So, I've managed to keep my generator fed thus far, but things are getting hairy at the gas stations in Woodbridge Area.I have enough, I think, to get through tonight and first half of tomorrow. I do have 2 vehicles that are full. One I need to keep full in case we do have to leave at some point. The other, I COULD use for my generator if necessary. But, I have no idea how to get the gas out of the car. My understanding was that you can't siphon from newer vehicles. I also read that you could connect a hose to the fuel pump and turn on the car and that will pump the fuel out. But, I'm not a mechanic and I don't want to monkey around with something I don't understand. Please advise.

Head up Route 1&9 to Elizabeth - there's a section with power and a gas station.

Head up Route 1&9 to Elizabeth - there's a section with power and a gas station.

 

Yeah. Tried that. I ended up getting gas at a station in Perth Amboy on Pheiffer blvd. I'm just looking at options of using the gas I have in the car when I run out in the cans.

Depending on the car, the chances of connecting a hose to the fuel pump are very slim. Most you need a tool to disconnect the line, and if you do, you'd have to continually cycle the key to prime the pump to get anything out. You can't just turn the car on, because the computer will turn the fuel pump off when the engines dies due to lack of fuel.

Most cars have a drain back valve that will block a hose to siphon the fuel out of the tank as well. If you can take the filler neck hose off the tank, you'd have the best chance of siphoning.

because the computer will turn the fuel pump off when the engines dies due to lack of fuel.

 

Couldn't you defeat that by placing a jumper for the fuel pump in the fuse box? I don't want to pull the drain cock on the tank because it will be completely uncontrolled. I was talking to a guy at the gas station earlier who filled his truck with 35 gallons with the expressed intent of siphoning it to feed his generator. I said, I thought you couldn't do that to modern tanks. He said, just put a tube in and suck out the gas. That sounds incorrect and dangerous to me.

Look under your vehicle at ur gas tank.. if its anything like a few cars i owned it will have a plug in it. Put a 5 gallon bucket under neath and be ready with 5 more just in case. Do not drain empty rhoufhr i would do 5 then replug

 

Yes. this, I saw. However, I do not have one of these items and there are no pumps available in the local stores. I'm sure many other men had the same idea before I had mine.

If you could some sort of jumper on, you can pull the schrader valve out of the fuel line relief, and attach -an fuel line to it in order to use the fuel pump to remove the fuel.

 

ETA if you can find out what size it is, I may be able to lend you some fuel line to do this.

we I have plenty of 12/2 copper wire for household electrical repair. I imagine I could make a jumper out of that. My concerns would be 1)having the right size line and clip for it to attach to the pump. 2) appropriately relieving the pressure in the system before removing the line from the pump so I don't get sprayed or spray the inside of my car with gasoline. 3) putting it all back together without screwing it up. I think I will be fine, but this is a good thing to know for the next time since the car holds over 12 gallons of gasoline and my little cans only hold 2.5 each (I have three). In a pinch it would be good to be able to use the fuel in the car I'm not expecting to use for driving.

I have this siphoning hose that has a marble on the end. All you do is shake it up and down and it willl siphon anything and works great. I think I got it from sportmans guide.

we I have plenty of 12/2 copper wire for household electrical repair. I imagine I could make a jumper out of that. My concerns would be 1)having the right size line and clip for it to attach to the pump. 2) appropriately relieving the pressure in the system before removing the line from the pump so I don't get sprayed or spray the inside of my car with gasoline. 3) putting it all back together without screwing it up. I think I will be fine, but this is a good thing to know for the next time since the car holds over 12 gallons of gasoline and my little cans only hold 2.5 each (I have three). In a pinch it would be good to be able to use the fuel in the car I'm not expecting to use for driving.

 

I'm talking about the schrader valve directly on the fuel rail under the hood.

 

ETA if you google "wet nitrous install" you'll get an idea of what i'm talking about.

What kind of car are you trying to do this on?

2006 Nissan Altima

I'm talking about the schrader valve directly on the fuel rail under the hood.

 

ETA if you google "wet nitrous install" you'll get an idea of what i'm talking about.

 

hmm. See what I saw is...Disconnect the battery. Remove the rear seat bottom. The fuel pump is housed there. Remove the cover's 4 bolts. Replace the outflow fuel line with your drain line to your container. In the fuse box, remove the fuel pump relay and jump it to the 12v. Reconnect battery. Turn the ignition to ACC and the fuel pump will turn on and drain the tank into the container.

 

 

thoughts?

Only if you can get to the pump easily. Much easier IMO to hook up a line to the schrader valve under the hood.

So, I've managed to keep my generator fed thus far, but things are getting hairy at the gas stations in Woodbridge Area.I have enough, I think, to get through tonight and first half of tomorrow. I do have 2 vehicles that are full. One I need to keep full in case we do have to leave at some point. The other, I COULD use for my generator if necessary. But, I have no idea how to get the gas out of the car. My understanding was that you can't siphon from newer vehicles. I also read that you could connect a hose to the fuel pump and turn on the car and that will pump the fuel out. But, I'm not a mechanic and I don't want to monkey around with something I don't understand. Please advise.

 

Just poke holes in the gas tanks of your neighbors' cars. Then you'll have all the free gas you want. [/joking]

 

Found this video explaining why it's harder now than it was 30 years ago...

 

No new vehicle has a drain cock or drain plug for the fuel tank, they haven't done that in years. Theoretically you can jump the fuel pump relay to keep the pump running

Only if you can get to the pump easily. Much easier IMO to hook up a line to the schrader valve under the hood.

 

I will have to get you to show me how to do that for the next catastrophe. :-)

Took a quick peek online. You should be able to remove the entire fuel pump through the access hole under the back seat. In your place, I would do that. You'll be looking through a 3" hole right into the gas tank. Easy enough to empty the tank from there without the risk of shorting something.

I will add my .02 here and hope this can help out others in need.

 

This was done a 2004 dodge ram 1500 and I am almost 100% sure this can be done on any vehicle. Please try this at your own risk and I make no promises that it will not damage anything nor do I promise that you not set something on fire (I have done it a few times and works like a champ).

 

I made this out of items I had laying around the house. Before the storm I was setup pretty; but due to friends/family and neighbors not being prepared, I have lost my fuel capacity. (I am down to a 5 gallon and 2 - 1 gallon cans/ I gave away some of my cans and a generator - I had 2 generators).

 

Here is what I did:

I have a fuel pressure gauge (it is so you can check the pressure at the fuel rail), a scrap garden hose and a 5 gal can. The picture below shows the hose already removed from the gauge.

 

 

I detached the hose from the gauge and screwed the hose onto the fuel rail. There was a cap over it that needed to be removed by unscrewing it.

 

 

 

I shoved the hose from the gauge into the cut section of garden house.

 

This will not work if you just turn the ignition off since the fuel pump will not run if the vehicle is not running. So now I started my truck and there is still enough fuel pressure for the truck to idle. It will not win any pump races but it is minimal effort and it pumps by itself.

 

 

 

Knowledge is power and power is heat! Stay warm everyone and stay safe! Hope this helps someone out there.

 

So, what am I missing here? Once your able to feed the hose into the tank, suck on it to start the siphon. When you need to change cans, put your thumb on the end, position the new can, remove thumb and the siphon continues. The seems to be really over-engineering a very simple process.

Mostly in that it's a small diameter hose and you need to suck pretty hard on it which is much easier with this drill pump.

 

I

 

So, what am I missing here? Once your able to feed the hose into the tank, suck on it to start the siphon. When you need to change cans, put your thumb on the end, position the new can, remove thumb and the siphon continues. The seems to be really over-engineering a very simple process.

 

What you are missing is that all modern tanks have a siphon block so you cant get in through the feed hole. Only very small tube might get in. So you need to crack the fuel pump and go from there. But the tank is so low to the ground that you wont be able o maintain the siphon without jacking up the car.

Your not going to siphon fuel from the filler neck because of the check valve. Some vehicles check valve in filler neck and some in tank itself. If the fuel pump is under the rear seat that's gonna be the best way of getting the gas out of vehicle.

Success!!!! I cracked the fuel pump open and siphoned from there. The trick was to jack the car up after opening the ring. By doing so I was able to raise the level of the fuel tank to allow gravity to do the work. Btw, when this all blows over I am buying a pump.

Congrats! I know Woodbridge was hard to get gas in as of the other night. Hope this all blows over soon and we are all back to the usual.

Just an idea but if you know someone with a boat it is much easier to get gas from them. My buddy was like i have a 100 gallons in the boat if we need it just start sucking on the hose. I was like no problem i have $4 i will buy the siphon at home depot. Actually they had a case of them so i bought 2 just in case.