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Syphoning a modernish petrol tank....
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:14 pm
by Orkney
Is there a way round this? or is the anti syphon thing true to its description?
Been fixing up the range rover on and off the last week, suddenly dawned on me that have an old daewoo sat here that hasnt been started in 2 years - but i'm pretty sure i put half tank of fuel in it before getting the slightly newer one. Better in teh range rover than in a dead car car methinks
Its too much aggro to drop the tank as that would mean moving it, likewise too much aggro to get a battery on there and pump it out through one of the injector feeder lines.
So anyone know of way to do it? failing that I'll just have to drill a little hole in the tank and catch it in a big tub:-?
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:30 pm
by DaveC
Can you pump/syphon it up through the petrol feed pipe at the engine end?
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:44 pm
by chickenjohn
No drain plug at the bottom of the tank then?
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:45 pm
by Orkney
Hmm not too sure Dave will have to get filthy and take a look, as far as i remember its an inbuilt pump in the tank, which might be the cause of it not running, that or the immobiliser. Suppose its worth sticking a battery on and yanking a fuel feed off at the engine.
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:56 pm
by paulhumphries
If it's scrap anyway then I've just "hot wire" the in-tank pump as a lot of injection systems have some sort of cut off when engine not running to avoid fuel still being pumped in an accident.
Personally I have a spare SU pump with lengths of hose attached and leads with croc clips just for emptying tanks.
Paul Humphries.
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 2:33 pm
by Orkney
Well just stuck a battery on there, the good news is theres creeping upto half a tank so it's got to come out !
Pumps working on the ignition till presumably the pressure is up.
There are 2 fuel pipes one presumably a return, underneath one has an inline filter, guessing thats the supply so just going to see if it can be persuaded to undo and see if that will pump - or as suggested it may just syphon with a bit of luck.
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:00 pm
by Orkney
Gave it up as a bad job in the end and drilled a hole in the tank
Cant beat that for a bit of recycling
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:18 pm
by paulhumphries
Orkney wrote:Gave it up as a bad job in the end and drilled a hole in the tank
Cant beat that for a bit of recycling
I went with a neighbour years ago when he was scrapping a car to bring him home.
He's just fitted new tyres and his wife had filled fuel tank to brim.
He asked scrap yards to lift it up on fork lift as he was keeping tyres but didn't tell them about the fuel.
They had fits when he produced a cordless drill and punched a hole in the tank to drain it into Jerry cans
Paul Humphries
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:42 pm
by Orkney
Well 20 litres so far and still trickling out, will be going for a celabratory rip in the fields tomorrow once its in the range rover
Do you reckon the scrappy's do empty tanks? suppose they should for green reasons as well as H&S but wonder if they bother?
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 4:48 pm
by paulhumphries
Orkney wrote:
Do you reckon the scrappy's do empty tanks? suppose they should for green reasons as well as H&S but wonder if they bother?
Definately.
A few scrap yards even sell the drained petrol & diesel.
I took a FX4 Black Cab (robbed of engine for a Land Rover) to a scrap yard and watched as they drained the brake fluid, dregs of diesel, auto gearbox and diff oil before crushing.
They even have to drain the anitfreeze into special tanks.
Paul Humphries
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 5:43 pm
by dave1949
[quote}
will be going for a celabratory rip in the fields tomorrow
any chance of any pics of your place? i try to visualise from many of your replies and just smile in wonderment.
Keep your comments coming i love them
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:11 pm
by Alec
Hello Orkney,
petrol doesn't keep very well so two year old stuff would be better of mixed with some new.
Alec
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 6:37 pm
by Orkney
Dave i'll start a look at this for a madhouse thread LOL besides need to do an update on the pig
Yes Alec thaks for mentioning it - do know that - its only a little cloudy so by the time its gone through the monster filter & mixed in with the near 1/4 tank of fresh in there it will be fine.
No way its going in scabby thats for sure, and on the rr if it misses on one cyl theres still 7 more
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:09 pm
by alex_holden
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:27 pm
by Orkney
P1010730.JPG thats not my house Alex - thats the neighbours - crikey you got lost in the garden
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:30 pm
by alex_holden
Orkney wrote:P1010730.JPG thats not my house Alex - thats the neighbours - crikey you got lost in the garden
Well it is quite a
big garden.
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:45 pm
by dave1949
Take a look at these:
Alex i did and loved them, cheers.
Did you have electric hookup and water when you camped?
or was it just breakfast in bed service
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2007 7:53 pm
by Orkney
There were no luxuries this year - but it will be rather different next year. Electric, shower 7 loo will all be sorted by then
Oh and a nice bit of flat grass to camp on nearer to the house & garage - which will be twice the size by then
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:27 am
by Orkney
Bit of an update on this as it got mentioned in another thread last night.
Got the old fuel out and put in the tonka toy last week. Subsequently the engine would not start AT ALL.
Bit of a tricky diagnosis to get over, for several reasons. Rarely the engine will fail to start, bit let me explain, I put the new in and i'm pretty sure that when it refused to start the pipes and injectors were still filled with known good to start the engine fuel - so momentarily it should have started - unless of course because it was pressurised it instantly mixed the old with the good on the high pressure return to the fuel tank.
At this point i was happy to accept it was just a coincidence and one of the usual suspects was to blame - damp relay here or there, loose wire etc.
Anyway after a week of messing abut with it everyday (even had the ecu out for testing) had to go back to the beginning and pin the blame firmly on the fuel, or at least eliminate it as the cause.
So off with the cold injector supply feed (nice and easy to get at on the side of the plenum chamber) quick bodge onto a length of suitable pipe and proceeded to pump it out into cans.
8 gallons before it ran dry surprisingly.
Off to the shop and got a gallon of new. Put it in, double checked all the connections i'd been fiddling with, out with the plugs for a quick clean (they had got very oily with all the failed stating attempts)
1st turn of the key and VROOM it ran just fine !
So the fact that it runs on new pretty much makes it the cause - but thats not to say something else 'might have' had a part to play in the whole annoying episode.
Did a little experiment before putting the new in - 2 jam jars, new fuel in one, old (suspect) fuel in the other on the bench.
The new fuel gave off visible vapours, the old did not. A test I'll use again next time mucking about with a non starting car thats been stood for a long time.
Only question now is how to make use of the 8 gallons of old petrol? As BMC pointed out in the other thread this got mentioned in it should be OK 50/50 mix but safer when the weather is warmer.
Alas i cant sit on the stuff that long, so anyone got any ideas?
I might try a bottle of octane boost from factors later, other thoughts are get some ethanol from the chemist, and maybe a bottle of acetone - imagine that might give it enough pep?
Expect it would be OK if i mixed 2 gallons new to one of old but not about to go and buy 16 gallons of petrol just for the field mobile. Apart from times being a little hard its actually against the priciple rule of stinginess
So any bright ideas ?
Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:56 pm
by Orkney
Bumping this - would putting a can of easystart into 5 gallons of old petrol make it useable ?
