Flash Rust ?

[skdvr]

I was O2 cleaning a couple of tanks with a buddy last night and have a small amount of flash rust in the bottom of the tank. I was using glass beads as the media with a simplegreen solution. I put the glass beads in the tank with the intention of putting the solution in right away and getting them on the tumbler. Well I got side tracked and the media sat in the tank for a while before they got filled with the solution and put on the tumbler. The beads were still a little wet from the last tumble session a few days ago so now on the bottom of his two steel tanks is a honeycomb shape from where the damp beads were sitting. It is just an outline of each bead that was actually touching the tank.

So my question is, is this small amount of flash rust OK for PP blending or should I tumble them again to get the rust out?

Thanks
Phil

 

[RJP]

So my question is, is this small amount of flash rust OK for PP blending or should I tumble them again to get the rust out?

 

[imwright1985]

rust is bad, get it out. rust doesnt stop "growing" unless its removed and treated and rust contains moisture (I dont think that would be good in my tank either)

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Flash rust is not a sufficiently large problem to cause a tank to fail a VIP and assuming suitably dry fills, it will most likely not become a problem for a few more years.

But....for O2 cleaning, I prefer to remove it. In addition to the attracting moisture and promoting additional rusting issue, it creates a particle entrainment problem where small bits of rust could get caught up in the gas flow. If so, it could in the extreme impact the side of a passage in the valve or reg at high velocity and create a spark and consequently create an ignition source.

 

[skdvr]

It has been decided that they will be re-cleaned....

Better to be safe than sorry...

Thanks for all the input...

Phil