I am selling a vehicle which has a full tank of fuel and want to siphon half off before sale.
Can someone tell me if you can still siphon fuel from a tank with a hose or are they designed these days to prevent that (other than any mods an owner may have done to prevent theft etc) ?
I have done this for nothing by using a length of garden hose,
in case you have never done this before, there are two ways to syphon a tank,
one by using a hose and sucking out the fuel, ( not good for false dentures or taste )
Or this method which I prefer........
1/ cut off a 1.1/2m length of clean garden hose.
2/ place drum or fuel container below tank filler opening.
3/ push into fuel tank as far as possible.
4/ with thumb over end of hose quickly pull hose 3/4 way out of tank.
5/ remove your thumb when you have pulled the hose out as far as you want .
6/ quickly push the hose back into the tank, with thumb off the hose end.
7/ repeat numbers 4/ -5/- 6/ until fuel starts to run out of hose.
8/ keep the end of the hose as low as possible to continue syphoning
9/ to stop the flow of fuel, either pull the hose out of tank,
or put your thumb over end of the hose if you wish to fill a second container,
the fuel should continue to flow on releasing your thumb as long as the end of the hose is kept as low as possible.
kiwijims
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From Coast to Coast, We'll see it all.......One Day
Another safe way to syphon using just a normal bit of hose is to insert the hose in the tank or container that you are going to draw the liquid from, making sure it is below the fluid level, you can ascertain this by blowing in the hose and listening and or feeling the bubbles. Insert the other end of the hose in the other container, this end of the hose must be lower than the fluid level in the first tank for syphoning to occur.
Now, stuff a piece of rag in the opening of the first tank, allowing just enough space for you to blow into the tank.
An alternative is to insert another short piece of hose in, making sure the rag forms a fairly good seal.
Now take a deep breath and blow into the tank either directly or through that second piece of hose, the increased pressure in the tank will force liquid out of the hose and syphoning will continue.
No mouthful of liquid, and no chance of having the jiggler drop off into the tank or get stuck in the narrow mouth of some vehicles, both events of which I have seen occur in the past.
A compressor can be used to provide the pressure if preferred.
True AK, but when you're on a pension every dollar counts....
I was going to sell the vehicle to my daughter so filled the tank, but she changed her mind.
Now traded in to a dealer (change over pending), if it had been going to a private buyer I wouldn't have bothered. Might take a long run instead for recreation before handing vehicle over on Monday.
Thanks for the feedback AK,CC, KJ and Brian, in my early days I would do the blow/suck method and try not to get a mouthful.
I was mainly wondering if tank filler pipes had been modified these days to obstruct siphoning to prevent theft.
Great feedback on methods, thank you all. Wombat.....well he gets hyper on air, doesn't need petrol but one wonders, wombat hole air might be different (smelly for sure).
BEWARE of the technique of pushing a hose in and out of your tank repeatedly, you run the risk of destroying the sender for your fuel guage, it also stirs up all the crap on the bottom of your tank.
Get a good soft hose and try it Vic some inlets have a wire spring cone in them that prevent a hose going in but the only way you are going to fine out is give it a try mate.
Did mention this to the dealer who said they would give me half a tank of fuel on change over but not a full tank. I did tell him in that case I would be running some off before the change over.
I am doing a long run up to Chidlow/Lake Leschenaultia today (via Perth Hills) so that will use some up, might leave it at that rather than stuff around with it.
Thanks for all the extra info and advice everyone I was just a bit reluctant to give all that fuel to the dealer who no doubt would have drained most off anyway, they are known for just keeping the minimum in the tank for test drives etc unless they sell the vehicle and then the amount they put in is at their discretion at sale handover....
As above, on many cars it is impossible to syphon fuel plus there is a spring loaded flap just inside the filler that can trap the hose.
Best way is to locate fuel filter under car, remove, attach hose to fuel line and then either allow fuel to drain by gravity (slow) or put a jumper on the fuel pump relay to run pump without ignition on.
Son used to work in a car yard and they never had a car on the lot with more than 10 litres of fuel in it. If a trade came with more than 1/4 of a tank they'd drain it into drums till empty and put back 10 litres. They used thin black fuel hose which easily slipped in thru any filler/bends etc with an electric pump on the end. Dangerous and dodgy yes but cheap fuel.
Lance got it right, undo the bung in the bottom of the tank, have 3-4 containers that will fit underneath and have someone who will take the full containers, pour them into a big drum and hand back the container to be reused. Siphoning has many problems, undoing the bung is the proper way to drain a tank.
Funny how all the Kiwi's know how to ''Siphon fuel''....lol (did it many times as a kid)
Just an ad-on as to why Dealers leave very little fuel in cars....
I used to sell Vehicles both in NZ & here in Aussie.....Boss always said....No fuel meant a shorter test drives which meant the buyer would pick up less faults.....
Simple as that.
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Interesting feedback especially the reason dealers only leave a certain amount in cars etc.
I have just come back from a long drive up into the Perth Hills to Lake Leschenaultia, have been meaning to visit there for some time since I did a stint as a caretaker there, so that used up some fuel, also tomorrow going on an outing with the car so that will use some more.
I'll be quite happy to leave it at that, at least I got some use out of the excess fuel! LOL !
Don't know whether or not the law has been repealed but it was on some statute books up until a few years ago that it was illegal to carry siphoning apparatus in a vehicle.
Did that Rob, also used "lead foot" when driving...
KK, I suppose that was to deter thieves, never heard of that law though, at least in WA, I think a lot of outback people/farmers etc wouldn't take too much notice of that though.
