I set up a 110 gallon fuel transport tank late last fall, filled to about 100-105 gallons, treated with Stabil, etc.
The filler cap is a "vented" cap, with a spring powered valve/gasket thing, that will open if the pressure gets too high, and it is not frozen, it operates under thumb pressure.
The hand nozzle side was alll threaded with plumber's tape, and torqued down tightly.
On inspection last week, there is heavy gas residue spatttered all down the side of the tank on the fill nozzle side, with traces showing leaking fuel at the base of the handpump, and at most other joints along the line, pump/filter fitting, both sides of the bowl/paper/ater filter, both sides of the flow meter, and at the nozzle.
When I pop the filler cap, a healthy burst of over=pressure exits the tank, understandable since the temperature is warming up and expanding the gas since it was filled in November.
Three questions:
1. Is this normal? Are fuel tanks expected to seep fuel as temps rise and fall?
2. Was plumber's tape a bad idea for fuel fittings? The instructions explicitly recommended using it, and didn't specify special tape for use with gasoline.
3. Are there fire or explosion risks here? There is vapor present around the tank, not too bad but you can smell it. The tank is grounded, but I'm uncomfortable even being around it, much less opening it up. It's a bomb and I continually worry that even a small spark will set it off.
Thanks for any help you can give.