MishMosh
Junior Member
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2022
- Posts
- 11
- Reaction score
- 31
- Location
- Rodeo, CA
- First Name
- Ben
- Truck Year
- 1983
- Truck Model
- C30
- Engine Size
- 454
How to siphon gas from an unusable tank
Why did I post this?
I have a dual tank system on my C30, but one of the tanks is currently not working. From time to time, when it was in use for a previous business, someone driving the truck would accidentally fill the wrong tank. My daily driver has the tank on the driver's side and the working tank is on the passenger side, so I made this dumb mistake myself, only to wind up stuck on a busy freeway, not even realizing what the problem was until after I'd spent far too much on a tow truck
The fuel gauge isn't working properly, either, and it shows empty long before I'm out of gas. Fixing both of these issues is currently low on my list for this restoration project, but it may get moved up after I ran out of gas again the other day. Fortunately, I was in a parking lot at the time and took a look through the toolbox to see what supplies I had available.
I found:
The hose I'd used previously to remove some gas from the tank (it's been sitting in there for probably a year!)
A bunch of empty oil containers, to be disposed of
A 1 gallon can of Camp Stove Fuel (White Gas), also meant for disposal
A small funnel
That'll work! So I poured the white gas into the oil containers, cleaned off the hose and funnel, siphoned the gas into the metal container (which gave a little octane boost!) and poured through the funnel into the other tank. I was able to get about 2.5 gallons, which easily got me to the nearest gas station.
Anyway, I was texting with a friend about this dilemma and they were skeptical I could pull it off. But I've been making beer and wine for about 20 years and transferring liquids between containers is at the center of that hobby! So I made a video to show off
But then I thought...it might actually be helpful to others if I described this method and post along with the video, so I made a quick MS Paint How To guide. I hope someone finds it useful!
Cheers!
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Why did I post this?
I have a dual tank system on my C30, but one of the tanks is currently not working. From time to time, when it was in use for a previous business, someone driving the truck would accidentally fill the wrong tank. My daily driver has the tank on the driver's side and the working tank is on the passenger side, so I made this dumb mistake myself, only to wind up stuck on a busy freeway, not even realizing what the problem was until after I'd spent far too much on a tow truck
The fuel gauge isn't working properly, either, and it shows empty long before I'm out of gas. Fixing both of these issues is currently low on my list for this restoration project, but it may get moved up after I ran out of gas again the other day. Fortunately, I was in a parking lot at the time and took a look through the toolbox to see what supplies I had available.
I found:
The hose I'd used previously to remove some gas from the tank (it's been sitting in there for probably a year!)
A bunch of empty oil containers, to be disposed of
A 1 gallon can of Camp Stove Fuel (White Gas), also meant for disposal
A small funnel
That'll work! So I poured the white gas into the oil containers, cleaned off the hose and funnel, siphoned the gas into the metal container (which gave a little octane boost!) and poured through the funnel into the other tank. I was able to get about 2.5 gallons, which easily got me to the nearest gas station.
Anyway, I was texting with a friend about this dilemma and they were skeptical I could pull it off. But I've been making beer and wine for about 20 years and transferring liquids between containers is at the center of that hobby! So I made a video to show off
But then I thought...it might actually be helpful to others if I described this method and post along with the video, so I made a quick MS Paint How To guide. I hope someone finds it useful!
Cheers!