Anyone siphon from our fuel tank?

greiswig · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 1:59 pm

Got myself into a pickle and need to siphon a fair amount of fuel out of the tank. I tried sticking a 3/4" hose down last night, and couldn't. Tried a 1/4" line, and it also got stuck only a few inches down from the mouth.

Any of you experienced in the art of getting fuel out of a CRD tank? Or do I have to drop it and pull the fill hose off as the FSM would suggest? :roll:

papaindigo · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:04 pm

Don't think you can siphon see geordi's post at viewtopic.php?f=5&t=69714

gmctd · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:05 pm

It will take longer to succeed in threading a line into the tank than going to the station to get more fuel, if that is your endeavored task - see tank pics in my in-tank install thread

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=26385&hilit=It%27s+10pm

Try disconnecting the supply hose from the fiter head, power-up the lift-pump - most are good for 15-30gph - should fill your container much quicker than siphoning from the tank

If no lift pump, and using the disconnected supply hose, try attaching one thereunto....................

greiswig · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 2:43 pm

papaindigo wrote:

Don't think you can siphon see geordi's post at viewtopic.php?f=5&t=69714

Ah, crud. Okay, that explains it.

gmctd, unfortunately it isn't an issue of getting more fuel. My biodiesel source for the past year does not have a good CFPP, and when my engine died I got caught with my pants down: weather was warm then, so I had just filled a full tank of B100. Engine now repaired, and immediately the weather turned quite cold, so I have pellets in the lines, tank, etc. I am trying to get enough of the B100 out of the tank to where I can dilute it with warm petrodiesel and at least take care of that part of the system. Everything else is relatively easy to heat...except for the lines themselves.

gmctd · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 3:15 pm

I figgered something like that - so, if situation is not such that stuff has precipitated out of the liquid and will not re-coalesce and assume some semblance of homogenization, and heating will reduce viscosity to useable levels, try placing an electric fan-over shop heater behind the KJ, far enuff back that it cannot melt the thermo-plastic tank, close enuff where it can warm the tank - eventually, entire under-side of KJ will warm-up, including fuel lines

Alternately, shop-air, regulated to ~5psi, applied to the filler tube, or applied to the return-fuel line with fuel-cap in-place, could pressurize fuel from the tank thru the fuel-supply line -

Fuel-cap design vents at +1psi (also -1psi), so this method will not damage fuel-supply system -

If applying directly to filler-tube, disconnect the return-fuel line and plug tube-end

greiswig · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 3:49 pm

Good ideas. Thanks.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 4:12 pm

Any chance of getting it into a heated shop or garage so you can heat everything up and then pump it out using an inline pump trick like geordi suggested? :idea:

greiswig · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:16 pm

WWDiesel wrote:

Any chance of getting it into a heated shop or garage so you can heat everything up and then pump it out using an inline pump trick like geordi suggested? :idea:

It should be warming up in the next few days, so I should be able to do it. I was hoping for a less messy way of doing this, but once I get it flowing it should be easy enough to merely remove the hose from the delivery line. Once I get it about half drained, add warm petrodiesel to it and the tank should be clear. Then it's just an issue of the filter, lines, pump and injectors. But most of that will be easy to take care of with 50 degree ambient and the block heater. Space heater will take care of the lines.

It figures...on the day the leak in the cylinder head got bad enough for me to stop everything, that was the day after I topped off the tank.

kissfan79 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:02 pm

I have siphoned diesel out of my tank (twice actually). It's a pain in the butt but it can be done. You have to crawl up under the tank and disconnect the filler hose from the tank. It's just a worm gear type clamp. You then have to wiggle it free and then you can slip a hand primed siphon line in and siphon it out. The hardest part of the job is getting the filler hose back onto the fitting on the tank. It was difficult but with the right amount of wiggling it will go back on. It's easier the second time around :wink:

Hope this helps,

Jim

Anyone siphon from our fuel tank?

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