Draining the old gas?

[stephenc8301]

i just bought my boat and dont know how old the gas is. how do i drain it? its and 86 reinell i/o omc.

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: Draining the old gas?

you should be able to get to the fuel fill hose attached to the gas tank... Youll need to undo the hose clamps and pull it off so you can put a syphon hose right into the tank.

You will need a syphon hose with check valve on one end, its the easiest way.

You may have to "pump" or "jerk" the hose to get the gas pumped out as its damn near impossible to start a syphon when your little red gas tank is higher then the tank in to boat or to get gas to flow up hill over the side of the boat to fill your little red gas tank.....


It works with the syphon hose really well, I just did that to winterise my boat here in AZ back in Dec lol.....put the gas in my truck....



Just thought of somehting.....maby the syphon hose will fit through the bildge drain???? If so then you can start a really good syphon flow and pump the gas into a nice sized gas tank.....Ill have to try that next time.

I think they sell the syphon hose here at iboats. I bought mine as Bass Pro for like 5.00

 

[Don S]

Re: Draining the old gas?

Moving to Boat Topics and Questions (not engine topics)

Get any cheap automotive electric fuel pump, hook it to the fuel line coming out of the tank, and pump it into your "old dead gas" containers.

 

[BAYLINER185]

Re: Draining the old gas?

Don always has the better answer....DAMN thats a good idea... clean and easy way to do it hassle free....

 

[Peter Eikenberry]

Re: Draining the old gas?

On a gas powered boat the only way to drain the fuel tank is to pump it out, but you don't want to use an electric pump because of the danger of explosion. The best thing to do is take it to a marine service and have them pump it out and dispose of it properly. But if you don't want to do that you could siphon it out. You didn't say how much was in the tank or how big the tank was. If it's just a few gallons I wouldn't even pump it out. I'd just fill the tank and run it. Next time you fill change th fuel filter, after you go through a few tanks and several filters it will be clean.

However if it's a large tank, then you will need a large safe container to siphon it in to and a way to dispose of it.

 

[firehog6305]

Re: Draining the old gas?

I have drained my tank several times, the best way that I have found to do ity was, remove the sending unit, and then run a hose from the tank out the transom drain hole, when you get it pumped out, instead of paying someone to get rid of it, first offer the gas to your local fire dept. being a fireman myself, we use old gas all the time in training, drip torches, ect. ect.

 

[fishmen111]

Re: Draining the old gas?

What Don said. Any electric fuel pump has sealed electronics for obvious reasons. Holley makes a nice one for under $30 at most parts stores. If the proximity to your work area bothers you, run the power leads to your truck battery with a set of gater clips. I just run my bilge blower and use the boat battery.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Draining the old gas?

Danger of explosion????? Nearly every EFI vehicle on the road today has an electric fuel pump mounted inside the gas tank and fully submersed in fuel. Boats with EFI also have electric fuel pumps. Even externally mounted automotive electric pumps are sealed. Don's idea has worked for me for years. Common horse sense avoids explosion and fire when working with open fuel containers and flowing fuel. Smoke if you like but don't blame the explosion on the fuel pump.

 

[jameskb2]

Re: Draining the old gas?

Simple way....

Disconnect the fuel line at the engine ( where it connects to the fuel pump) and connect a length of hose to it using a fitting. Place a gas tank on the ground, below the boat's tank. Siphon the boat's gas into the tank on the ground. The tank will drain completely (to the point the pickup runs dry)

 

[pine island fred]

Re: Draining the old gas?

Wont the anti-syphon valve installed in most tanks prevent you from syphoning? I like the electric pump idea. FRED

 

[redfury]

Re: Draining the old gas?

Draining the gas isn't the real problem it's usually...what do I do with it once it's out! I'm not keen on the idea of running 2 cycle gas in my truck, and I don't use enough in my 2 cycle snowblower to consider use in that.

Never thought of bringing it to the local fire dept, that's an excellent idea...a nugget I'll store away for future use.

Any other ideas on what do to with that old gas?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Draining the old gas?

If the anti-siphon valve is leaking a little it will dribble fuel and if the head (height of the tank in relation to the location of the container) is high enough, the fuel will siphon but you could go on vacation and the tank probably would still not be empty when you returned. Just pump it and be done in a couple minutes.

 

[HONKER1]

Re: Draining the old gas?

I needed to remove 6 gallon from my tank last fall because the heat in the garage was expanding the fuel and it was leaking out the vent. Maybe I was just lucky, but I disconnected the fuel hose from the outboard ( no motor quick disconnect ), and pushed on the primer ball and 6 gallon pumped fairly fast into the gas container.