Re: Integral Tank Cleaning With Ammonia

[mr-asa]

quote mogems@yahoo.com:

Back in the day, I did my ’55 Harley tank.
1st step: Store bought Purple Heavy Duty cleaner w/H2O, handfull of small 1/4 to 5/16 junk bolts & nuts, wrapped tank in a blanket & duct taped (previous owner had foolishly had it professionally painted w/o cleaning the tank!), put it in the back of my pickup and let it roll around for about a week. It did a “fair” job.
2nd step: Bought the old stand-by: “CREME” three step system. Repeated step 1 above. Flushed as per instructions, dried & sealed.
Step 2 worked. I’m curious to try the ammonia deal. George

All of those "Purple Power" and "Purple Blast" and "Super Clean" and the rest usually contain ethylene glycol monobutyl. It is caustic. It will eat away aluminum and copper. If you have enough of the stuff and put it into a bucket with a part and leave it long enough you will no longer have a part.
A small amount for a short amount of time can be oko, but if you leave it to soak for a week or so I would expect to start seeing microfractures and pitting consistent with the metal being eaten away.

I would not use any of those cleaners for more than a quick spray down and wash.

quote beerman57:

How should I dispose of the ammonia? I thought about pouring it on the driveway on a hot, sunny day and let it evaporate.

You can dilute it with water and pour it down the sink. A large amount of household cleaners have it as the most active cleaning agent.
It is also what makes urine smell like it does, so your local sewage treatment place should be equipped to handle it. If you have a septic tank I’d dilute it to about .5-1 cup per gallon of water and pour it down the drain over the course of a couple of days.
Or you could always keep it in a container and use it to clean stuff until it gets black with grease and the like.