How to siphon gas

[Capt Joe]

Re: How to siphon gas

Gas (petrol) doesn't burn or explode. It's the fumes that do. Therefore a full tank with no air (fumes) is very unlikely to explode.<br /><br />Put a small amount of petrol (say 1/8 in.)in an OPEN can you can drop a lighted match into it & the match will be extinguished.<br /><br />Let the fumes build up & they explode.

 

[swist]

Re: How to siphon gas

Nah! Maybe in principle but not in practice. Gasoline is very volatile meaning it starts vaporizing into the air very quickly as soon as it contacts it. Your can of gas will not explode but it will most assuredly catch fire because it only takes a second after pouring for a small fuel-air mix to be created near the surface which will ignite. And gas tanks are vented to the atmosphere so as not create a vacuum as fuel is used. A tank with no air in it is unlikely - thus there will almost always be enough air to ignite, if not explode. And a mostly empty tank is a bomb.... one reason for keeping tanks full.

 

[jayprice7]

Re: How to siphon gas

reminds me of a clip i saw on an awful FOX show called 'america's dumbest criminals' ...... so a security camera caught this dude trying to steal gas by siphoning it off of an RV .... only problem was he went for the wrong tank and ended up with a mouthful of raw sewage and started puking his guts out. The owner of the RV comes out to stop the guy (assuming that he had found the right tank) and sees what has happened and joins the criminal in his upheavals. I nearly wet myself seeing this clip.

 

[Seamus]

Re: How to siphon gas

I have heard of welders working on tanks full of fuel, so I'm sure it's not an uncommon practice, but I think the more common way is to empty the tank and then fill it with argon.<br /><br />"Nah! Maybe in principle but not in practice." Sorry, but in my experience, Capt. Joe is absolutely correct. Let's not go into my experience, but to say that I was very young and did extensive research in this subject area.

 

[jheron]

Re: How to siphon gas

To weld a gas tank you hook up the exaust of a running engine to it... no oxygen = no combustion <br />regards Jon

 

[deputydawg]

Re: How to siphon gas

I have welded tanks before. The trick is the fill opening is on the top, the vent is on top usually vented away from the tank. Holes or securing straps are usually on bottom. Using a torch or grinder or wire welder to spot weld is fairly safe.<br />The correct way is to refill with inert gas, but who has time for that.<br />One vacation in Montanna I had a broken fuel line on my 88 Mustang GT. Several nice travelers stopped to help. One gave me a small metal tube they had from something, another gave me a small peice of their radiator overflow rubber hose. I was able to cut the line and splice everything together to get me back to DeerLodge, 75 miles away. It was funny though, I had to heat the hard rubber fuel line to expand it so the other patch material would fit inside. I cleared all of my helpers away from the rest stop when I took my lighter, lit a cigarette, then proceeded to heat the fuel line until it was smoking. But with the fuel pump not running, any flash would not reach the tank.

 

[wajajaja]

Re: How to siphon gas

Jheron, the exhaust of an engine has plenty of oxygen, it is carbon mon-oxide (c2o1), preferred by the hemoglobin in blood over oxygen (0/2) because its smaller but still will burn, and will suffocate life

 

[Red Rider]

Re: How to siphon gas

Its CO (Carbon Monoxide) and it will not burn. <br /><br />Neither will CO2 (Carbon Dioxide).<br /><br />And neither will support life. CO will be absorbed by the hemoglobin so it will not pick up any O2 (oxygen). The hemoglobin in blood has a much stronger affinity for CO than for O2. that is how it removes the CO from your body. CO2 (and propane) will not support life because it will sink and displace the O2 and there will not be O2 to breath.<br /><br />They use pure CO2, CO2/Argon, or Argon for welding and machining in a flamable atsmosphere.<br /><br />You really should be aware of how exhaust gas, fuel fumes, propane, alcohol fuel, diesle fuel (w/cold weather additives) CO2 and Halon from fire extengishers behaves on a boat. They and several others won't support life and may even explode/burn

 

[Seamus]

Re: How to siphon gas

CO will burn (CO + O = CO2), however, it will not supply oxygen to a fuel. Oxygen does not burn, per se, but supplies half the oxidation equation to fuel. IE: fuel and CO alone will not burn - because they are both fuels and there is no oxygen to oxydize them. There is oxygen in exhaust, but not enough to worry about starting a fire.

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: How to siphon gas

... or fill the tank with water, weld it, then drain it. Done all the time.<br /><br />Gas needs the right proportion of air to burn. Try this - Fill a NARROW-MOUTHED container (ketchup jar) with gas. Drop in a match - no bang. Fill a wide-mouthed container with the same quantity of gas (frying pan) and drop in a match (from a safe distance!) - BIG WHOOSH! <br /><br />The greater surface area of the fuel in relation to its volume gives a larger surface exposed to air. Hence BANG.<br /><br />Play safe - run a diesel engine!<br /><br />Ciao

 

[jheron]

Re: How to siphon gas

Around here the exhaust method is used daily to weld gas tanks... never herd of a BOOM yet <br />Jon

 

[daveswaves]

Re: How to siphon gas

Hey Red Rider, what, no oxy-hemoglobin disassociation curve??

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: How to siphon gas

Originally posted by Red Rider:<br /> Its CO (Carbon Monoxide) and it will not burn. <br /><br />Neither will CO2 (Carbon Dioxide).<br /><br />And neither will support life. CO will be absorbed by the hemoglobin so it will not pick up any O2 (oxygen). The hemoglobin in blood has a much stronger affinity for CO than for O2. that is how it removes the CO from your body. CO2 (and propane) will not support life because it will sink and displace the O2 and there will not be O2 to breath.<br /><br />This is good. Hope they read it.<br /><br />They use pure CO2, CO2/Argon, or Argon for welding and machining in a flamable atsmosphere.<br /><br />You really should be aware of how exhaust gas, fuel fumes, propane, alcohol fuel, diesle fuel (w/cold weather additives) CO2 and Halon from fire extengishers behaves on a boat. They and several others won't support life and may even explode/burn