oil tank rescue

[jorrow]

Whats the best way for internal/external rust removal on a found in a barn oil tank, im not sure yet if its salvagable.... I would assume putting it in an acid bath, but im not sure of the concentration or how long.

[Paps]

Well.....assuming the tank has no oil residue left in it, I would think it doesn't by your rust description, I have been trying a trick Chris Haynes pointed out. Instead of an oil tank, I am doing it on a fuel tank. Pure white vinegar is the liquid. I filled my fuel tank a month ago with it. Because my sons have not been around to carry the tank out to dump it for me, the vinegar has been in it that long. The time doesn't concern me though. What I have noticed, is the rust has been climbing up and out of the fill opening. It has been collecting into globs around the opening. I'll post a pic of this in the near future. Using a flashlight to see into the tank and its' walls, I can clearly see a vast improvement. Paps

[Paps]

Check out what has been happening to the rust in this tank ! Note how it has been finding its' way out of the tank ! See the rust build up around the filler neck and fuel rod seal ?? Paps

[Paps]

The pic of the tank above is while using Chris Haynes's white vinegar !! Paps

[Chuck#1848]

Just a thought

What do you think it would do to a VL tank that is soldered in construction verses the welded tanks.

[Ohio-Rider]

Paps…. That looks like someone has been chewing tobacco and mistaking your tank for a spittoon. LOL

[Paps]

Soldered in tank ? How about it Chris ?? Will the white vinegar work around the solder ?

Yeah Steve....I thought the same thing. It took the rust a while to grow to that size build up, but it grew daily. Paps

[Chris Haynes]

I have never had a problem using it is soldered tanks. But then again I have never left it in as long as you have PA.

[Paps]

I shined a strong flashlight into the interior last night. Tank looks brand spankin new ! I am very impressed with the results. Tonight the vinegar comes out and the oil coating goes in. I'm gonna flush it with dish detergent, then rinse and dry good, before I put the oil to it. I was thinking about using the Ole Ladies hair dryer for the drying. Paps

[Ohio-Rider]

Just “pure white vinegar” huh? Maybe I’ll try it to remove the peeling “red coat” sealer in my tanks. I’ve got to get that crap out of there this year.

Paps… Did that mess just kind of boil out, or did it start small and grow to be what we see?
Just wondering if it could be done without any major paint damage?

[Paps]

I don't know about the red sealer removal with it Steve but the rust sure doesn't like it. The rust you see in the photo found its' own way up and out. With a time lapse photography camera, one could actually observe the growth on the exterior of the tank openings. I observed it daily in the beginning. It didn't seem to be doing anything the first few days Then all of a sudden, I began noting a fine exterior build up of rust, around the filler opening. I haven't been able to inspect the tank and the vinegar effect on a regular basis, early on, but once the build up began, I chose to be more observant. Since then, I have watch the build up grow considerably on a daily basis. I wasn't able to get the vinegar dumped tonight as I planned so I will do it tomorrow sometime. I left the vinegar in this tank for darn near over a month. The vinegar level dropped daily but I attribute the level of liquid volume to the leaky upper fuel rod seal. It never seems to evaporate because the level of liquid has not dropped below the upper fuel rod seal. The tank was not tottally scaled with rust crustation but it did have many areas of built up. So called clean areas were dusted with a coating of rust. Initially, I did notice the lightly rust coated ares cleaned up rapidly. The scaling rust took many days longer but I believe those are the ones which keep forming on the outside of the filler opening and seal leakage. As I said earlier....The inside of this tank, now looks clean as a whistle. I am very pleased with the results of Chris's recommendation. Thanks Chris !!!! One other thing to note....the rust runs, from this process, you see on the outside of the tank, wipe right off. Paps