Is there anything that will dissolve poly?

[PGreenSVT]

I have a 91 gallon heated tank that I need to remove about about a 1/8 to 3/16 inch of polymerized WVO from the inside of. Does anyone know of anything that will dissolve this without eating up the aluminum or the heat exchanger? If I can't find something to clean it by dissolving the poly I'm going to have to cut it apart and have it re-welded. I pumped it all out and drove it around for a week with 3.5 gallons of gas in it and that softened the poly up but did not dissolve it. Looking for something know to dissolve the poly. Anybody?

[ridiculously_necessary]

i have heard oven cleaner. but thats to clean, i wouldnt run it through the system.

[PGreenSVT]

No the tank is out of the truck right now until I can figure out how to clean it out. There is no way to spray oven cleaner inside the tank without cutting it open though. That may help IF I have to cut it open though, thanks.

[Clay Henry]

I think your best bet is to cut it open, use a putty knife and remove as much as you can and then use "break clean" to wipe the last of it out. Break clean is nasty stuff so wear rubber gloves and eye protection and then make sure to clean it out with soap and water before welding! Burning break clean produces a very toxic smoke.
Cut the back or bottom out of it so the weld will be hidden when done.

[Clay Henry]

Break clean is the only thing i have ever found that will remove Poly easily.

[ridiculously_necessary]

anyone know if methanol and lye can remove this? just wondering if you can treat it like biodeisel feedstock and then wash it out... maybe scrape some poly out and try it in a 2 liter bottle?

[PGreenSVT]

There is no way to scrape anything out of the tank. The biggest hole in it is the fill tube. Clay, I am obviously considering cutting the tank just trying to figure out how and where. It has the internal heat exchanger and is supposed to be baffled so it would help to know how all of that lays out and is attached.

I used brake cleaner cleaning out the pre-filter and the check valve and pressure regulator. It doesn't dissolve the poly. It seems to dry it out some. I found starting fluid kind of freeze dries it and you can wipe the residue off but there is too much in the tank for that approach. The gas softened it up and it would scrape our easily or blow out with my pressure washer once I get the tank open.

[Clay Henry]

Oh i forgot you have the heated tank.
Um, in that case i would cut the top out.
a scraper and break clean will do it. I clean poly all the time with break clean.

[vegginpsd]

why is there poly in a aluminum tank?

[Clay Henry]

Originally Posted by vegginpsd

why is there poly in a aluminum tank?

Thats kinda what i thought too but he said he left it setting a very long time with vegi oil in it...eventually it dryed i guess. This is a tank he bought from me over a year ago, i had drained it before shipping it so it had a minimal amount of oil in it.