Sieving gas from tank?

[jmarty10]

Re: Sieving gas from tank?...solution!

Re: Sieving gas from tank?...solution!

Ah, the beauty of iboats....

(please excuse the so called 'yard' we're in the process of raising and sodding...not fun conditions to work in)

Step #1 was to disconnect the fuel at the water separator filter. I dropped the fuel line to the bottom of the bilge, but only what was in the line of those few inches came out.

Step #2 Ran a line up through the bilge drainage hole, attached to fuel line. Tried, but no sieve action.

Step #3 Put drain hose in can and carefully put a shop-vac "blower" end to the fuel tank. I didn't stuff it in there (just for the photo) for fear of blowing something apart.

Success! Worked great. Thanks for the suggestions.

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ps...yes I know those are diesel tanks, my neighbour was throwing a bunch away.

Glad it worked and glad your Ok! Cant imagine your local fire department would approve. To each his own I guess!

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: Sieving gas from tank?

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I'm guessing that boat has a plastic fuel tank. They are not supposed to be pumped up to over 3psi for testing and I doubt a shop-vac can go much over that. With an air compressor you would have a hard time dialing it down to 3PSI,,, without a low pressure gauge. I used an air compressor to test my tank and fuel system, but had to use a low pressure gauge attached to the vent line. At 3PSI the belly tank looked like the Michelin Man,,, I certainly wouldn't want to go more than that.

I never would have imagined ! Thx all for teaching me something today. Cuz it seems to me that my 26 gal -yes plastic tank with upwards of 200#s of fuel sloshing around, would be able to handle a bunch of pressure..........Phew! wow!

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Sieving gas from tank?

I cringe every time I hear someone mention shop-vac and fuel tank, but I don't see a problem with what Paul did using the vac's exhaust. It's not like there is going to be enough fuel vapor out in the open air to cause an explosion.

I think the fear is that at the wrong moment the shopvac motor could short or burn out and a spark could be exhausted down the hose right into the fuel tank.

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Sieving gas from tank?

I think the fear is that at the wrong moment the shopvac motor could short or burn out and a spark could be exhausted down the hose right into the fuel tank.

Alright, this is on the cusp of going down a road of ridiculous.

You can never have a clean argument against the righteousness of safety, but really....outdoors....igniting gas with a random spark in the conditions presented is a percentage of risk well within my comfort zone....now, walking across the street is a comparatively scary percentage of risk!

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Sieving gas from tank?

my 26 gal -yes plastic tank with upwards of 200#s of fuel sloshing around, would be able to handle a bunch of pressure

I replaced my 27 gallon belly tank and you would be surprised how flimsy they are. When I had it pumped up to 3PSI the top grew about 3" , kind of an uneasy feeling watching the thing bulging out like that... The tanks are built pretty thick though, mine has .20" wall thickness and other areas were thicker, roto-molded. I cut my old plastic fuel tank in half to see how it was built,,, with an electric jig saw







I did wash it out 3 times before cutting....