Fuel Pump Question - How to get Max Flow

[JohnV8r]

Hey Guys,

I am intending to use a DC fuel pump I have to pump out as much of the left over gas from my fuel tank as I can. I have connected the fuel pump to a switch to turn it on and off. The switch & pump are wired into a temporary battery connection.

My question is will the pump automatically pump to its maximum GPH capacity when it is turned on or is there something that needs to be done to get the max GPH out of the pump?

Thanks,

JohnV8r

[Tony Meola]

John

As long as the voltage holds up, and there are no restrictions you should be ok.

I used a barrel pump that I lowered into the tank using the sending unit port. I took the gas out 15 to 20 gallons at a time and burned it in my truck. I only had to remove about 60 gallons since I had run it down before the repower.

[JohnV8r]

Thanks Tony. I’m going to try to find some metal tube to do the same to get to the bottom of the tank. My Suburban is on empty!

[Raybo Marine NY]

I use an old piece of stainless bow rail pipe with a 3/8 fuel line slid inside of it and it fits through the sender hole.
Put the pipe in your tank, pull the hose up a little bit so it’s not sucking right from the bottom of the tank if you plan on running it one of your vehicles , be even better if you filtered it before you mess up your pump.
Have it all mounted in a 5 gallon bucket so it’s easy to transport, use, and store. A battery charger on the battery will insure good power if you have a lot of fuel to pump out

Check a local shop or fabricator they usually have a scrap pile of stainless

[Bruce]

John,
Watch using the dregs at the bottom of the tank without filtering and checking for water before using in a vehicle.

[Raybo Marine NY]

locally I just paid $320 to have 100 gallons pumped and removed, which is way cheaper than a fuel pump or carburetor

I'm done running questionable crap in anything, not even a lawn mower

[Yannis]

If you're not in a hurry to empty the tank, you can insert that thin tube and suck till it fills a 20 lt canister that you fill your car with. Next week another canister...and for the real pioneers, there are these squeeze+valve tubes that suck air for you!!

[JohnV8r]

Thanks guys! I’m actually running the fuel through the old fuel lines which includes a Racor spin on fuel filter. The pick ups on the fuel lines don’t go all the way to the bottom. Hopefully between the two I w ont pick up a bunch of crap.

To get the last of the gas out, I bought a 1/2” copper pipe. I’m going to put some fuel line on that and siphon the remainder out for disposal.

Thanks!

JohnV8r

[Tony Meola]

I ran mine through filter before it went into the truck. I did not have any water and not much in the way of sediment. I know I had a few gallons that would not come out. The diesel shop it was not a problem so away we went.

[JohnV8r]

I put 5 gallons in tonight with about 8 gallons left in my 2015 Suburban. Call it a 60/40 mix of non-boat gas and boat gas. Used about 5 gallons of that to get home. No problems. Fuel mileage didn't change.

My DC fuel pump sucks though. It takes 30 minutes to pump 5 gallons with the gas can it's filling four at least 4 feet below the fuel tank. It can't be working that hard with gravity helping it. Maybe it's because of the Racor filter. Who knows. At least it's pumping it out.

Thanks for all the feedback!

[ktm_2000]

is your portable tank below the height of the boat's tank? I've emptied tanks at a faster rate with siphon alone

[JohnV8r]

Yes, the fuel tank above the gas cans. I may try just a straight siphon this weekend and get it started by putting the pump at the end of the line and then pull it off. Otherwise, I'm just going to keep setting a 30 minute alarm on my phone. It isn't ideal, but it works. The other good news is I'm not trying to empty the entire remainder of the tank in one day since I'm using the gas. So timing is less of an issue.

[Carl]

I siphoned mine into Jerry jugs starting with the Jeep I was using, then brought some home to top the families tanks.
Multiple trips over a few weeks got me empty. I was in no rush, Plus extra time allows the crud to settle to the bottom where I wasn;t actually pulling from...close but not quite there.
As you mentioned a length of Copper line to get the last bit out. Which I did not use even though fuel was fresh...but I worried about crud clogging and causing issues. I then added a couple gallons of diesel and pulled that out too, just to get some residue out.


When I did have a problem was years ago before I knew the ethanol was eating the tank...I had decided to pull all fuel out, clean tank and refill. The thought at that time was it was the alcohol was "Cleaning" the tank walls of all the old varnish and tars. That thought had us thinking a little old in with fresh would be fine. Nope, By the time I got home I knew I made a mistake...next day going to work I really knew it was a big mistake...could hardly keep my truck running. $350 bucks to have injectors flushed or whatever dealer did. BUT that was because the alcohol wasn't cleaning the walls of the tank...it was eating the walls of the tank.

Only issue with a siphon or slow pump is you really have to pay attention NOT to overflow. Easy to get distracted on a 5-minute boat job, we all know no job is 5 minutes even if they seem that way. A couple of times I went to go get a tool or something and realized its been a while....I got lucky. After that I went with a better siphon that filled faster as I waited THERE.

[Tony Meola]

John

A harbor Freight barrell pump makes quick work of it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/barrel-pump-45743.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/dual-dire ... 40844.html

[JohnV8r]

Carl,

I feel you... I have to set a timer on my Apple Watch so I don't overflow the 5 gallon cans.

Tony,

That's a GREAT idea!

Thanks guys.