OT: Looking for 12v Siphon pump

I'll almost guarantee there's a screen down there. You could pull the filler neck off, and remove it, of course...

Hmmm... get a sump-pump-style float switch, drill a hole in the tank cap for the wire to pass through - put a little check valve in the top of the tank, and a connector for the fuel line. On the truck, wire in a connector for the fuel pump. Your generator should have a 12VDC output - you would run this through the float switch, and then hook that to the newly-installed connector, and pull the relay out (this prevents the 12VDC output from the generator from back-feeding to the truck's battery). Connect the fuel line to the fuel rail test port, and off ya go. As the level in the generator tank drops, the float switch trips, and fuel is pumped from the truck into the generator... when the level goes up high enough, the float switch shuts the pump off... the check valve allows air to escape as the fuel level is increased (may not even need it - if the generator's fuel cap is vented both ways, you don't - sometimes they're only vented one way, to alleviate low pressure in the tank). Now you have a 35-gallon (26 if you've got a short bed) fuel tank for your generator... very easy to disconnect (unscrew fitting on fuel rail test port, unplug electrical, put fuel pump relay back in, and drive the big gas can to the fillin' station).

Of course... if you let it run too long, you'll pump the big gas tank dry... then you're SOL :)

And if you really do this - make sure the float switch is gasoline-compatible (so the gas doesn't eat the plastic away)

If it is a 97, he also has to check to make sure it has the test port. My

97 doesn't.

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

Steve, come on down to Pensacola some August.

Beleive me.....you AIN"T gonna cut that air conditioner OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

not me.

any whoooooo...... I can afford it.

:)

The only real pain in the arse is the gas lines after the hurryupcane comes through and fubars everything around. I'm hoping the 55 gallon barrels aren't going to be necessary for a while.

~:~ Marsh Monster ~:~

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

============ ============ I'm using a 5500 continuos. It runs for 12-13 hours when full. (6 gal tank)

What we did after Ivan was to shut off the rooms in the house that we didn't have to use. I bought a window AC unit that keeps half the house cool and it worked out good. We were without electric for three weeks after Ivan and 2 after Dennis. Had a bit of tropical storm that hit inbetween the 2 hurricanes, but power was back on within a week. lmao

any whooooo....... the same "No Return" policy is going on here at Lowes and Home Depot both. Our gas cans are still a reasonable $5-$6 around town for the 5 gallon ones. They sure are getting you guys on the price of those.

Two side notes....... I've got brudder-n-law over near Corpus.

and....ck ur mail on the VW thing.

~:~ marsh ~Pensacola~

Oh, Pesacola. Up north. ;-)

We lived in Middleburg (30 miles SW of Jax) for about 6 years, Lakeland, Gainesville, and Archer for varying amounts of time... and we also owned some land more or less up your way, 30 miles north of Panama City, several miles outside Chipley, and yes, I'd alternate the a/c on an hour, off an hour, no problem.

I had a construction trailer I used for a workshop. No a/c at all in that.

During the NADEPJAX years, I mostly drove an '82 Bronco without a/c, and had a backup '79 Bonneville (also without a/c), and one day after a t-storm, came out after work to find the electric windows wouldn't go down! Man! After a few August days in a car with no a/c and no windows, anything else is a picnic.

But hey... if you're so "tender" you can't turn off your a/c for an hour, prepare accordingly. ;-)

My grandfather had a big ol' overhead 250 gallon tank with hose and nozzle for filling tractors and such. One of those would give you plenty of reserve. (Was it Hugo that had parts of Charleston in the dark for over a month?... and I'm pretty sure Andrew had places powerless for at least a month too, didn't he?)

========== ========== Steve, I was born and raised in South Carolina. I've been here in FL for about

8 years now.

YES.......Hugo was a nightmare. Someplaces didn't get electric back on for almost 2 months. My hometown is 30 miles south of Charleston, as the crow flies, Beaufort.

My wife and I spent the night in a motel about 50 miles inland. NOT FREEK"N FAR ENOUGH!!!!!

any whoooo...... I've had my fill of hurricanes. But, they do give you warning they're on the way, and I've gotten pretty good at preparing for them. Wouldn't want to live in an area that was prone to Tornados...so....here I sit. lol

~:~ Marsh ~:~

I grabbed a total of 12 5-gal cans and plan to 'fill up' only if something looks to be headed into the gulf. You're right, in the summer time YOU AIN'T gonna shut that air off. I was positively elated that the Generac

1019 will pull a 4-ton York with headroom to spare.

By my calculations with the A/C running we'll burn close to 1 gallon per hour. Got plenty of oil, spare filter, spare spark plug and will have 60 gallons of gas (regardless of cost) plus whatever's in the vehicles. We're

62 miles inland and 94 feet above sea level so no threat of flooding, just wind (and possible tornados spawned by whatever hurricane might be in the area. Wifey thinks we should buy some plywood so we can board up the place. Only problem w/that is where do we store the plywood when not needed? Between all my other yard toys there's not much room. I'd hate to have to lay it under the vehicles. Then it's always in the way. Guess it's time to clean out the garage and get rid of some junk.

Also with the recent c>========

Wait 'till your wife starts going through "the change" - we keep the place like a damned freezer.

Tropical Storm Allison dumped 48 inches of rain on Houston in 3 days and had parts of town without electricity for 3 weeks. Fortunately ours never blinked, but we were lucky because at the time we weren't prepared. Today we are.

The Generac 1019 (7500 cont. 13500 peak) claims to run 10 hours on a 7 gallon tank at 50% load, but with the A/C running we were measuring closer to 80% during our 2 hour test run. What concerns me is how loud that damn thing gets when the A/C kicks in. Someone in another group suggested that I might be able to retrofit it with an automobile muffler.

We originally thought about getting a 12,000 btu window unit, but after finding out that the Generac will pull a 4-ton A/C along with the other "necessary" things in a 1900 s.f. home (pleasant surprise!) we should be OK as long as the outage isn't too widespread and doesn't last longer than

3 days. I'll have enough fuel to go 3 days, after that .....

I forgot to mention... I worked in the machine shop at NADEP JAX for 6 years with no a/c, so I guess I just got used to it. None at work, none in the cars, none in the home shop. I never let the thermostat go below 80, and preferably 82 when I could get away with it (wife and kids complained a little at 80 but they noticed when I edged it up a bit).

Yeah, we drove through on I-95 about four months after. Even some of the interstate services were still down.

Me too. We're moving to northern NH in a few weeks. No hurricanes, no tornados, no earthquakes, no sandstorms, no tsunamis... just the occasional ice storm that brings the power lines down... usually measured in hours, sometimes in days, and very rarely in weeks... but a woodstove, battery and inverter with the occasional charge from the generator is all you need.

I've lived farther north than 50°N and farther south than 18.5°N. Right there about 44.2°N is a bit farther north than I'd ideally like, but seems a reasonable compromise. OB: Matter of fact, we lived just a few miles from the Chrysler Cold Test Facility a couple years ago.

Yeah, tornados are probably the worst as far as no warning. You get some warning with snowstorms too.

You're too late with that "warning." It wasn't during the Florida years... though I can't actually recall where... Maybe NH or MN, and that's why it didn't really make any impression on me? ;-)