Gasoline transfer pump?

Cape Fear

Cape Fear

Atomic Amish
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I need to suck the water out of the bottom of my pontoon boat fuel tank. It is mounted in the transom so siphoning won't work unless I take it out of the water, which is a major PITA. The bottom of fuel tank rides at the water line, no way to get a collection vessel lower than that. I would like to pull the water off the bottom of the tank into a container, I need about 4' of lift and 8' of horizontal run. I don't have a compressor at the dock to do the air suction trick with a piece of hose. Further, my compressor is 240V and I only have 120 available at the dock.

I looked at some gasoline-rated transfer pumps on the AMZ but holy cow are they expensive! $100 - $200 is a lot of dough for a once a year or so tool.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a external or internal battery-powered pump at a reasonable cost (+/-$50) for this? As said above, I also have 120VAC available if needed. Or any other suggestions to get this done fairly easily and cleanly? Thanks in advance.
 
Harbor Freight sell one that runs off d cells for cheap that works fine as long as you don't break the siphon stem. I used it for years before I broke the stem.

www.harborfreight.com

Battery-Operated Liquid Transfer Pump

Amazing deals on this Transfer Pump Battery Operated at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com
 
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NCLivingBrit said:
Harbor Freight sell one that runs off d cells for cheap that works fine as long as you don't break the siphon stem. I used it for years before I broke the stem.

www.harborfreight.com

Battery-Operated Liquid Transfer Pump

Amazing deals on this Transfer Pump Battery Operated at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
www.harborfreight.com www.harborfreight.com
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Did you ever try to attach anything to the suction end of that? I don't think that solid rod is going to be long enough or flexible enough to reach the recesses of the tank where the water is pooled up. It is a cheap option worth a go though, with some mods. If nothing better comes up.

E.T.A. did you ever find out how much lift it would provide? I don't see it in the specs.
 
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Cape Fear said:
Did you ever try to attach anything to the suction end of that? I don't think that solid rod is going to be long enough or flexible enough to reach the recesses of the tank where the water is pooled up. It is a cheap option worth a go though, with some mods. If nothing better comes up.

E.T.A. did you ever find out how much lift it would provide? I don't see it in the specs.
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I just use it to suck gas out of a jerrycan into my car, and it works great for that. Haven't really done any tinkering. The gas cap is higher than the pump so it will go uphill.
 
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When we drain our 42 gallon skiff tank to clean it every couple of years we use a cheap 12v inline fuel pump we got at the autoparts store for like $15 bucks. That and some black fuel resistant rubber tubing allows us to suck it out and pump it right into the truck to burn. The last little bit that has all the dirt and possible water we drain into a small tank to haul off to the disposal at the dump.

If you need to reach a far back spot, zip tie some solid copper ground wire to the tube at a few spots and you can bend it to fit the direction/ spot you want.

It looks like there's a bunch on amazon for $15-25
 
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This is what I have (made from replaced parts, remove the connectors). Works best when one corner is lower. If you don't have a filler opening next to the engine you'll need to remove the sending unit and access the tank from there.

Pump into a clear water bottle to see what comes out.

Screenshot_20230224-152201_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
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Should do the trick. Won't get it all the way dry but works well.

The Original Safety Siphon 6 Foot Hose For Gasoline And More - 1/2" Valve Siphon Pump (2 pack) - Use for Cars, Boats, Mowers - Self Priming Pump Transfers 3.5 Gallons per Minute - FDA Food Grade https://a.co/d/b4wXRds
 
BloodRunsThicker said:
Should do the trick. Won't get it all the way dry but works well.

The Original Safety Siphon 6 Foot Hose For Gasoline And More - 1/2" Valve Siphon Pump (2 pack) - Use for Cars, Boats, Mowers - Self Priming Pump Transfers 3.5 Gallons per Minute - FDA Food Grade https://a.co/d/b4wXRds
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Heā€™s not taking the boat out of the water. That works off gravity so he canā€™t get a container below the water line to collect the gas.
 
Ummm...isn't there a fuel pump in the tank?

If so, the fuel pump already takes a suction from the bottom of the tank. Why not power it to pump the tank however long you need?
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Ummm...isn't there a fuel pump in the tank?

If so, the fuel pump already takes a suction from the bottom of the tank. Why not power it to pump the tank however long you need?
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No, it's an outboard so the fuel pump is a diaphragm-type on the engine itself. The fuel pickup doesn't go to the farthest recesses of the tank where the water collects, It's raised a couple inches to keep it from pulling water into the intake. I'm trying to pull all the water off the bottom, not really concerned with removing the gasoline.

I bought one of these hand pumps the other day but haven't had an opportunity to rig it all up and try it yet. Spring has sprung, I'm up to my neck in work & home projects.
 
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Cape Fear said:
No, it's an outboard so the fuel pump is a diaphragm-type on the engine itself. The fuel pickup doesn't go to the farthest recesses of the tank where the water collects, It's raised a couple inches to keep it from pulling water into the intake. I'm trying to pull all the water off the bottom, not really concerned with removing the gasoline.

I bought one of these hand pumps the other day but haven't had an opportunity to rig it all up and try it yet. Spring has sprung, I'm up to my neck in work & home projects.
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OK, thanks.

When you're done, you might consider adding some dry isopropanol (isopropyl) alcohol at about 1/2 ounce per gallon of gas to ensure any little bit of remaining water is removed as you operate your engine.

99% stuff, not 70% stuff.
 
Iā€™ve seen this ad a couple times this week, and remembered there was a thread looking for some kind of pump.

Anybody ever tried one of these?

www.peachloft.com

Self-Priming Transfer Pump

šŸ§°šŸ§°šŸ§° Pump water faster without any messy spills in remote locations! Do you find the pumping and setting of liquids from one container to another remote places super tedious and messy?The self -suction transfer pump makes it super easy with its state -of -the -art pumping system. FEATURE...
www.peachloft.com www.peachloft.com

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I bought one of these last year and have used to for gas and oil removal. Works great.

PLUMIA Oil Change Pump Extractor 12V 80W, Upgraded Diesel Fluid Scavenge Suction Oil Transfer Pump with Tube, Marine Oil Change Pump and Electric Oil Pump, For Boat Car Motorcycle ATV https://a.co/d/fmdG2H0
 
One of our awesome members sent me a spare 12V fuel pump for free! I haven't gathered the tubing needed and hooked it up yet but it's on the short list of projects to complete. I will update the thread when I get this done & offer up any lessons learned.
 
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