]

Small drill bits work well to clean the junk out of the carb passages too. Find a bit thats a close match in size to the orifice you want to clean and slowly turn it by hand while feeding it in. The gunk will come out like shavings, in long spirals sometimes. I've saved a few carbs doing this.

Needless to say ,dont use a drill to turn the bit.

Better than a drill bit, is a torch tip cleaner set.
They're a set of a special type of file, designed to clean out a round hole. They come in an assortment of sizes, and there's always one that fits nicely.
I've actually even seen them marketed for carb cleaning use, but they were made to clean oxy/acetylene torch tips.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Like Frank, I'd be using lacquer thinner. It's what I have on hand and what I would try first.

Sounds llike you have a good portion of it off already.

 

[BillK]

Regular Safety Kleen parts washer solvent has worked just fine for us with old "gummy" gas.

 

[onewaydave]

Piano wire, or a violin "E" string will get deeper than the drill bit or torch tip cleaner. Has to be stiff and small diameter.

Dave.

 

[Daves69]

Soak it in paint stripper.

 

[metaleltr]

Is that MEK the same that is used as the activator for fiberglass resins?

No that is MEK peroxide.

 

[Doc]

well after 24 hours, purple stuff barley did any work. I will hit it with laquer thinner tomorrow....

 

[beardog]

I have had good results cleaning gummy carbs with brake cleaner.

 

[Doc]

hit it with lacquer thinner tonight, not much for impressive results. just made everything gooey. I took it over to a friend who has a 5 gal can of carb soak. If that does not work, I'll drop the $75 for a new one. Not worth the effort to create this much of a mess...

 

[Gone]

NO! Methylethylkeytone peroxide is the catalyst used with polyester resin.It is a strong oxidizer,not a solvent. MEK is methylethylkeytone,its a strong solvent. It used to be one of the main ingredients in paint remover. It is also a known carcinigin.If I wre doing it I'd try zylol or lacquer thinner,but either one will go after the paint on the unit.

Methylethylketone (MEK) is NOT a known carcinogen. It is an irritant. So avoid getting it on yourself, but, it isn't that dangerous. MEK is chemically very similar to acetone. It is heavier, so it is less volatile (evaporates more slowly). The biggest danger (outside of splashing it in your eyes) is a fire. It is still quite flammable. Another note on safety is that the EPA no longer considers it a "harmful air pollutant".

MEK peroxide is a completely different chemical. It is a much stronger irritant and is considerably more dangerous as far as chemical burns. I found no evidence of it being a carcinogen either.

 

[Daves69]

Try the paint stripper

 

[Doc]

well the carb cleaner just made it more ggoier than before. I went and got some MEK and let me tell you, It cleaned that carb in no time. The passages are perfectly clean. I have a new cleaner in my arsenol! Now I need to clean the 3 gallons of syrup varnish from the tank!

Thanks to all.

 

[trbomax]

Methylethylketone (MEK) is NOT a known carcinogen. It is an irritant. So avoid getting it on yourself, but, it isn't that dangerous. MEK is chemically very similar to acetone. It is heavier, so it is less volatile (evaporates more slowly). The biggest danger (outside of splashing it in your eyes) is a fire. It is still quite flammable. Another note on safety is that the EPA no longer considers it a "harmful air pollutant".

MEK peroxide is a completely different chemical. It is a much stronger irritant and is considerably more dangerous as far as chemical burns. I found no evidence of it being a carcinogen either.

You are correct about the MEK,it is NOT carcinigenic.

 

[Gone]

You are correct about the MEK,it is NOT carcinigenic.

I'm glad you didn't think that was a personal attack. Your response made me nervous myself,so I looked it up to check.

 

[cyamaha2007]

MEK is a wonder chemical for stuff like that. Get a hand full of sharp rocks (gravel) Toss them in the tank. Then put a pint of mek in the tank. Shake the hell out of it. Then let it sit. repeat till clean

 

[Doc]

awesome idea! That is my plan for tomorrow

 

[fflintstone]

I've been a longtime fan of Avgas for winter storage and/or anything that might sit longer than planned as it seems to be resistant to varnishing. I bought a bike that sat for >12 years with a half tank of avgas & after draining the fuel from the tank (it was darker, but still not stinky/varnished), replacing the fuel line & filter, & refilling with fresh fuel, it started up on the 2nd kick. YMMV.

After being besieged with carb problems in small engines, I have started using Av gas in all small engines. I have not had a problem since, but it has only been about 8 months now. I bought steel safety cans for fuel storage.

Two years ago I volunteered to mow the grass at our church. They had a 1996 riding mower that had been sitting since 2000. It had frown goo in the float bowl, fuel line and tank. I used MEK and got it running.

 

[77hoss]

I used Pinesol to clean some nasty carbs I had for a motorcycle project. Works great. I'd bet in an ultrasonic cleaner it'd work even better.

 

[skyking]

Hopefully the float wasn't stuck and let fuel into the crank case. Replace all the fuel lines, replace the inline filter if there is one. Might be one bolted to the bottom of the tank. Take the whole carb apart and just let it soak. then blow it out check for damage to the bowl o-ring, and the needle and try it out. definately give that sucker an oil change, new plug, check air filter... all of Which probably goes without saying.

Good advice !!

 

[skyking]

After being besieged with carb problems in small engines, I have started using Av gas in all small engines. I have not had a problem since, but it has only been about 8 months now. I bought steel safety cans for fuel storage.


With all due respect ;
You probably know that the fine for that is about $30,000. A better solution is to run high test 100% gas in everything. No alcohol.I do and also run the same in my two airplanes as well.High test (premium) is 97 octane and Av gas is 100 octane. Av gas is usually 50%-70% higher in price than pump gas also.

 

[trbomax]

I'm glad you didn't think that was a personal attack. Your response made me nervous myself,so I looked it up to check.

Not at all,I shold have looked it up instead of trying to remember stuff off hand!