Gunk on pressure tank

[cron78]

I let this tank sit on the garage shelf for the past year. It had mixed fuel in it. When I went to dispose of the old fuel I found this ring of gunk at the base of the wrapped up double hose. A line of the gunk even ran down the front of the tank. Tried to get it off with WD-40, didn’t work. Tried "Goof Off" but that seemed to remove paint. Tried motor oil thinking it was oil residue, but that failed too. Any ideas what and why it appeared? Any ideas how to safely remove it. I hate to remove any more paint from this original tank.

Thanks

[david-bartlett]

I like gasoline. Just do it outside.

[dmbono]

the hose decomposed a little

[b-morrison]

there was a post a while back about the destructiveness of ethanol in the gas. I had some softening of hoses so made sure to try premium. since then I have had no problem.

[1946zephyr]

Old gunk like that is typically old gas creating shellac. It’s tough to remove and unfortunately removal may put the paint at risk.

[fisherman6]

As for the question of "why it appeared" I’m assuming this pressure tank was stored with the cap on tight. My guess is that either the gasket under the top weeped a little fuel mix, or the o-ring on the fuel side of the fitting leaked slightly with temperature fluctuations. The fuel mix followed its natural tendency to wick around and cling to the hoes sitting against the top of the tank. As the gasoline evaporated it left the oil and residue behind on the tank. Many of these tanks weep a little bit. If the cap is left loose, this won’t happen, but then that allows air into the tank, fumes out of the tank, and with air comes moisture…
-Ben

OldJohnnyRude on YouTube

[20mercman]

To remove it, use WD-40. It should soften the gunk without damage to the paint.

Steve

[cron78]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I agree with the gas mix leaking or being forced out at the cork gasket over time and drying to leave the residue, even though the gasket was new a year ago. It was my first tank rebuild. The hose was also new a year ago. I did have the cap on tight.

The gunk did wipe off the hose fairly easily. I’m not sure why I didn’t think to try to use gas, since the gas in the mixture is the "solvent" and the oil is the "solute"…not sure why I thought more oil would remove it. I haven’t gotten around to trying the gas yet, but will tomorrow.

BTW, I only use non-ethanol in the motors, so I don’t think that would have made the gunk worse.

Thanks again.

[garry-in-michigan]

It probably isn’t the gasket. The tank top has a buit in pressure relief valve # 32. . . 🙂

[dougs-outboards]

Mine was seeping slightly from the top gasket, so I made a new cork gasket, sealed it with several coats of Rustolium semi gloss black paint, and 847’d it on both sides. 847 generously on the mountng bolts, and It’s working well with no seeping. I use only non eth…

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