Petrol extraction

[Bjohnson]

Any recommendations for kit for petrol extraction?

Fuel tank is below the deck, so need a long hose to go down the filler tube to the bottom of the tank.

Many of the units for sale aren’t suitable for petrol. Was thinking a drill operated pump with some lengths of hose would work best (Halfords) but again not recommended for petrol use

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by Bjohnson

Any recommendations for kit for petrol extraction?

Fuel tank is below the deck, so need a long hose to go down the filler tube to the bottom of the tank.

Many of the units for sale aren’t suitable for petrol. Was thinking a drill operated pump with some lengths of hose would work best (Halfords) but again not recommended for petrol use

Over the years i think this has become my hobby ha ha ,
if your boat is on a trailer it really helps ! ...... raise the front high as poss ,take the fuel supply pipe off the inlet to filter ,join it to your outlet pipe to your cans ,if you can run the pipe out thru your boat drain plug hole (so your cans are on the floor behind the boat ) ,this helps not to have to go too high ,into you can /cans ,use a squidgy pump or suck it if you fancy to get syphoning going , if your not satisfied with the drain from this method the sender unit is a much better option than the filler imo but may be worth having a sheet of gasket paper or cork handy to renew gasket

[smallribber]

Many things not recommended for Petrol Use work just fine...... All part of the Nanny State..

Get a Jiggle syphon from ebay and if necessary replace the pipe with a longer piect of hose pipe

[Poly]

Originally Posted by smallribber

Many things not recommended for Petrol Use work just fine...... All part of the Nanny State..

And yet some of the others will:

• leach something out the plastic and contaminate your fuel
• gradually be damaged by the fuel and then fail
• put fuel and sparks in the same place risking dying in a flaming ball of file or worse the boat getting damaged

Unless you are prepared to offer a warranty against engine damage, failed products or injury I'd suggest not encouraging people to use an unsuitable product.

[smallribber]

Originally Posted by Poly

And yet some of the others will:

• leach something out the plastic and contaminate your fuel
• gradually be damaged by the fuel and then fail
• put fuel and sparks in the same place risking dying in a flaming ball of file or worse the boat getting damaged

Unless you are prepared to offer a warranty against engine damage, failed products or injury I'd suggest not encouraging people to use an unsuitable product.

Of course I will offer such a warranty

[Bjohnson]

Thanks. I should have clarified further - boat is an 7m rib with a below deck fuel tank, so my only access to the tank is at the console end via the fuel filler aperture. I’ll need a decent length hose to drop into the tank and some contraptions for pumping it out.

I could do it via the fuel filter and priming bulb but could be a long job!

Ive had a breather pipe fail so not sure if there has been any water under the deck that’s found its way into the tank and would now be sitting at the bottom of the tank where the main pick up will be. It’s a 150l tank so not sure how much i;ll need to pump out!

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Bjohnson

Thanks. I should have clarified further - boat is an 7m rib with a below deck fuel tank, so my only access to the tank is at the console end via the fuel filler aperture. I’ll need a decent length hose to drop into the tank and some contraptions for pumping it out.

I could do it via the fuel filter and priming bulb but could be a long job!

Ive had a breather pipe fail so not sure if there has been any water under the deck that’s found its way into the tank and would now be sitting at the bottom of the tank where the main pick up will be. It’s a 150l tank so not sure how much i;ll need to pump out!

Be far easier to check if there is water using the primer (and presumably you have a separator/filter) and then decide if you really need to solve this.

[Orwell boy]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

Over the years i think this has become my hobby ha ha ,
if your boat is on a trailer it really helps ! ...... raise the front high as poss ,take the fuel supply pipe off the inlet to filter ,join it to your outlet pipe to your cans ,if you can run the pipe out thru your boat drain plug hole (so your cans are on the floor behind the boat ) ,this helps not to have to go too high ,into you can /cans ,use a squidgy pump or suck it if you fancy to get syphoning going , if your not satisfied with the drain from this method the sender unit is a much better option than the filler imo but may be worth having a sheet of gasket paper or cork handy to renew gasket

I am starting to see why people have given up trying to help people ,my tank is 235 litres ,but you can tell with a pint glass if you have a water problem ,i drained 180 litres out and put 179 litres back in ,science of water and fuel density is pretty well documented

[Bjohnson]

Originally Posted by Poly

Be far easier to check if there is water using the primer (and presumably you have a separator/filter) and then decide if you really need to solve this.

That’s good advice, so pump some fuel through the system and into a container and see whether there’s any water showing up in the separator?

[neil.mccrirrick]

Water is denser than petrol so will come through first

[jeffstevens763@g]

Just buy an 12v inline fuel pump found on eBay

[diver 1]

Its very simple if your rib is out of the water. How does petrol get from your under deck tank to your engine?? Presumably through a fuel line from the (bottom) of the tank (via a fuel pickup tube welded internally within the tank) through a fuel hose to the engine. Simply remove the fuel hose from the engine attach a rubber fuel primer bulb and another length of fuel hose. Start pumping the fuel primer bulb and hold the end of the hose below the boat hull (outside of the boat!) and fuel will flow out. Am I missing something? Perhaps you have installed pipeless on your boat?

[A1an]

Long length of fuel pipe with primer bulb on one end, stick pipe to bottom of you tankand primer bulb end lower than bottom of tank, start lifting fuel out using primer bulb, once fuel reaches the bulb you can pull it off and let gravity do the rest.

[Limecc]

Can you rig a filler cap which you can apply low pressure air such as from a car tyre?
Gunsons easy bleed uses a similar system.

[smallribber]

I had the same issue with one of my speed boats.

The main issue is that the fuel pick up is not always at the very bottom of the tank and is always a little off the bottom.

As Orwell Boy says hand pump using the Primer Bulb some into a clear plastic bottle and let it settle for a very short while. This will show you if you have any water at the bottom of the tank.

See the pic below of the water I got out Initially.

After I pumped out (using the primer bulb about 2 ltrs I had goog clean petrol.

This boat has been used several times since and no issues in this regard now.

As others said to be extra sure and to allow for any water that could have been below the pick up that might slosh about in use fit a water separating filter

[smallribber]

Th vast bulk of the petrol in you tank will be ok as water and petrol do not mix for more than a few seconds. Any water will be at the bottom.

The outboard on this particular boat was a premix 2 stroke as you can see from the petrol colour. The good petrol in the volvic bottle went back in the tank

[Oldman2]

I was waiting for the petrol in lemonade bottles...it had to appear

[smallribber]

Originally Posted by Oldman2

I was waiting for the petrol in lemonade bottles...it had to appear

Different use for the Bottle this time

[GuyC]

Did you find the Volvic bottle or do you have to empty them out to fill them with petrol?

[willk]

Originally Posted by smallribber

The main issue is that the fuel pick up is not always at the very bottom of the tank and is always a little off the bottom.

No, they aren't - see mine below.

Originally Posted by smallribber

Th vast bulk of the petrol in you tank will be ok as water and petrol do not mix for more than a few seconds. Any water will be at the bottom.

Except that "petrol" is now E5 or E10. Water and ethanol are miscible.

Is there a "spout" on that Volvic bottle, Plumby?