Have you ever needed some gas for your lawnmower, motorcycle, and generator or perhaps tried to help a stranded friend who needed some gas, assuming you could easily get it out of your own vehicle? If you have, you know it’s not possible to siphon gas with conventional tools or standard siphons available on the market today.
Many people have tried to siphon gas out of one of their newer vehicles only to find out they hit one if not two major difficulties. It is not easy. Most new model cars and SUV’s have emergency valves that stop gas from draining out in the event of a roll-over. This valve also acts as a siphon prevention system which is the reason why nearly all the siphon devices and pumps sold these days are useless. That being said, there is a way to siphon gas from a modern car, you just need to know how to do it and have the right tools for the job.
The anatomy of the blockage in newer vehicles is a ball valve or butterfly valve. There is enough room for gas to get through the fueling tube into the tank, but if the car flips over and gas begins to flow the other direction, the ball moves to the inlet and blocks the gas from escaping or the butterfly flap closes.
The fundamental issue is that you need a line skinny, stiff and flexible enough to get through the valve and around the ball or flap. That is much easier said than done.
The first thing you need to get around a ball valve is 6-8 feet of 1/4 inch stiff plastic line with a smooth tapered tip narrowed towards the end with a semi rigid outer guide line to keep the 1/4 inch line from kinking when it hits the initial ball valve. With a firm twisting, bump and pushing motion, it is reasonably easy to get around most ball valves.
The next thing you’ll need is a thicker diameter fuel line that can receive the 1/4 inch line without leaking. This line will be used to connect to a fuel filter and then to a pump.
Gravity siphoning through the narrow line is doable but extremely slow. With a hand squeeze bulb pump you can move more gas but for best results use a very powerful fuel pump with 7-10PSI and serious self-priming dry-lift capability.
Pure siphoning through 1/4 inch line with sufficient gravity, you can move approximately 1 gallon every 8 minutes. Without the 1/4 inch line it's about a half-gallon a minute.
Moving gas through a 1/4 inch line using a hand squeeze bulb, it is possible to move approximately 1 gallon every 4 minutes (until your hand gives out).
Gas will quickly become one of the most important commodities in a crisis. Unfortunately, it will also be one of the scarcest. The gas stations that do have fuel will have unimaginably long lines, until their tanks go dry.
The best way to avoid a calamity is to keep your tank over halfway full at all times. Even in this scenario, however, you may not have enough fuel to evacuate.
In the movies, siphoning gas out of a car’s fuel tank looks like good old-fashioned fun. In the real world, it’s nasty, dirty, dangerous business.
To help you avoid injury or death, we have put together an easy to use guide to siphoning gas.
1. Gather Your Supplies
You will only need three supplies to create a siphon that will not require you to suck on the hose:
1. A Power Cable (You can also use a flexible PVC pipe or clear piping)
2. A Plastic Bottle
3. A Pair of Scissors
Take the power cable and cut through the insulation on one end. This will leave you with exposed wires in the middle of the cable. Do not cut them
After the internal wires are exposed and free of their outer insulation, you can stand on the other end of the power plug. Make sure you are wearing shoes so that you do not hurt your foot!
Next, begin pulling the wires out of the power cord. This will take some leverage, but you should be able to remove the wires without exerting a lot of effort. As soon as the wires are free of the insulation, you will be left with your siphoning pipe.
Take the cap off of the plastic water bottle. Use your scissors to cut a small hole into the cap.
This hole should be a little bit narrower than the siphoning pipe that you created from the power cord, so the tube will fit through the hole very snugly.
Even though the hole you cut was a bit narrower than the pipe, you should be able to push your pipe through it relatively easily.
The hole will naturally expand as the pipe is introduced. This is the reason that you did not make the hole any bigger. After all, you want the pipe to have a snug fit.
After the pipe has been pushed about an inch into the cap, you will screw the cap onto the plastic bottle. As you can see, this will result in the end of your siphoning pipe being placed inside the bottle.
After you have completed the basic assembly, you can test the siphon with water or any other liquid.
Simply place a container with water above the bottle, and then put one end of the siphon tube into that water.
Next, squeeze the water bottle slightly as shown in the picture. When you do this, you should notice some air bubbles in the water container.
As you release your grip on the water bottle so that the sides are no longer squeezed in, enough suction should be created to start the initial flow of water.
At this point, it is important to unscrew the bottle cap to prevent a very slow trickle of water.
If you do not want to collect the fluid in the bottle, you can unscrew the lid altogether and transfer the siphon hose to another container.
As long as you keep the hose lower than the source of the liquid that is being transferred, everything should continue flowing freely.
Please note: You do not have to use a power cable if you have other similar options on hand. For example, PVC pipe or clear cheap tubing can be just as successful.
Now that you know how to safely move gas or other liquids from one place to another, you can avoid using the old-fashioned sucking technique. It is never a good idea to use the older method because this can kill you. We understand that an emergency situation may call for desperate measures, but keep in mind that killing yourself in your pursuit of gas is the antithesis of the prepper mentality. Survival is the name of the game, and you can greatly improve your odds of surviving if you prepare a proper siphoning device before you actually need it.
Working with fuel is dangerous. Swallowing fuel is toxic. Fuel vapors are not good to breath. Gasoline contact with the skin can dry it out severely. Do not splash in your eyes. Fuel is flammable and combustible. If gasoline is stored untreated it can begin to break down within a week.
If things are really bad out there and you do not want a vehicle for parts or to get in a drivable condition all you need are a container, a hammer, and a screwdriver. You pound a hole in the gas tank and let the gas drain into your container.
Fuels can be stored but must be treated or they break down. Heat and temperature changes are not good on stored gas. Don’t store flammable things in your home or garage (you can store 2 to 10 gallons). Store fuels in a well ventilated room or outside away from buildings.
Do not store near heat or open flames.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn
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