Technical Shipping a used gas tank

Got a guy who is interested in a gas tank I have for a '54 Ford Ranch Wagon. Not a very common item and its just taking up room in the shop. So I quoted him a low ball price but the problem is that it needs to be shipped back east. I should be able to box it up in a bicycle box and take it to FedEx or UPS no problem. But I'm concerned about it being a gas tank. Supposedly people ship them as auto parts with no further description. Although it hasn't had gas in it for over a year I'm still concerned about it coming back on me if something happens. Anyone have experience shipping a used tank? Thanks.

 

Better get someone going that way. I doubt that the usual shipping companies will touch it. Besides, it's huge. And shipping cost generally has more to do with size than weight.

 

You could fill it with a spray foam that will dissolve if it comes in contact with acetone. Then all the buyer would have to do is pour some cheap acetone on it and rinse it out. The other alternative would be to wrap it in so many layers of saran wrap that it wouldn't be able to breathe/ have any way of being exposed to a spark.

 

You've got to remember new fuel tanks get shipped all the time, if yours has sludge in it pour in a couple of quarts of lacquer thinner, wire a rag on a stick and start mopping, once the sludge is gone take the tank to the car wash and wash it good with hot soapy water, let it dry then check for gasoline/solvent fumes, repeat as needed until all the fumes are gone.

You use this same procedure if you need to weld on the fuel tank; no fumes, no explosion.

 

Clean it out well, then use something like duct tape to seal the gas filler & the fuel sender, there can be no obvious odor.

Before you go much further take it to the shipper but don't tape the box up where they can't view it, if done properly you shouldn't have a problem. HRP

 

Sounds like carburetors. If you call it a used carburetor, they won't touch it. Most do call them auto parts. If you can smell it, they probably will. They will kick it right out. I've seen carbs shipped in 3 zip locks. They arrived. I would put it in a few tightly sealed bags, put that in a box and foam around it.
That being said, there is a reason for not hauling them. Shit happens. I'd hate to be the one that blew somebody up. Mike

 

Put about a pound of pot in it.... THAT will hide the gasoline odor!

 

Yeah! When you light up a doobie from that, it will give a whole new meaning to getting high

 

That's just wrong. I'm sorry but I disagree. Guys are killed on the regular with that kind of thinking. Do some get away with it, they sure do. But not all of them.

Drum Explodes During Welding, Killing Worker - YouTube

As far as sending a used tank in the mail, wash it out, tape it up, box it up and ship it out. Auto parts. That's how mine came to me from NY.

 

In regards to gas tanks exploding. When I was working in the depot machine shop as part of Project Transition before I got out of the Army an old timer took a torch to a 55 gallon drum that hadn't had gas in it for at least 30 years. The drum exploded and killed him. Something about the fumes being impregnated in the metal.

Still up in the air about shipped the tank labeled as auto parts.

 

Is your "lowball price" worth the time you will spend (waste?) cleaning, bagging, deodorizing, packaging, then worry about whether you can sneak it past the shippers?

 

Unless it can be professionally cleaned and certified, don't ship it via conventional means. HAMB relay. More than 30 years as a firefighter taught me a thing or 2. A pile of used gas tanks burning in a wrecking yard is a sight to behold.

 

I’d tell the fella you just can’t find an acceptable way to ship it. Since it’s not a common item, someone will eventually buy it and pick it up.

 

When they weld bike tanks, I have seen them run exhaust from a running car through the tank. This issue supposed to neutralize the gas fumes completely. Seen it but never tried it.

 

Had a guy with a raditor shop have a gas tank blow up on him and kill him a few years ago about 12 miles from the house. Allegedly he had used what he thought were the right precautions.

Truthfully the time you will have to spend and the trouble that you will have to go to to make sure it is as safe as you can get it just aren't worth it. Most shippers will not take a used gas tank knowingly at any time. Sneaking one past and then having something happen and having it tracked back to you isn't good. It doesn't have to explode on it's own. It just has to be part of the aftermath of an accident.

 

I was just trying to find someone that could use it instead of trashing it. But you're correct. Not worth the issues. I'll tell the guy no go unless he can figure out how to get it there without my name on it. Or maybe not at all given the safety/liability issues.

 

I shipped a used 1951 Mercury gas tank a few years ago from FL to CA.
First cleaned it our really good and let it air out completely for a few days. Sealed the openings with duct tape, put it in a home made cardboard box with a handle and shipped it UPS. It was shipped as a "car part". No problems.

 

I've never done it, but I like his idea of getting it put back into use.....good parts deserve a second life (or more). Like said above clean it, dry it and seal it. I would also make a box from thick cardboard so it has a better chance. Use something like this to seal the whole tank.

 

Noel C, mr48 chevy, if you clean out the gas tank so there aren't any gas fumes, how can there be an explosion?

wahoo, the urban legend of using engine exhaust to neutralize gasoline fumes is just that, an urban legend and is in no way safe. Also, filling up the gas tank with water is in no way safe as all it will do is concentrate any gasoline fumes to one area, that area usually being exactly where you need to weld. I repeat, the only way to safely weld on a fuel tank is to clean out all the sludge with lacquer thinner, then wash out the fuel tank with hot soapy water until there are no detectable fumes. Something that helps is to lay the fuel tank out in the hot sun for a few hours to "cook" out any remaining residue from the seams, it also helps to blow air through the fuel tank using the exhaust from a shopvac, keep blowing until you don't smell any fumes, remember, no fumes, no explosion.

Another option is to take the fuel tank to a radiator shop and have it cleaned out in a caustic bath until there are no detectable fumes.

mr48chevy, your friend at the radiator shop apparently didn't clean out the fuel tank properly, remember, no fumes, no explosion.

515o4bat, you should never use a torch to open up any metal container, to take the lids out of 55 gallon drums I use a 4" wide rock chisel and a five pound maul, have done dozens and have lived to tell the tale. Best of luck with your future projects.

 

Just cause you don't smell it doesn't mean other can't. But sure,

Fuel tank exploded. Lifehack goes wrong 18+ - YouTube

 

Done it before put the garden house let running for 30 minutes then I use a map gas torch to dry the water then I put 3 gallons of vinegar no issues

 

I received a used OT Jeep tank. The tank was empty for a while, it was dry and full of acorns. It is a used gas tank and it did have a smell. It came sealed in a garbage bag that was in a box. UPS was the shipper, you can see from my profile where it was delivered to.

 

NoelC, if you still have concerns after properly cleaning out a fuel tank, as you weld continue to blow air into that fuel tank using the exhaust from a shopvac, the air going in will displace any accumulated fumes if there are any. (Keep in mind gasoline fumes are heavier than air so they will accumulate at the bottom of the container, one of the reasons you should never use an acetylene torch to cut the top out of a 55 gallon drum as it may "smell" safe but it isn't).

jimmy six, you should never use engine exhaust to purge a gas tank of fumes, think about this, if the engine is running rich, what kind of fumes are you filling your gas tank with?

 

Use one of the fuel tank sealer products like this . They tell you how to prep the tank and once sealed, you shouldn't have any problems.
https://www.dimecitycycles.com/red-koter-the-only-real-fuel-tank-sealer-and-liner-1-quart-g.html

 

I have to admit to growing up during a time when you didn't question authority.
Don't touch it, don't do that, may or may not have come with a reason, but it always came with consequence or repercussion.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
While there is some contradiction, Land mine smelling rats, drug sniffin beagles, the smell test isn't an approved testing method to ensure no flammable or combustible fumes are present. At the top, middle or bottom. It just isn't. Our noses aren't sensitive enough.
Cop says...I think I smell marijuana in the car. Ruin your day just as quick.

A boss comes along and say's weld it I don't smell anything, you want your kids to weld it?

So yea, while we can wash it out to make it smell like a spring morning, it's still a risk.

 

First check with the buyer of your tank to see if they want you to coat the inside of the tank since they may want to be able to see the raw metal condition of the used tank as it is without any kind of sealer.
Plus, there's the additional cost and potential" sealer" adhesion problems.

 

I had the same sort of thing happen. I advertised some fiberglass Anglia doors in a local Trader paper years ago. A guy contacts me and says he'll take them and give me my price. Perfect!! Then he says I need to ship them to a city 4 hours away ... and that ended the sale. No way was I wasting my time boxing up two (admittedly light weight) doors and taking them to a shipping depot. Interestingly, a while later someone else contacted me from 4 hours in the other direction wanting them. It just so happened that he lived 1/2 hr past our cottage so we arranged a meet the next time we were at the cottage and the doors were sold. A while after that, the first guy decided it was worth the drive but it was too late, they had been sold.

I say keep the tank, keep advertising it and someone will take it. If you really want it gone, donate it to someone who sells at auto fleamarkets.

 

I'll probably get flamed for this but, I gotta disagree with most of the comments here. Take it to the DIY car wash and clean it well, inside and out. Duct tape any openings, stick it in the box and shove some packing material in there so it doesn't rattle around then send it. The only way there would be an issue was if someone shoved a torch down the filler neck. We live in the real world here. Too many nervous Nancy's.
Here it comes.......flame suit is on!

 

Lol, I’m no lawyer, didn’t even stay at an HI express, but if a used tank is deemed hazardous waste? and it was found out (torn package etc) could there be repercussions?
Either way, just seems like it’s a hassle to spend the time/effort to thoroughly clean it, for a “crazy low price”, which I’ll wager isn’t going to cover a mortgage payment

 

I would clean it out. Pressure wash inside. Duck tape opening. Then shrink wrap before boxing up and send it ground. That’s what I would do