gas siphon

[mwardncsu]

Let's face it - these new EPA approved gas cans suck. This time of year I tend to haul gas to the boat as my favorite places are closed for the winter and it saves a little money to get gas - ethanol free - off the water. These new cans with their "spill free" design take 5 min to empty one tank - and you still spill gas. A while back I purchased some vents and a high-flow nozzle and that worked well for a while - would empty the can in under a minute - but over time the gasket seemed to mess up to where it was leaking on me between the nozzle and tank - I think because the nozzle was intended for "old" cans with a different thread pattern or something and you had to hold the tank over the gunner / fill tube and still had a chance of spilling some when you started pouring.

I ran across this high-flow siphon recently - one where you initiate the siphon via blowing - not sucking (ok boys - settle down.....) - so you don't end up with a mouth full of gas. I used it tonight and it worked pretty well - emptied the tank in just over a minute and you did not have to hold the heavy tank over the gunnel at an odd angle - could just sit it on the deck or gunnel and let the siphon pull the gas once its started.


www.turbosiphon.com





It works by pushing the cup shaped plastic over the mouth of the can (with the can's nozzle removed) to create a seal - then you blow into the black tube which pressurizes the can and pushes gas into the output tube - and the flow initiates the siphon. Doing this in 32 degree temps tonight, the plastic & hose was pretty stiff and I had to push down hard on that "cup" to get a sufficient seal - I did get a little "blow back" one time till I figured out how much I needed to push on it - in warmer temps where the plastic would be more plying I think it would not be an issue at all.

You can get this on Amazon for a bit under $30. A little pricy for some hose and bits of plastic, but after enough annoyance in filling the boat, it pays for itself in convenience pretty quick.....

[Brian]

I use a shaker siphon... No oral skills required, just a hand motion that is very familiar to every guy.

www.amazon.com/Hopkins-10801-FloTool-Shaker-Anti-Static/dp/B000EH0ORI

[mwardncsu]

I've seen those but they all had smaller hoses and slower flow rates. What size hose is on that one? Says 3.5 gpm so probably pretty close

[Brian]

It's faster than pouring out of an EPA approved gas can but that doesn't say much!

[Brian]

What I like the most about the shaker version is absolutely no spillage. You place the output end in the destination, place the check valve end in the source container and then give it a few shakes to start the siphon. When it's done you lift the check valve end out and hold it up so the last swig of gas goes into the destination.


I'm sure it's slower than what you are using though because the check valve ball does block some flow.

Every year I siphon the gas out of my generator (8 gallons) and burn it in my truck. I also keep my boat full as a backup supply for the generator (90 gallons) so I usually pump that old gas outafter it's been sitting around all summer and start my fall saltwater trips with fresh gas. So anyway I use that siphon a lot