gas siphon

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krick3tt
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gas siphon

Post by krick3tt »

I am going to drop the gas tank for some work on the fill and vent hoses. Anyone recommend a good siphon? Not the one where I suck on the hose, tried that and it is not a good idea.
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pcolette
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Re: gas siphon

Post by pcolette »

Do you prefer not to unscrew the drain plug on the bottom of the tank? It's the same size as the other allen plugs on the Pinz. 5 gallon buckets should fit under the tank and 1-4 of them should do it.

If you prefer to siphon, I have one of these and it really does work: http://smile.amazon.com/Hopkins-FloTool ... gas+siphon
Paul C.
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'73 Swiss 710M
'89 Puch 230GE
krick3tt
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Re: gas siphon

Post by krick3tt »

Thanks Paul,
with the way the fuel gage works I am not sure exactly how much is in there (at least 1/2 full ??) All I have is jerry cans and trying to get that drain hole under it precisely is going to be a challenge... and it is in the garage. Outside would not be as big an issue except that fuel all over the ground is not kind and thoughtful.
I'll get the siphon.
Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him:
better take a closer look at the American Indian.---Henry Ford
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Jimm391730
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Re: gas siphon

Post by Jimm391730 »

A yardstick or wood dowel can be fed into the filler neck to measure how much depth is in the tank. And while I know that gasoline fumes are bad for you, for the few times I have to siphon I use a piece of clear plastic hose from the hardware store. I use about 8 feet of length, this allows me to see the fuel easily before it gets anywhere close to the end of the hose, and then gives plenty of hose length with fuel to start the siphoning.
Jim M.
712W and 710M
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edzz
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Re: gas siphon

Post by edzz »

Clear gas rated plastic tube, fishing weight small enough to drop threw the tube , length of string longer than plastic tube , small rag that will just fit in plastic tube when wet.

Tie weight to end of string, tie rag to other end of string, drop weight threw plastic tube, put rag end of tube into gas tank and blow (optional) into tube to hear / feel that tube is well into gas. now use string to pull rag threw tube to start the gas flowing. Works well with no sucking of gas into mouth.

Works better than most of the commercial siphon systems I've used.
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undysworld
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Re: gas siphon

Post by undysworld »

Put hose in tank. Place air nozzle from a compressor into the fill hole and use your hand or a rag to block off the majority of the rest of the fill hole, and apply air pressure. Once the siphon flow starts, you can discontinue the air pressure.
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edzz
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Re: gas siphon

Post by edzz »

undysworld wrote:Put hose in tank. Place air nozzle from a compressor into the fill hole and use your hand or a rag to block off the majority of the rest of the fill hole, and apply air pressure. Once the siphon flow starts, you can discontinue the air pressure.

I maybe in error however I’d be a bit worried about the possibility of damaging the fuel pump diaphragm using this method.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.
krick3tt
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Re: gas siphon

Post by krick3tt »

The reason for removing the gas from the tank is that I believe there are leaks (holes) in the fill line or the vent line and the constant smell of gas, outside of the vehicle and in the cab, is quite annoying and possibly dangerous. My wife refuses to ride with me as the passenger seat is, after all, closest to the fill/vent area. I really need to fix this.
The idea of using air blown in to help to remove the gas may present issues I don't want to deal with.

I have ordered a siphon from Amazon and I hope it works.

My thanks to all that have presented various ideas for emptying the tank some of which are quite ingenious. There are so many great things about this forum that I am truly appreciative of its existence.
Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him:
better take a closer look at the American Indian.---Henry Ford
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Jimm391730
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Re: gas siphon

Post by Jimm391730 »

I’d be a bit worried about the possibility of damaging the fuel pump diaphragm using this method.
Good point, although the fuel pump valves allow fuel flow in this direction, so there would not be any pressure on the diaphragm itself from this method. Also the pressure needed to lift fuel 2 feet in height is less than 1psi. But if the tank filler is really sealed well to prevent leaking air then the internal tank pressure could be much higher -- but almost impossible to do so by sealing the opening only with your hand or a rag.
I believe there are leaks (holes) in the fill line or the vent line
No need to drain the tank to check the fill line hose or vent line hose inside the cab; just take out the passenger seat and jack, remove the hose clamps, and check what you've got. The tank does not need to be removed to do this; in fact when I've dropped the tank (several times now, for both repairing/replacing the sending unit and installing the large tank) I've always mounted the tank first and THEN attached all these bits. The reason I've had to drop the tank is that with the W box on my 712 I no longer have access to the tank sender without dropping the tank.
Jim M.
712W and 710M
krick3tt
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Re: gas siphon

Post by krick3tt »

The shop that replaced the original vent line that had a hole in it did not have the correct size and needed to make the hole from the tank up to the connection to the fill spout a bit larger. He used a drill that was too small. He just rotated the bit to enlarge the hole and it left a sharp edge that over time has managed to chop into the vent hose. they did not use a grommet to protect the hose. I thought at the time this was not a good idea. Should have followed through on that.
Also the idiot was smoking while working on my gas tank. Usually I stay close by to view repairs on my vehicle and the shop owner wanted to know why I was in the office while the guy worked on the tank. I told him I did not want to be too near the explosion. The shop owner had to go out and tell the guy to putout his cigarette. :roll:

So...now I have to fi it myself and I have to drop the tank to install a grommet and a new hose and clean up the sharp edged hole.

That is what this whole thing is about...fixing something that should have been done correctly long ago. I really hate paying money for incompetence.
Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him:
better take a closer look at the American Indian.---Henry Ford
undysworld
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Re: gas siphon

Post by undysworld »

Jimm391730 wrote:
I’d be a bit worried about the possibility of damaging the fuel pump diaphragm using this method.
Good point, although the fuel pump valves allow fuel flow in this direction, so there would not be any pressure on the diaphragm itself from this method. Also the pressure needed to lift fuel 2 feet in height is less than 1psi. But if the tank filler is really sealed well to prevent leaking air then the internal tank pressure could be much higher -- but almost impossible to do so by sealing the opening only with your hand or a rag.
Yeah, maybe in theory. But I've done it on scores of vehicles over decades and have never run into an issue. Tough to create a seal with either hand or rag.
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edzz
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Re: gas siphon

Post by edzz »

for another source of gas leaks look here, viewtopic.php?f=12&t=9193&p=68166&hilit=cork#p68166 order from Scott or just pick up some cork gasket material from NAPA or such and make your own.

Jim, thanks for the clarification on the fuel pump, sometimes I tend to over analyze things.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt.
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