How do you, look inside a gas tank?

RalphWD45 · Feb 19, 2015

Trying to look in the empty gas tank, on my old WD45 I hauled in this winter, to see if I have to take it off to clean it out. I don't want to fill my fresh carb rebuild, with rust and gunk. Flash light gets in my way to see thru the hole, so I made myself a miniature drop light, from an old bulb and socket robbed from a 60's ford truck ashtray light. I spliced 2 four foot 16 gauge automotive wires, to the socket, and put 2 alligator clips on the wires, so I can clip them to the battery posts. I wrapped the 2 wires in black tape full length, so to minimize arcing on the tank hole lip. I dropped that hummer, down the tank hole, clipped it to the battery, and NO explosion! I climbed up and looked, and the whole tank was lit up inside. It works good. Later today I got the idea of a tiny periscope, and found one thru Google, at a science supply, for $19.00, and have that on order, but may have thrown $20 bucks away. OH well another toy.

D beatty · Feb 20, 2015

I use one of the small Mag lites to shine down into tank.

blue water massey · Feb 20, 2015

dental mirror with light
will work in a lot of places

more pics

Den N Ms · Feb 20, 2015

Ralphwd45,I bought a USB Bore Scope from this seller a couple weeks ago.I t was shipped really fast,I got it in 3 days.I hooked it up to a laptop,And talk about work great!I has 6 adjustable brightness LEDs lights in the end with the camera.You can look down cylinder bores,tanks ect.maxbuygo is in the United States .Don't order one from China or Hong Cong. maxbuygo has free shipping also!
Bore Scope

2x4 · Feb 20, 2015

cramped, depending on the size of the tank.

showcrop · Feb 20, 2015

(quoted from post at 00:40:25 02/20/15) Ralphwd45,I bought a USB Bore Scope from this seller a couple weeks ago.I t was shipped really fast,I got it in 3 days.I hooked it up to a laptop,And talk about work great!I has 6 adjustable brightness LEDs lights in the end with the camera.You can look down cylinder bores,tanks ect.maxbuygo is in the United States .Don't order one from China or Hong Cong. maxbuygo has free shipping also!
Bore Scope

Thnaks Dan, I'll have to order one. I just knew that they were going to become cheap if I waited long enough.

VADAVE · Feb 20, 2015

Blue water has the idea.
Your local auto parts store will have one which is less costly then the medical version and the mirror angle will adjust.

Ray · Feb 20, 2015

Harbor freight sells a camera with a 3ft lead that works well.I also use an led flashlight on a string and lower it into the tank.It works better than regular light.

J.Wondergem · Feb 20, 2015

I drop a mini light on a wire down into the bottom of the tank, and look around in side with a mechanics mirror.

CKain(MI) · Feb 20, 2015

Back in the 60's, I saw a Burma Shave roadside ad, You know, signs that have a saying, this one was; 'He lit a match, to check the tank, Now they call him skinless Frank'

Dennis (VA) · Feb 20, 2015

I think it maybe better to get a tank cleaning and recoating kit. This will clean out the tank and once coated stop it from rusting the future.

AlinArk · Feb 20, 2015

with 81 negatives and 76 neutrals in the past year i think i would buy from someone else.

RandyB(MI) · Feb 20, 2015

Well I vote the bore scope. Got a good one for Christmas and it's unbelievable the uses one finds for one. Nice to be able to look around inside an engine cylinder through plug hole for stuck open valves/cracked or burned piston or antifreeze leaking in etc. Grand-kids had ear ache. Looked down in there and found packed ear wax. You can look over all your own teeth or look for throat problems. Inspect inside furnace , find that "lost bolt/washer" before you button up that engine and fire it up. This thing will pay for itself, maybe overkill for your tank but you will not regret having one.

Brian G. NY · Feb 20, 2015

Last year I bought the $69.99 borescope from HF to use in retrieving the broken governor weights from inside the timing cover on my Allis D-17. It worked quite well and I was successful.
It took 4 different methods; only one piece was steel that could be attracted to a magnet. It seems the thing to get now is one of the USB scopes that plug right into your desktop or laptop.
Cheaper and should work even better.
I haven't used it again but I can see where it may come in handy for things like looking inside a gas tank, oil pan, cylinder or whatever should I ever have the need.

Rich_WI · Feb 20, 2015

(quoted from post at 02:40:25 02/20/15) Ralphwd45,I bought a USB Bore Scope from this seller a couple weeks ago.I t was shipped really fast,I got it in 3 days.I hooked it up to a laptop,And talk about work great!I has 6 adjustable brightness LEDs lights in the end with the camera.You can look down cylinder bores,tanks ect.maxbuygo is in the United States .Don't order one from China or Hong Cong. maxbuygo has free shipping also!
Bore Scope

Thanks for posting that. I knew the price of those would drop like the non-contact thermometers but I didnt think they dropped that far yet. We have a Milwaukee at work with a 3 foot wand on it, paid $400 a couple years ago and its already broken. As far as anybody remembers, it only was used on one job, the second it wasnt "needed" but used and it never worked after that. Soon everybody at work will be issued one of those fancy notepads, when I get mine I will get a scope just to see how it works. There are a TON of them listed on ebay and for $20, its cheaper than a night at the movies.

Thanks again.

RandyB(MI) · Feb 20, 2015

I think they paid $ 179 for mine but it is a very nice one with it's own batt charger and nice big clear screen etc.Ryobi Tech 4

gears · Feb 20, 2015

I use this nifty little light I got off the tool truck - call it my magic wand.

I've picked up 4 of em and keep one in the garage, one in the barn, one in the basement and one in the truck. I don't know what I did before I got one.

Chris Jones · Feb 20, 2015

I did the same as you did 10 years ago. Worked great. Used a small mirror glued to a piece of copper wire stuck in there too. Got a flexible led flashlight set a few years ago at HF--smaller, a bit safer but frankly not as bright.

The little one runs on watch batteries they're expensive to replace. The big on is great and uses AA or AAA batteries--well it was great for a few years but now has developed a problem where it goes off occasionally when bent a certain way.
HF Flexible Shaft LED Light

JMS/.MN · Feb 20, 2015

H3 bulb from the JD planter monitor.....in a socket wired with alligator clips to hook to 12v car battery.

T in NE · Feb 20, 2015

First you tell your buddy hold my beer....

jtwat · Feb 20, 2015

I used a match.......once!

How do you, look inside a gas tank?

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