How to safely drain a petrol tank?
My old Ford is being scrapped due to a sudden problem which will just cost too much to repair and I don't have the dosh plus it's now becoming a rust bucket.
Unfortuantely I only recently filled it up with petrol and I could really do with not throwing away nearly £35 worth of petrol.
We have tried syphoning with a proper kit but there is a sort of non return type valve or something just beyond where the petrol filler pipe would go in which stops us syphoning it back out.
Is there a safe way to retrieve the fuel for use in our other car?
Google has not been much help on this one...
Unfortuantely I only recently filled it up with petrol and I could really do with not throwing away nearly £35 worth of petrol.
We have tried syphoning with a proper kit but there is a sort of non return type valve or something just beyond where the petrol filler pipe would go in which stops us syphoning it back out.
Is there a safe way to retrieve the fuel for use in our other car?
Google has not been much help on this one...
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Comments
The only other way to empty a fuel tank would be to remove the filler cap (to let air in), with the car up on axle stands or over a pit, and then remove the fuel line that comes out of the tank, draining it into a suitable receptacle. However, I would only do this if I could transfer the fuel into the recipient vehicle immediately (you really don't want petrol lying around).
I would also want the vehicles battery disconnected, as well as any other potential sources of ignition removed, and preferably do the work outdoors in a nice clear, wide open space.
Lastly, I would suggest that you strain the fuel through something like a tea strainer as it comes out of the tank, as old fuel tanks can be full of debris.
Having said all that, it is a hell of a lot of hassle for £35 of fuel.
I have to say, this is one of the most dangerous pieces of advice I have read here.
Petrol vapour (indeed most fuel vapour I can think of) is heavier than air, so you will very quickly find yourself in a bubble of highly volatile gas that has no place to go, with potentially disasterous and fatal consequences, especially in a pit, which will just fill up with gas, leaving you standing in a bomb!
Only last year, a garage just round the corner from me were doing the very same task over a pit, when the trapped vapour exploded, destroying the building and burning to death the two occupants.
If you must drain a tank from underneath, it should be high up on a ramp (I'm talking garage style ramp, not axle stands/wheel ramps) to give the vapour room to spread out, in a well ventilated area, preferably with a constant throughput of moving air, again, to disperse the vapour.
You should also have instant access to a fire extinguisher and, if all else fails, a way of getting as far away as possible, easily and quickly.
:eek::eek:
Lol
make sure you have enough fuel containers for the job
We're not going to bother. We just wondered if there was a way of doing it safely, i.e using the syphoning kit but as already pointed out it's not worth the risk and we've not been able to get the syphon tube into the tank.
The car is being scrapped shortly.
Thanks again.
Bit of an over reaction i think! Just do it outside and the air current will displace any build up of vapors. Vapours just do not blow up for no reason, there is always a cause. Just use your head by not smoking in the area etc when fuel is about.