elelmentary question: how do you best drain the gas tank

[ericr]

sounds like a naïve question, but what is the best way to drain the gas tank, assuming you wanted to save the gas? there is not much room to place a can anywhere right under the sediment bulb. nor does swinging the gas line to another arc seem to accomplish much. does anyone have a trick to do this without creating a mess?

[dean from bozeman]

1. With the gas shut off, remove the gas line between the sediment bulb and the carburetor.
2. Use a second fitting, gas line, rubber tubing and clamp that will reach from the sediment bulb to a container on the floor.
3. Turn the gas back on and drain.
4. Put the original gas line back on.

[Brentwood Bob]

I plumbed an indented firewall out over the fender when I flushed the old permatex coating out of the tank.
On a pre May 1931 I believe the gas line can be taken off and the gas run out thru the passenger door with a piece of rubber hose.
Bob

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by dean from bozeman

1. With the gas shut off, remove the gas line between the sediment bulb and the carburetor.
2. Use a second fitting, gas line, rubber tubing and clamp that will reach from the sediment bulb to a container on the floor.
3. Turn the gas back on and drain.
4. Put the original gas line back on.

Sounds like a good idea to me. Thought about doing this if and when I needed to drain the tank.

[Mitch//pa]

Remove the fuel line from the carb end. Slide a length of 1/4 fuel line on it into a gas can.
Then open the shut off valve

[mike657894]

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how I have done it. is to take off the line at the carb and push a peice of rubber hose over it and put the other end in the 5 gallon can sat on the ground in front of the radiator. my fuel shut off was stuck untill a week ago. so i had to drain when i did gaskets and other stuff.

[larrys40]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

Remove the fuel line from the carb end. Slide a length of 1/4 fuel line on it into a gas can.
Then open the shut off valve

Exactly how I do it and have many times to replace fuel valves . I have a couple of 5 gallon cans and I run the fuel line over the fender to the open end of the fuel line ( carb end) and into a 5 gallon , of course keeping 1 eye on the increasing level while doing other work.

I would never take the fuel line off inside to drain. It's a safety common sense thing.
Larry

[monto]

Originally Posted by dean from bozeman

1. With the gas shut off, remove the gas line between the sediment bulb and the carburetor.
2. Use a second fitting, gas line, rubber tubing and clamp that will reach from the sediment bulb to a container on the floor.
3. Turn the gas back on and drain.
4. Put the original gas line back on.

As Dean outlines here, I've done exactly the same. Works perfect !

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Tell some Kid, "FREE GAS" ! & he'll find a quick way to drain it !
Bill W.

[BlueSunoco]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

Remove the fuel line from the carb end. Slide a length of 1/4 fuel line on it into a gas can.
Then open the shut off valve

That's all I do also. Works out fine.

[Karl Wescott]

Do not do it this way!
LOL

[ursus]

And do not use your shop vac to suck out the last little bit!

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by ursus

And do not use your shop vac to suck out the last little bit!

You, BETCHA"! We get so used to working around gasoline that we FORGET the potential DANGER
I read somewhere that 2 tablespoons of gas in a gallon can, has the potential of an explosion equal to SEVERAL sticks of DYNAMITE---Dynamite is weird stuff, Chief told me if you just lay it on the ground & blow it off, it barely makes a hole. He said if you cover it with a little dirt, it'll make a CRATER--A friend used to store DYNAMITE in his linen closet, in his HOME----------For some reason, he's still ALIVE---I could probably blow myself up, with a bottle of CHAMPAGNELOL
Bill W.

[silversink]

in my neighborhood all you would have to do is leave it parked outside over night....someone would have it siphoned dry by morning.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by silversink

in my neighborhood all you would have to do is leave it parked outside over night....someone would have it siphoned dry by morning.

I knew a guy that always left a gallon gas can in front of his garage door---It was filled with WATER & a half cup of GAS!!
Bill W.

[BlueSunoco]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

I knew a guy that always left a gallon gas can in front of his garage door---It was filled with WATER & a half cup of GAS!!
Bill W.

That's funny!!

[BlueSunoco]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

You, BETCHA"! We get so used to working around gasoline that we FORGET the potential DANGER
I read somewhere that 2 tablespoons of gas in a gallon can, has the potential of an explosion equal to SEVERAL sticks of DYNAMITE---Dynamite is weird stuff, Chief told me if you just lay it on the ground & blow it off, it barely makes a hole. He said if you cover it with a little dirt, it'll make a CRATER--A friend used to store DYNAMITE in his linen closet, in his HOME----------For some reason, he's still ALIVE---I could probably blow myself up, with a bottle of CHAMPAGNELOL
Bill W.

My father-in-law was in the Seabees. One day while he was clearing stumps on his farm on the edge of town he went to the local rock quarry to buy some dynamite. In the early 60's any farmer could buy whatever they needed no questions asked. ANYway, the guy that ran the quarry was a friend of his from church and also a Seabee veteran. When John told him what he was going to do, and just using quarter sticks per stump, the quarry owner said 'Oh no no, you need to use at least three sticks to get the roots and all out.' (he said this tongue in cheek). They still laugh 55 years later about the tremendous explosion that shook the whole town nearby and prompted calls to the Sheriff's Dept.! The guys at the quarry were three miles away and they said it was pretty loud even out there. Ah, the good old days. Regulations have taken the fun away.

[JamesAC]

Just drained my tank this week to replace the cutoff valve under the tank (1930 coupe) as it let a little gas bypass the valve and go on down to the carburetor even when turned off. I have a conventional glass sediment bowl and a simple steel line going down to a Tillotson carburetor (driver but nicely restored car) and all I had to do was disconnect the line at the carburetor and swing it away from the carburetor just enough to attach a rubber hose to its end with the other end of the rubber hose in a little 2 gallon plastic gas container which slid easily under the car with the car just sitting on a level floor. Of course, I had burned out most of the gas in the tank so it didn't take long for the tank to drain fully. Discovered my gas gauge was off by about a quarter in the process. Turned out I had more in the tank than what I thought I'd burned it down to (I guess that's the more forgiving "error" side the gauge could be on) so it took an extra time than I thought it would changing out the little plastic gas container under the car to fully empty it.

While the tank was empty I adjusted the gauge by gently bending the float wire so it would read just right with the float at the top and then at the bottom of the tank. Waiting now on my new gas valve and small in-tank strainer so I can reassemble things and get driving again.

[Bruce of MN]

Originally Posted by Karl Wescott

Do not do it this way!
LOL

Now, you tell me!!

[Tom Wesenberg]

I do it the same as Mitch said.
You can buy a 10 foot length of clear tubing at Menards for only a couple bucks. This is also handy to use as a syphon hose because you can see exactly where the gas is and stop sucking before you swallow any gas. When I use the tubing to syphon, I slip it over a foot of metal tubing, so it stick straight into the tank and stays on the bottom.