Cleaning inside tank.

I'm needing to clean the inside of my tank.on my t100. It's full of rust since it didn't move for 3 years. I'm going to try apple cider vinegar (ment to be good) and clean it out with water. Should I use distilled water or de-ionised water. Does it matter?
Thanks

 

Gav, cider vinegar is probably ok, never heard of using it personally, but who knows. When it comes to distilled or de-ionised water there is a bit of a difference but in this case I doubt it will make a difference as long as you dry the tank out properly.
For info
As water (even the stuff from your cold tap) contains a certain amount of dissolved chemicals, gases and particulates any of which can promote corrosion if its allowed to stay in contact with mild steel (and some stainless steels).
As I spent sometime working on power stations I picked up the following about water treatment.

The cooling water, usually from a large source such as the sea, lake or river is chock full of all sorts of crap which they need to remove because it'll bung up the pipes and cause corrosion and erosion. After the water has passed through the primary filter screen to take out the big stuff like fish and leaves. It then goes through charcoal and finally a multiple filtration process to remove the dissolved particles, chemicals and gases.

Each process only removes one element such as dissolved gases, dissolved particulates or dissolved chemicals

• De-ionised water is the water that has been filtered by passing the water through vessels that contain ion exchange media. The cation (pronounced cat ion),vessel removes the anions and the anion bed removes the cations, (positive charged ions attracted to the negatively charged media and vice versa) so it's just about free of any particulate contamination, but it still has dissolved gases and dissolved chemicals, (natural or stuff put in by the water company).
• Distilled water is just the condensate from the distillation of any water, effectively a chemical cleaning process. The chemicals (chlorine etc) will boil off but it will have dissolved particulate and have dissolved gases.
• De-Aerated water has had the dissolved gases removed by heating the water in a de-aeration vessel by boiling the water in a vacuum to extract the gases. It will still have both dissolved chemicals and particulates.

So the best is de-ionised, distilled, de-aerated water but unless you know someone who is a water treatment chemist you probably wont get the stuff as it's mega bucks per litre.

 

If the rust is not too bad cider vinegar will work fine, if the rust is more advanced, chuck a hand full of self tapping or plasterboard screws in the tank and give it good old rattle around with the vinegar....until your arms ache, about 30 minutes should be enough.
Personally, after emptying tank and shaking all the screws out, I would flush it all out with tap water, drain it all off, and immediately run a hair dryer in filler hole for an hour so that internal is completely dry.
Put tank back on and fill it to brim with fuel.
If the rust is VERY bad, you may want to (or have to) consider the more thorough cleaning and lining kits available. The one Frosts sale is very good
http://www.frost.co.uk/por15-motorcycle-fuel-tank-repair-kit.html
Graham

 

I have cleaned the tank and it looks good. I took the carbs off and cleaned them out with carb cleaner. There was a bit off rust lying in them. I put it all back together and now it won't start! I opened one off the bleed nipples on the carbs and no fuel came out, so checked the hose and it's ok. Anyone have any idea to what I've done wrong? This is the first time I've tried this! Not going great!!

 

Obvious But -
Fuel in Tank ?
Fuel tap on ?
take off tube end at carb and check for fuel - if none then remove pipe from tank tap (if it has one) and again check for fuel, eliminate sections one by one could just need tank tap cleaning if its full of crud etc.

 

Took off the tube and it's not blocked. Little filter at end is fine to and the fuel tap is working ok. I think I've checked the obvious but I'm new to this so maybe done something stupid and not noticed.

 

If its an EFi you will have a fuel pump in the tank ? a fuel pump fuse ? and a fuel pump relay under the tank ?
I think when you initially turn on the bike it should be possible to hear the pump but only for a few seconds.
No noise - check the fuse, relay and wiring, etc (could be disturbed a wire while busy removing tank) does sound electrical to be honest.
Also fuel filter (in the tank accessible by removing pump)

 

If not EFi then Float needle valves blocked, inlet needle valves or jets blocked (standing long time fuel turns to thick varnish type stuff and blocks jets etc)
Though I did note you mentioned cleaning the carbs earlier, did you specifically clean the float needles valves and jets )

PS Not had much to do with your model at all, all I'm doing is reading my manual and trying to give you some idea as where to start !! I'm no bike mechanic

 

Not my bike so this is not specific to you.
If you have a fuel tap that is vacuum operated,turn to prime and try again. If you remove the bottom of the pipe does fuel flow then? You may have blocked a filter in the tank
Could you have connected the fuel pipes wrongly,ie vacuum to breather??
I take it the fuel is new,if not throw the old away it is u/s
Is it def a fuel problem, you may have accidentally disconnected a wire,it has happened before

Sorry if this is no use,just trying to help. As previous,I am not a mechanic. My bike is an old 95 Sprint

 

I think the T100 is gravity fed, not vacuum like the triples, so if fuel is not flowing into the float bowl then the pipe must be blocked somehow.

 

Yep totally agree, if its gravity fed then check the tap to see if fuel is running out when turned to on or reserve ?
No fuel then blockage is tank side, tap, filter, hose etc
If fuel is running then move to carbs and check for fuel in float chambers, First pull off pipe to carb is fuel flowing ?
No then blockage is in the pipe.
Yes then again check carbs if no fuel in chambers then blocked or stuck float valves

 

I've checked all the pipes and tank. There all ok. So it must be the floats in the carbs then?

 

so are you saying fuel is running from the tank tap ?
Fuel is running out of the pipe where it reaches the carbs ?
if that is the case it is looking like float valves are stuck, you could try tapping bowls on carbs with the
handle of a screw driver to see if it frees them up at all,
otherwise thorough carburetor strip and clean

 

My guess is you have reassembled the float needles incorrectly so that they are jammed closed.....or, as said, they are simply gummed up.
Did you remove needles, clean, and blow out galleys?
If carbs have been stood for years, I strip them completely, i.e. remove all jets and needles, then submerge everything, including ALL of the carb bodies in paint thinners or carb cleaner for a couple of days. Blow all the jets and galleys in body through with an air line and reassemble with new gaskets/seals.
Have you got a schematic drawing of the carb to check correct assembly?

 

I’ve protected the inside of petrol tanks on classics whilst they were in storage using a similar method as chiari. I used a mix of petrol and quite a bit of 2stroke oil. The 2 stroke oil mixes far better with petrol than most other oils and therefore gives better coverage once the petrol has evaporated.

 

I’m with Tiglet. My winter park up routine is to dose the nearly empty tank with a good slug of two stroke oil then slop it all round to oil the tin. On start up ( after a top up with fresh fuel) you have a nostalgic trip down RD250 memory lane leaving a blue trail but you know the worst of the condensation and corrosion has been kept at bay.