Pumping gas out of a fuel tank

[DaveHNL]

Recently purchased a 2006, 180 Sportsman. The gas in the tank is ethanol and has been setting in the tank for over a year.
I'd like to pump it all out and flush the fuel lines.

Has anybody attempted to run a hose through the fuel fill hose to pump gas out of a Grady White fuel tank?

The reason I ask, is because on my old 25' Glacier Bay catamaran, I wasn't able to run a hose down the fuel fill hose into the fuel tank.

Thanks

 

[Parthery]

You are better off removing the fuel sending unit on the top of the tank and pumping the fuel out from there.

 

[Finest Kind]

...or (assuming your boat is out of the water and up on a trailer) disconnect the outlet of the fuel primer bulb from your outboard motor, attach a long hose to the bulb's outlet and run it down into a suitable container on the ground. Then simply pump up the bulb and and siphon out the gas until the tank is dry.

Also, as a precaution I would suggest you run a couple of gallons of fresh gas through the tank / gas lines after the tank seems empty in order to ensure any remaining water/sediment is flushed out before reconnecting the gas line to the motor and refilling the gas tank.

 

[Lt.Mike]

You are better off removing the fuel sending unit on the top of the tank and pumping the fuel out from there.

This how I did it but using the primer bulb sounds like I'd work well to siphon it out to a can if it's on a trailer. If it in the water you could use a cheap Arnold pump you can buy at homedepot .
Though cheap it worked well enough to prompt me to do a post on YouTube about it.
Ya I know it's goofy but it made it a simple job.
Here's a link.
https://youtu.be/Ze3LFGkEZlI
Mike

 

[drbatts]

I pumped one of the fuel tanks out on my old boat out last season. It ended up being a real simple job. I bought a 12 volt fuel transfer pump which came with a weighted intake hose that I dropped into the tank via the hole for the fuel sender. The Pump plugged into my 12 volt outlet. Pumped out the fuel into small cans. Took a little time to pump 45 gallons or so out, but in the end worked great.

https://www.amazon.com/Gasoline-Transfe ... B00QSPU0NS

 

[seasick]

Recently purchased a 2006, 180 Sportsman. The gas in the tank is ethanol and has been setting in the tank for over a year.
I'd like to pump it all out and flush the fuel lines.

Has anybody attempted to run a hose through the fuel fill hose to pump gas out of a Grady White fuel tank?

The reason I ask, is because on my old 25' Glacier Bay catamaran, I wasn't able to run a hose down the fuel fill hose into the fuel tank.

Thanks

Get a little gas out to test. You can use the fuel line after the primer bulb. Put it in a glass gar and let it sit for an hour. Check the color, check for evidence of layers and smell it. If it smells like gas and has no separations and looks like gas, it is probably OK to use. If it is OK, add some fresh gas and go enjoy the boat. Bad gas smells BAD There is no need to flush the fuel lines but there may be cause to change the onboard fuel filter and of course the water separator filter but don't do that until you decide if you want to use the existing fuel, If so, run through the old filters just in case there is gunk in the gas, tank or lines.
For the record, disposing legally of old gas is pretty expensive. Many people have problems with bad gas and change filters only to find out that the bad gas gummed up the new filters

BTW, if you find water in the gas, check and probably replace the o-ring on the fuel fill cap. I am not a believer in the' condensation added a ton a water to my gas' theory. I have about 60 boats in my club and in just about every case of water in the fuel, the cause was water leaking into the tank usually through the fuel fill.
We have had boats sit for many years and the gas was still usable and was run in older vehicles and lawn equipment.

 

[Lt.Mike]

[quote="seasick]
For the record, disposing legally of old gas is pretty expensive.[/quote]
That's not entirely true, I suspect it depends on where you live.
In NJ it's free. I took over 20 gal.s of contaminated gas to the county's hazardous Waste facility in Tinton Falls NJ. You pull in, tell them what you have, they take the cans dump them and your done.
The only expense is the fuel that brought you there.
Mike

 

[seasick]

[quote="seasick]
For the record, disposing legally of old gas is pretty expensive.

That's not entirely true, I suspect it depends on where you live.
In NJ it's free. I took over 20 gal.s of contaminated gas to the county's hazardous Waste facility in Tinton Falls NJ. You pull in, tell them what you have, they take the cans dump them and your done.
The only expense is the fuel that brought you there.
Mike[/quote][/quote]
Good to know. I guess for smallish amounts that works out For bigger amounts of gas, I would not want to pump it out and transport it to the facility.
Thanks for the info.

 

[DaveHNL]

Thanks for your replies.

I ended up buying a 75 GPH fuel pump (on sale at O'Reilly Auto Parts $45) and pumping the gas from the main tank line into twelve, 5 gallon gas cans (on sale at O'Reilly Auto Parts $3.47 each).
Put an ad on Craigslist for "Free - 5 gallon gas tanks with gas" - had 10 calls within the first 30 minutes - tanks and gas were picked up 2 hours later.

Hazardous waste disposal companies wanted ~$700 to pick up and dispose of the gas.

 

[seasick]

Thanks for your replies.

I ended up buying a 75 GPH fuel pump (on sale at O'Reilly Auto Parts $45) and pumping the gas from the main tank line into twelve, 5 gallon gas cans (on sale at O'Reilly Auto Parts $3.47 each).
Put an ad on Craigslist for "Free - 5 gallon gas tanks with gas" - had 10 calls within the first 30 minutes - tanks and gas were picked up 2 hours later.

Hazardous waste disposal companies wanted ~$700 to pick up and dispose of the gas.

I am not surprised. There are folks who encourage boaters to drain their tanks and then offer to take the gas off their hands

Like I said, if it looks like gas and smells like gas, it is probably OK to use.

 

[DaveHNL]

I'm more concerned with debris in the fuel system - I may have either a clogged VST filter or injectors which will be replaced this week.

I also noticed the previous owner used silicone tape to seal the threads on a 3 way fuel valve which will be removed & replaced.

Will be replacing the fuel/water separating filter and pumping out 2 gallons of fresh fuel prior to connecting to the engine.

 

[DennisG01]

FYI, Dave, injectors can be cleaned/rebuilt for about $20/each. Check with a local fuel injection shop (doesn't have to be a marine shop).

 

[DaveHNL]

The mechanic charges ~$130/hr to work on a boat in the water + travel time, it's cheaper to buy new injectors and clean the old ones later for backup use.

 

[DennisG01]

Obviously, you know your situation better than me, but to add another "nudge" towards saving some money...

1) Can you put the boat on the trailer and take it to him to have the injectors removed?
2) Can you remove the injectors yourself? On my engine, I think I had all 6 pulled in about a half hour.

In checking prices on injectors for my engine (Yamaha brand, but online/discounted), they come in at $225/piece. That starts to add up pretty quickly! Although, I seem to recall that these injectors might be the same as those used in some GM applications. But I don't know much more than that, or how reliable the sources are that gave me that info.

 

[seasick]

I'm more concerned with debris in the fuel system - I may have either a clogged VST filter or injectors which will be replaced this week.

I also noticed the previous owner used silicone tape to seal the threads on a 3 way fuel valve which will be removed & replaced.

Will be replacing the fuel/water separating filter and pumping out 2 gallons of fresh fuel prior to connecting to the engine.

I think you meant to say 'Teflon' tape. You need to use a liquid(paste) sealant that is specifically geared toward gasoline plumbing. The problem with tape is that small pieces can come off and plug the plumbing, especially small orifices or screens.
I don't recall you stating symptoms that leads you to suspect the VST or injectors. I didn't think you ran the motor yet. Are there running issues?

 

[DaveHNL]

Obviously, you know your situation better than me, but to add another "nudge" towards saving some money...

1) Can you put the boat on the trailer and take it to him to have the injectors removed?
2) Can you remove the injectors yourself? On my engine, I think I had all 6 pulled in about a half hour.

In checking prices on injectors for my engine (Yamaha brand, but online/discounted), they come in at $225/piece. That starts to add up pretty quickly! Although, I seem to recall that these injectors might be the same as those used in some GM applications. But I don't know much more than that, or how reliable the sources are that gave me that info.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Yes, I could put the boat on a trailer, but that would take half a day to do.
Yes, I could remove the injectors myself and take them to a place to have them serviced but that would take 3 or 4 hours.
Injectors are only ~$104 each, to me, it's not worth the trouble - the mechanic will be replacing the balancer and servicing the VST, I rather let him be out in the hot sun wrenching on my motor.

 

[DaveHNL]

I'm more concerned with debris in the fuel system - I may have either a clogged VST filter or injectors which will be replaced this week.

I also noticed the previous owner used silicone tape to seal the threads on a 3 way fuel valve which will be removed & replaced.

Will be replacing the fuel/water separating filter and pumping out 2 gallons of fresh fuel prior to connecting to the engine.

I think you meant to say 'Teflon' tape. You need to use a liquid(paste) sealant that is specifically geared toward gasoline plumbing. The problem with tape is that small pieces can come off and plug the plumbing, especially small orifices or screens.
I don't recall you stating symptoms that leads you to suspect the VST or injectors. I didn't think you ran the motor yet. Are there running issues?

You are correct, I meant to say Teflon tape.

I have run the motor, it won't reach WOT. All the research I've done and speaking with the service manager at Yamaha points to a clogged VST filter or clogged injectors or both.

There was a lot of debris in the tank, the attached picture shows what was captured in the 10 micron Yamaha fuel/water separating filter - I plan to pull 20 more gallons of fuel through a new 2 micron filter and see what that captures.
Don't know why this picture keeps uploading sideways.

 

[Lt.Mike]

[quote="seasick]
For the record, disposing legally of old gas is pretty expensive.

That's not entirely true, I suspect it depends on where you live.
In NJ it's free. I took over 20 gal.s of contaminated gas to the county's hazardous Waste facility in Tinton Falls NJ. You pull in, tell them what you have, they take the cans dump them and your done.
The only expense is the fuel that brought you there.
Mike

[/quote]
Good to know. I guess for smallish amounts that works out For bigger amounts of gas, I would not want to pump it out and transport it to the facility.
Thanks for the info.[/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]
If you call 20+ gallons a small amount.
Pays to have s pickup and to do your own work.
I also upgraded my filter system to a water separating Racor filter.
Mike

 

[DennisG01]

Obviously, you know your situation better than me, but to add another "nudge" towards saving some money...

1) Can you put the boat on the trailer and take it to him to have the injectors removed?
2) Can you remove the injectors yourself? On my engine, I think I had all 6 pulled in about a half hour.

In checking prices on injectors for my engine (Yamaha brand, but online/discounted), they come in at $225/piece. That starts to add up pretty quickly! Although, I seem to recall that these injectors might be the same as those used in some GM applications. But I don't know much more than that, or how reliable the sources are that gave me that info.

Thanks for your suggestions.
Yes, I could put the boat on a trailer, but that would take half a day to do.
Yes, I could remove the injectors myself and take them to a place to have them serviced but that would take 3 or 4 hours.
Injectors are only ~$104 each, to me, it's not worth the trouble - the mechanic will be replacing the balancer and servicing the VST, I rather let him be out in the hot sun wrenching on my motor.

OK, no worries. On the flip side, you are doing your job to support your local economy! :mrgreen:

Before you go too crazy with servicing things, you might want to run the engine on a portable tank. It's a quick and easy "diagnosing tool" that eliminates the fuel tank and it's lines from the list of variables. If you can then run into your proper WOT range, you know the issue is from there back. If you still have an problem with WOT, then the issue is from there forward.

Just checking, but... The boat hull is clean? Running gear in good condition? Proper sized prop on there? Trimming up properly?

 

[Clockwork]

best bet is to remove the sending unit. you'll be hard pressed to fish a hose down through the filler because it takes a hard 90 degree turn and the hose will likely kink even if you can get it down there. also you cant siphon from your pickups because they have an anti siphon valve although on most you could remove it and replace with a standard fitting temporarily.