Molasses and water part 2.
I filled it with the 1 1 partmolasses and 1 part water, 5.2 gallons. I covered the petcock hole with duct tape and had it sitting in a washtub on my basement floor. Next morning I had 5.2 gallons of muck ON my basement floor. Duct tape failure. Hole in the washtub.
I was laughing about this with my neighbor when his brother showed up. He said he knew about molasses and water, but that it takes weeks, not days! It's the phosphoric acid that does it. He suggested that I pour the tank full of pure PineSol floor cleaner and let it sit for four days. The PineSol worked. Basically, what I thought was rust was actually decomposed gasoline residue. The tank itself was galvanized! I drained the PineSol into buckets and will use it to clean the molasses! I blasted the interior of the tank with a pressure washer. It is now good to go.
