OT: Looking for 12v Siphon pump

Harbour feight tools sells a cheap 12 volt marine pump. You can screw regular garden hoses on the each of the openings. It has clips to attach to battery terminals. I do not see why you cannot can the connector.

GB

========== ==========

Yeah...... it's called an electric fuel pump.

What are you using it for?

~:~ MarshMonster ~sips his crownroyal, takes a toke off his pipe~

siphoning gas.... I do not want to use a manual hand pump and the old mouth suction method is unacceptable as well. The intended usage would be to make my vehicle fuel available to run an emergency generator

======= =======

What's the chances you live near "Hurricane Alley"...oops..The Gulf Coast??

any whooo....... after Ivan tore through here and subsequent generator purchase..... I rigged my 12V air compressor up to pump air into the WallyWorld gas cans I purchased.

I took one of the gas jug caps (I am now the proud owner of 8 5 gallon gas jugs) and ran a piece of 1/2 inch clear tubing through it. The half inch tubing sealed fairly well against the flexible plastic spout of the gas jugs spout. I had to nip a bit of the spout off to get the tubing through it and get it to seal tight.

Then....I simply rigged another piece of hose to slip over the vent port of the gas jugs, took an old valve stem, removed the core, and wahlah...... portable gas station. I hook it up to my battery jump box.

I'm using a cheapo 12v air compressor I got at Harbour Freight to through in the trunk of the wifes car. It was around $20 best I remember.

The only prob is....you have to moniter the whole transferr process..... or...install a pop off valve somewhere, because even using that low volume air pump....those plastic WallyWorld gas jugs tend to puff out a bit. (nothing scary...jest a little puffy lol)

any whoooo....... it took care of me for 3 1/2 weeks after Ivan hit.....

1 1/2 weeks after Dennis blew through.... 6 days after Katrina went west of me 200 miles..(whew)

so.... there's a working, cheap, proven method.

or...... you could rig an inexpensive AutoZonedOut electric fuel pump up.

~:~ MarshMonster ~Pensacola~

"Marsh Monster" wrote: "What's the chances you live near "Hurricane Alley"...oops..The Gulf Coast?? any whooo....... after Ivan tore through here and subsequent generator purchase..... I rigged my 12V air compressor up to pump air into the WallyWorld gas cans I purchased. I took one of the gas jug caps (I am now the proud owner of 8 5 gallon gas jugs) and ran a piece of 1/2 inch clear tubing through it. The half inch tubing sealed fairly well against the flexible plastic spout of the gas jugs spout. I had to nip a bit of the spout off to get the tubing through it and get it to seal tight. Then....I simply rigged another piece of hose to slip over the vent port of the gas jugs, took an old valve stem, removed the core, and wahlah...... portable gas station. I hook it up to my battery jump box. I'm using a cheapo 12v air compressor I got at Harbour Freight to hrough in he trunk of the wifes car. It was around $20 best I remember. The only prob is....you have to moniter the whole transferr process..... or...install a pop off valve somewhere, because even using that low volume air pump....those plastic WallyWorld gas jugs tend to puff out a bit. (nothing scary...jest a little puffy lol) any whoooo....... it took care of me for 3 1/2 weeks after Ivan hit..... 1

1/2 weeks after Dennis blew through....6 days after Katrina went west of me 200 miles..(whew) so....there's a working, cheap, proven method. or...... you could rig an inexpensive AutoZonedOut electric fuel pump up."

What you have is a possible explosion. Mixing air with gasoline and you have a potential for explosion set off by a small electric spark, heat from the transfer pump, or static electricity. Given gasoline has a LEL/LFL of

1.4 and an upper of 7.6 as long as the gasoline/air mixtures stays out of that range you are okay. Within those ranges and you have an explosion.

Sarge

What year vehicle? I was intending to do the same thing - fortunately, I had a 1990 Suburban at my disposal, which was easily siphoned... because I seemed to remember sometime in the early '90s manufacturers installing anti-siphon screens in the fill lines. Sure enough - sticking a host down my '95s filler neck proved that correct.

And since it was an emergency for me as well, my 1-quart suction gun was perfectly acceptable for starting the siphon running. You're just looking to suck some fuel out into a gas can - not plumb your tank directly into your generator, right?

=========== ===========

I've been using "shop force" compressed air to get gas out of vehicals for years....so far so good. (160psi..many,many times in 35 years) Learned it as a teenager from my pop.

but, I'll keep yer posted facts under consideration, will Google a bit on the subject, and surely change my proceedure if the results confirm your posted facts, or unless I blow myself up before I gets inter-ested enough to google on the subject.

keep yer fangers crossed fer me, and says some hellmaries.

~:~ marsh ~better fire that gen&ater up....tis the season~

Correct me if I'm wrong... It is a thought that just came and may be totally off... I repeat: Just brainstorming... In my '93 Dakota 3.9 there is a service port on the fuel injection rail to check fuel pressure/depressurize for service, etc. What if one was to connect that to a properly made hose and use the truck's own fuel pump with the power switch to the ON position, engine stopped? Is it feasible? Is it safe? Is there a possibility to damage the fuel pump? Again, just an untested idea...

Marsh Monster wrote: "I've been using "shop force" compressed air to get gas out of vehicals for years....so far so good. (160psi..many,many times in 35 years) Learned it as a teenager from my pop. but, I'll keep yer posted facts under consideration, will Google a bit on the subject, and surely change my proceedure if the results confirm your posted facts, or unless I blow myself up before I gets inter-ested enough to google on the subject.'

I work in the petrochemical industry. We do not use air to force any liquid out of a vessel, pipe or pump cavity, We only use an inert gas (nitrogen) due to the fact that if you used air and the product you are pushing is flammable then you have two elements of the fire triangle (fuel and oxygen). Now all you need is an ignition source and the right flammable limits and you have problems. Why risk it? Air is a whole lot cheaper to use then nitrogen in an industrial operation but the risk out weigh the cost involved.

Someone else mentioned using the port on the fuel rail with the right connection. This sounds good but most vehicles, the electric fuel pump is designed to shutdown if the engine does not crank within so many seconds. Someone else mentioned the anti siphon devices in the neck of fuel tanks. This may make it harder for you to siphon the gasoline from a vehicle with anti siphon plates.

Here is a link to an interesting case using a shop vac.

Someone also mention purchasing an electric fuel pump for a vehicle. This might work if you bought one of the inline pumps people use to install back in the 80's. An in the tank pump would not work as well as the pump may get to hot. The in the tank type pumps are cooled by the gasoline in the tank.

One idea is to purchase a fuel caddy. Here is a link to some

could be filled prior to a hurricane approaching and used to fuel your vehicles after the danger is gone. Sarge

You'd need to leave the engine running, the pump will only run for a few seconds with the key on engine off.

Otherwise, you've got the right idea...

True - but easy enough to make a jumper to replace the fuel pump relay, and apply battery voltage right to the pump. Actually, I'd make up a remote switch (some kind of hand-held device), with nice long (10-12') leads, so that I could easily turn the pump on and off while directing the hose right into the generator's fuel tank.

I wonder how much flow you're going to get through that little Schrader valve, though.

I picked up a pump that is powered by 2 flashlight batteries. Used it to pull 10 gallons last year without a problem. Bought it at a Abuchon(sp) store.

Roy

it may take a while but you could do it with a simple remote starter switch and some spade connectors in the right ports of the fuel pump relay socket. tools most of us have on hand.

That will work just fine provided the fuel rail on your vehicle happens to have a test port to tap into and not all of them do :-(

====== ======

=========== ===========

Licker wrote:

=========== =========== Licker, I can understand the concern of using the compress air, and I AM NOT, repeat...AM NOT, suggesting anyone use the method. However, it's worked for fluid transfer for me for over 35 years on products ranging from Lacquer thinner when I started out doing body work, to gas, to the mineral spirits that I use in the tranny shop. . Again, I DO NOT recomend this technique to anyone. It works for me. . but..... If I find out, as the poster implied, that using the compressed air is, in itself, the cause of ignition (which I have serious doubts about), then I'll stop doing it. maybe . . . . As far as your fuel caddy link, good info. The problem is when the electric went out when the 2 hurricanes came through, and one tropical storm who's name fails me, I was going through 6 gallons of fuel about every 12-13 hours on the generator. I'm not sure I'd want to purchase eight or ten fuel caddies to be hauling back and forth to the gas station. The 5 gallon WallyWorld jugs are easy enough to transport, and just happen to be of a capacity to fill the generator and leave the can empty once you get the timing down. lol . . . . Hurricane season hits in June and I'm thinking seriously of getting a couple of the empty 55 gallon jugs from the shop to keep at the house. If we get a warning here on the Gulf, we have plenty of time to prepare, so i'll just fill those up using my WallyWorld technique.

anywhoooo.......... good links, good info

~:~ MarshMonster ~Pensacola FL~ ~hopes his homegrown is picked before the hurrycanes hit~

========== ========== snipped-for-privacy@dodgecity.cc wrote:

================ ================

Let me tell you from experience, if you're intending to use the trucks tank as a storage device for long term fuel usage the theory is just not practicle in proof.

If you're planning on using the trucks tank for short term storage, enough to maybe run the generator for a day, then you should seriously reconsider the entire thing and simply use a 5 gallon portable tank.

Regardless, If you're set on using the trucks fuel (for whatever reason) then I would suggest you purchase the electric fule pump I suggested. They're not that expensive and you can rig it with alligator clips on a lenghty extension to hook it to the battery. The proximity of the pump to the vapors coming out of the tanks filler tube would be nill.....simply use long sections of fuel line to route to and from the truck.

anywhooooo....... At this point, I'm more curious as to why you would need to draw fuel from the truck to run the generator. It's my belief that if you own an emergency generator you should have at least 5 gallons of fuel on hand for it in the first place. My generator carries me for about 12 hours on 5 gallons. In hurricane scenarios we have plenty of time to stockup on fuel. I can see as where that could be a problem in "Tornado Alley" or maybe in case of an unexpected "White Out" or blizzard up north.

jest curious as to why you would need the fuel from the truck.

again, consider the electric fuel pump. You can make a homemade set-up that looks fairly professional for around $65 or so.

~:~ Marsh Monster ~sips his crown royal~

Thanks Roy. Yeah, Auchon Hypermart. We have a few of those here. I'll check 'em out.

Yikes! If you're just running a TV and a couple of lights, a deep cycle battery and an 800 watt (modified sine wave) inverter will do fine. Run the generator for an hour maybe 5 or 6 times a day to keep the refrigerator cold, use the microwave, vacuum cleaner, water pump, any other high wattage stuff you need (a/c?), and charge the battery back up. The rest of the time, enjoy the silence.

With the battery/inverter setup, you'll burn a LOT less fuel in the generator. The rest of the time, the setup works real well as a UPS/surge protector for your computer, etc.

A deep cycle battery goes for $40-$50, and the 1500 watt inverter I just got cost $90 + $25 shipping. It's for an RV, and needed to be big enough to handle the largish microwave. Take the microwave out of the picture, and the next highest "necessity" appliance is the coffee maker at 1000 watts. Actually, water could be heated on the LP stove for coffee, but that takes too long! ;-)

Houston.... Yeah, generator frenzy is rampant this year, they're literally flying off the shelves. New policy tho at Home Depot and Lowes, "All generator sales are final" (no returns).

By the way, let me tell you about "price gouging". Currently empty

5-gallon plastic gas cans are selling for $17.96 apiece. Welcome to the "guff coast".

I picked up a GENERAC 1019 (13.5 kw peak, 7500 continuous), found a manual 2-pole knife switch style transfer switch and wired it all in last weekend. We also put a hard start kit and a 5-minute lockout timer on the A/C compressor. I was pleasantly surprised that with the hard start kit the 1019 runs the whole house and the 4-ton York central air system just fine. Nice generator.

Thanks for the idea.