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Thread: Has everyone forgotten how to syphon gas!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Algonquin, IL
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    Has everyone forgotten how to syphon gas!!

    Three neighbors have been running the gas out of their lawnmowers for nearly and hour now! They must have had a full tank of gas at the end of the season.
    $2 clear plastic hose and you would be done in 10 minutes.
    This endless drone of mowers in the driveways is maddening!

    They should lose their man-cards.
    “Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by stupidity”

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
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    Take your hose over, and show them how to do it.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  3. #3
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    Mar 2005
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    Well, THAT
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 11-24-2018 at 6:27 AM.
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
    "Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
    We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
    The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
    The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
    You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.

  4. #4
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    Feb 2003
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    Griswold Connecticut
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    I wouldn't advocate using a hose to siphon gas, simply for health reasons alone.
    For about $6.00 though, you can get a plastic squeeze bulb pump, and pump it out.

    https://www.harborfreight.com/Fluid-...ump-62613.html

    Now if someone could tell me an effective way to get past the gas tank check valve in my cars and truck???????????
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  5. #5
    They probably listened to the advice of the lawnmower repair guy who charged them +$200 each to fix their mowers last spring.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Eastern Iowa
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    751
    A pair of pliers and pull the tank hose, 30 seconds. Part of the end of the season prep for my gas mower...
    Pull the spark plug and a squirt of oil, pull the rope, inspect the plug, clean and check gap if needed.
    sharpen the blade
    clean the deck
    touch up the paint
    lube the cables
    get new filters (usually on sale)

    For the electric...
    sharpen the blade
    clean the deck
    put battery in house
    ??
    My first time with an electric..
    What else should be done?
    Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    New Jersey
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    1,295
    Never emptied my mower. 4 months I will be using again and starts right up if gas did not evaporate. I usually make the last cutting count to just pick up the leaves and that takes care of just about all gas. Now the snow blower I do run out because never know from year to year if we get any snow and when.
    John T.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Longview WA
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    Straight gas gets left in the tank.

    Two cycle gas is left in the tank but the equipment gets fired up and run for a few minutes once a month to keep the carburetor from messing up.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
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    SE Michigan
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    Sorry, Mike, guilty as charged. I like to run out the mower/edger, etc., with treated gas. I thought I syphoned most, but must have been a bit lazy with the mower. Darn thing ran for 30 minutes.

  10. #10
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    Jan 2009
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    N.E, Ohio
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    I use a oven baster then when I have all the gas out I let run for a few minutes until it stalls. No siphoning necessary. The fuel line on some mowers is too short to be able to drain and recover the gas.
    George

    Making sawdust regularly, occasionally a project is completed.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Anaheim, California
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    Quote Originally Posted by George Bokros View Post
    I use a oven baster then when I have all the gas out I let run for a few minutes until it stalls. No siphoning necessary. The fuel line on some mowers is too short to be able to drain and recover the gas.
    And it adds that special piquancy to Thanksgiving dinner.
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
    "Design"? Possibly. "Intelligent"? Sure doesn't look like it from this angle.
    We used to be hunter gatherers. Now we're shopper borrowers.
    The three most important words in the English language: "Front Towards Enemy".
    The world makes a lot more sense when you remember that Butthead was the smart one.
    You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too much ammo.

  12. #12
    They could get some fuel stabilizer and put it in the tank, shake for a minute, then run the mower for a few minutes to get it in the carb.

  13. #13
    Join Date
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    Fort Smith, Arkansas
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    1,984
    I've been lead to believe that it's the ethanol added to the gas that is the cause of carbs getting gummed up. Don't know if that's absolutely true but I live close to several gas stations that sell pure gas and that's what I use in my small engines and my motorcycles. Still drain my mower though.
    My three favorite things are the Oxford comma, irony and missed opportunities

    The problem with humanity is: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and God-like technology. Edward O. Wilson

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    Same here. All small equipment, even stuff that is supposedly made for corn gas, gets non-ethanol. I have way too many small motors to start everything once in a while, especially considering the cheap cost of replacement carbs these days. I've had no trouble with anything running pure gas. For things that won't get used in a while, it gets poured through a funnel with a screen back into one of the gas cans. I never liked the idea of running all the fuel out of a two-stroke because the last few revolutions will be without lubrication.

    I did have to replace the carb on a 2 cycle two man auger recently, but it hadn't been used in probably 15 years, and then by someone who borrowed it.

    I used to rebuild carbs, but not worth the time when carbs are 20 bucks with free shipping off ebay, and the kit 10.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    E TN, near Knoxville
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    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    Straight gas gets left in the tank.
    Same here, but I had a problem once. Left straight (non-ethanol) gasoline in a Honda generator and a few months later it refused to run. Disassembling the carb showed light through the jet. After some frustration I discovered a smooth layer of "varnish" had built up on the inside of the jet, not enough that I could see it but enough to restrict the flow. Cleaning the jet fixed it. I put stabilizer in gas now in case the engine sits for a while.

    I don't even run the gas out of chainsaws and all three have always started even after sitting for months. The Stihl oil mix I use includes stabilizer. I'm convinced the stuff actually works.

    JKJ

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