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Can you syphon petrol? - johnny
I'm thinking of getting a dual fuel stove for camping, which will run off unleaded. Can you still syphon petrol out of a car or is there some sort of trap twixt filler and tank?
Can you syphon petrol? - defender
depends on the car now as some have anti syphon or pipes that you cant get hose in because of the shape of bends ,used to do it often when out of petrol for the mower,chainsaw etc but too much hassle now
Can you syphon petrol? - storme
Just undo the pipe b4 the fuel filter and turn on the ignition for a second or two :)
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www.storme.co.uk
Can you syphon petrol? - J Bonington Jagworth
Er, wouldn't it be simpler to buy a plastic can...?

IIRC, petrol stoves had a tendency to explode, but I'm going back a while. I think I'd stick with Camping Gaz, though!

Can you syphon petrol? - Navara Van man
Syphoning fuel is a smelly unlesant task at the best of times, let alone doing it regularly!
Can you syphon petrol? - bell boy
it isnt worth syphoning fuel out of a modern motor the connections are not designed for this and you will probably die in a ball of fire.Please do not do it the conequences are not worth it .
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
Can you syphon petrol? - Lud
it isnt worth syphoning fuel out of a modern motor the
connections are not designed for this and you will probably die
in a ball of fire.


Only if it's dry weather and you take off your nylon shirt while sucking on the end of the syphon tube. Otherwise just the usual stimulating shot of Motor Spirit, sadly lacking in lead these days but you can't have everything. At least if it's 98 RON there should be a whiff of supertoxic benzene...
Can you syphon petrol? - defender
the easy taste free way is to seal the filler with a rag and blow in the syphon pipe to put a little pressure in the tank then drop the pipe into container which hopefully will start to run
Can you syphon petrol? - JH
Johnny,
Yes but it tastes disgusting. Can't remember why I did it now, probably a consequence of hydrocarbons on the brain. Car accessory shops sell a syphon that's kicked off with a bit of hand priming, that may be your best bet. Or a can as someone else suggested.
JH
Can you syphon petrol? - OG

Yes but it tastes disgusting.

It's also toxic so probably not a good idea to do it too often.

Can you syphon petrol? - mrmender
IF you must syphon then the special plastic hose thingyies from home brew kits are the answer
As some scum bag emptied the tank on my Range rover a few years ago using one!
Can you syphon petrol? - JH
emptied the tank on a Range Rover! Didn't you notice the tanker parked by your car?
JH
Can you syphon petrol? - Altea Ego
Must have taken hours through that thin pipe!
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Can you syphon petrol? - Lud
Or the thing they sell you to get the carp out of the bottom of your goldfish tank, quite decent bore on the tubes, you can have all the water out in 20 seconds leaving the fish gasping on the pebbles. Carp residue may - and I only say may - improve the performance of the toerag's car...
Can you syphon petrol? - corax

I may have to syphon out some coolant from my radiator soon. I have one of those syphons composed of two pipes with a rubber squeezer in the middle. Last time I tried this I failed miserably. I know that somewhere on this forum someone gave the right technique for using one of these, but I can't find it.

So is this correct? I fill the whole syphon with water, put my thumbs over the ends, put the suction end into the radiator and the other end into the bucket and squeeze the rubber bulb to get the coolant flowing. Right or wrong?

Can you syphon petrol? - Ben 10

You're winding us up?

As said, fork out and get a fuel can.

Can you syphon petrol? - madf

Of course you can syphon petrol.

Any fool can....:-)

Can you syphon petrol? - corax

If I keep waiting I might end up with a sensible answer. Whats all this about petrol? I said coolant, and the right technique to use a syphon. Never mind, I'll work it out for myself.

Can you syphon petrol? - Ben 10

I was referring to the OP, not yours Corax. ;-)

Can you syphon petrol? - corax

I was referring to the OP, not yours Corax. ;-)

Yep, I realise that now, I think the OP's long gone :-)

Edited by corax on 27/08/2010 at 19:39

Can you syphon petrol? - gordonbennet

Righto Corax.

Put one end of tube into the coolant, and squeeze the bellows fully, then put thumb over the other end and release the bellows, keeping your thumb tight....the pipe will fill with coolant *vacuumed up, lower thumb end as far as possible below the level of the coolant, release thumb and away she goes.

* i know it's not really the vacuum but atmospheric pressure doing the business..ish..;)

Another way to syphon coolant without a bellows is to fill say a 3ft long by 1/4" bore pipe with clean water, hold pipe vertically with thumb over each end, keep upright and place quickly in the coolant whilst keeping thumb tight over the higher end, lower the thumb end of pipe to a lower level than the fluid to be syphoned, release thumb and away you go.

Can you syphon petrol? - corax

Righto Corax.

Put one end of tube into the coolant, and squeeze the bellows fully, then put thumb over the other end and release the bellows, keeping your thumb tight....the pipe will fill with coolant *vacuumed up, lower thumb end as far as possible below the level of the coolant, release thumb and away she goes.

Thank you GB, at last a man I can trust in :-) I'll try that. Every year I add a bottle of radiator relief to the coolant when it's just been changed. But I like to syphon some coolant off first before adding it to avoid over filling. The radiator relief is basically a 'water wetter', it's supposed to help the engine warm up faster by increasing contact between the coolant and radiator. It also stops corrosion build up and the engine supposedly runs cooler. It does seem to speed up the warm up process or it may be my imagination, but it fulfills my little satisfactions, and I've had no problems with the cooling system in five and a half years. As you know I have a BMW straight six, and it's very important to change coolant regularly in these due to the alloy construction. If they overheat just once they're pretty much sc*** as the alloy is very soft and partially melts. I get my mechanic to change the coolant every year, maybe overkill, but it's a simple job, and like I said, no problems yet. I don't know how old the rad is but I can't see any signs of bowing at the bottom, which usually means impending doom in the near future.

www.agriemach.com/default.php?cPath=60

Edited by corax on 28/08/2010 at 17:01

Can you syphon petrol? - corax

Righto Corax.

Put one end of tube into the coolant, and squeeze the bellows fully, then put thumb over the other end and release the bellows, keeping your thumb tight....the pipe will fill with coolant *vacuumed up, lower thumb end as far as possible below the level of the coolant, release thumb and away she goes.

Just did it, and it worked a treat!

Can you syphon petrol? - gordonbennet
I get my mechanic to change the coolant every year, maybe overkill, but it's a simple job, and like I said, no problems yet. I don't know how old the rad is but I can't see any signs of bowing at the bottom, which usually means impending doom in the near future.

www.agriemach.com/default.php?cPath=60

Ah preventative maintenance and some tlc, you can't beat it...applies to loved ones too, i wonder if those who neglect their cars treat their partners in a similar way.

Never heard of that rad relief stuff before, you learn summat every day.

Can you syphon petrol? - bathtub tom

>>Never heard of that rad relief stuff before, you learn summat every day.

Snake oil turns up in strange places.

Can you syphon petrol? - Leif

As others have said, petrol is poisonous, so you'd do better to get a stove that runs off camping gas (butane or whatever).

Can you syphon petrol? - Harry Boy

Leaf, catch up matey boy. This thread is about syphoning coolant.

I do think you and others, Benio, fmad, should read the postings before firing off from the hip.

Corax must think we are dopes, "better to get a stove that runs off camping gas" hardly helps to syphon off coolant does it.

Have a good day, ya all

Can you syphon petrol? - corax

No Stu D Baker, I don't think they're dopes, they just didn't notice the fact that the original question was submitted over 4 years ago! My fault really, as I should have posted the question in a new thread, but I was lazy and was trying to find any 'syphon' posts on the search engine. Well spotted anyway.

Anyway, I can't criticise Madf, he's helped me out with Toyota coolants before :-)

Can you syphon petrol? - madf

Anyway, I can't criticise Madf, he's helped me out with Toyota coolants before :-)

Thanks Corax.. flattery gets you everywhere...:-)

Can you syphon petrol? - Harry Boy

Cheers Corax. Apologies to Madf, looks like a fine joke I missed first time around, "Any fool can" translates to "Any fuel can"? Great sense of humour you guys have over there!

Re the recent posts by others re petrol syphoning, I am all for considered responses but perhaps 4 and one half years is a bit excessive :)

To all those awaiting delivery of ix35s my commiserations, I only hope the car is as good as you expect...