How to empty my gas tanks?

I have kind of a strange question for you. I know that for mixing my oil in my gas I should put the oil in first, then the gas. Problem is my tank(s) (12 and 6 gallon portable) are never empty. I know it's not good to completely run the engine dry on a 2 cycle with 3 carbs, so I don't. What does everybody here do? Is there a cheap pump I can get that would attach to the gas line fitting and pump the gas out?

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

ZmOz <br /><br />Why do you want to pump it out? Just put some stabil in there and it will be fine. Is there something wrong with the tanks?

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

As I said above, I have asked about mixing the oil before, and the answer is to put the oil in first, then the gas. If the tanks are already partially full, I have no idea how much oil to put in.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

If they are partially full, have a funnel, empty one into the other, fill it w/gas, add the appropriate amount of oil and set it aside to use as your second tank. The gas/oil will mix sufficiently, with the motion of the boat, by the time you use it..<br />Now add oil to the empty tank, fill it w/gas, shake it a couple of times and let er rip.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

Well...since they have no spout and handles aren't designed for pouring I might as well just dump it on the ground. I was just thinking...what if I got another primer bulb, some fuel hose, and a quick connect fitting that fits my tanks? That would pump it out wouldn't it...or would it be horribly slow?

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

The gas and oil will mix by the time you get to the ramp or just shake the tank a little. I keep a plastic baby bottle in my boat with the oz. marked on the side and a small calculator <br />128 x gal. div. by 50 will tell you how many oz. of oil you need to add.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

Probably the easiest method would be to buy a cheap gas can and premix before you add to the boat tanks. The primer bulb idea would take quite a while. But your grip would become bone-crushing!

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

ditto as fouled plug stated<br /><br />I do my mixing in empty 6 gallon cans, then pour. I don't see anything wrong with adding gas, then oil, as long as it bounces around on the trailer or in the water for a spell. <br /><br />Someone linked the site to this a few weeks back:<br /><br /> http://www.tohatsu.com/tech_info/oil_gas.html <br /><br />I now keep the little chart in my wallet...

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

I have a few plastic pop bottles that I use for measuring the oil. I made marks for certain numbers of gallons...if it's a partial gallon I just estimate. I allways add a couple ounces extra anyway...

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

Most marine supply places sell a graduated container that tells you exactly how much oil ro add depending on the amount of gas. They are about 3" in diameter and 8 or so inches tall. They have different markings for different fuel to oil ratios.<br /><br />To drain the fuel out of any tank use a siphon.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

Just use a 5 gallon can/jug or whatever, add 1 pint of oil, gas, shake, [our into your tank and you will do just great. I know the proper mix is 1 pint to 6 gallons, but that will get you close enough. Even a little less oil or a little more gas if you want to get it real close.<br />Use a siphon hose to empty one into the other. I use a female Merc/Honda fuel hose end and pump with my primer bulb,once the gas starts flowing it will siphon out the gas. I keep all my small engines running this way, no extra trips to the pumps and I get rid of the old gas w/o throwing it out.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

I guess I'm just missing it on this one . If the 6 Gallon tank has 2 gallons left in it and you need to add fuel, you would just put 10.5 ounces of oil in there and gas her up. I've put the gas in many times before and then the oil. On my toon with a built-in tank, it's almost a must. I do usually put in a couple of pints of oil and then the gas when I get below half-full on the gauge. This is because I know it will take at least 12 Gallons to fill it at that reading. I add more oil if it goes over 12 gallons. No problem so far. The oil mixes rapidly with the fuel anyway. As for pumping out the old fuel, just cut the fitting off of the engine side of an old fuel line and pump it out with the bulb until it flows.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

A friend of mine has a 24 footer with 2 fixed tanks, and this is how he fills his: we stop at gas station after fishing and one guy gets in the boat and turns power on so electric gas gauges work. The person pumping gas does so till guy in boat sees gauge hit full, and tells pumper to stop. My friend knows that the tanks will have enough room for one more gallon of gas plus whatever oil it need. He than writes down which tank and how much fuel it took plus one gallon(the one that he will add later with the oil mixed into it). At 2.56 oz per gal.,aprox, he puts oil in a small gas can, adds 1 gal of gas, mixes it up a bit, and adds to whichever tank it's for. It'll all mix togeather on the trip home and the next trip to the lake. The last fillup of the season he adds stable. As for draining a portable tank, on my 17' runabout, I unhooked the fuel line off of motor, stuck a small screwdriver in the end to hold checkvalve open, put end in container I wanted to transfer fuel into and sqeezed the bulb till fuel started flowing. It was slow, but cheap(nothing). If I ever do it again, I would unscrew the clamp and remove the connector. Mark your gauges with whiteout at gallon increments if it's the corkscrew type gauge. There is always some way to solve a delema. PDS

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

So if I use a primer to get the gas flowing...it will siphon through the primer? That would be prefect for what I want...especially since I need to replace my fuel line anyway and my old one would work prefect for this...

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

Zmoz, if I hear you correct,and you are talking about my post, yes it will to drain your tanks. It's called gravity feed. Once fuel starts to flow, it will flow till the tank is dry. If you have a question, please post it. PDS.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

Also, just for the record, I just used the primer bulb and hoses off my boat to drain the fuel out of my sled. I just taped a piece of coathanger wire(to keep the hose straight) and it sucked almost all of the old gas out of the tank. Bottom line is use what you got. PDS.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

I have a 12 gallon fixed tank and a 6 gallon Merc tank. I also have two five gallon gas jugs. I just put approximatly 5 gallons in each jug, add appropriate oil in the jugs, and thats that. When I need to put some in the boat, I just top it off. Too easy. The Merc tank goes with me to the gas station with the gas cans. As far as draining, take the fitting off, squeeze the primer until fuel flows, and just let gravity do the rest. I put the container I am draining into on the ground, the higher the gas tank from the container, the quicker it will drain. I always drain the carbs by taking the little drain plugs off of the bottom of the bowls, works just fine.

Re: How to empty my gas tanks?

I found a siphon at K-Mart or Walmart or someplace for 2 or 3 bucks that works pretty good. Has a rigid tube with a bulb on it and a flexible hose coming out of that. It's somewhat bigger diameter than a fuel hose so it works faster. Check their automotive stuff.