skinny
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| posted on 5/8/04 at 10:01 AM |
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Plumbing in a fuel tank
ok, this is gonna sound really stupid but i have no clue how to go about this...
I have an early beetle fuel tank in my car, on the bottom it has a little hole for the fuel line (i am guessing). My descriptive skills are going to
let me down here but...
This hole is raised and externally threaded (so that you could fit like an M20 nut on there or something) but how do i fit my fuel line (just a
regular small piece of rubber piping) into this tank and secure the connection - what kind of thing would make a seal?
Edit: I guess i could just find something to fit it that narrowed down to a small diameter pipe outlet and clamp my pipe onto that - is that an ok
idea?
[Edited on 5/8/04 by skinny]
if you don't fail, you aren't trying hard enough.
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craig1410
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| posted on 5/8/04 at 11:54 AM |
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Hi,
I don't know anything about Beetles but are you sure this isn't just the tank drain plug? Are there no other holes in the tank for the
likes of a fuel gauge which may have the fuel take-off pipe attached to it?
Cheers,
Craig.
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skinny
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| posted on 5/8/04 at 12:16 PM |
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aaahhh... could very well be a drain plug - it is right on the bottom. however, other than that hole, there is only one other hole, a big sleeved hole
on the top which looks like the filler.
just to confirm, you don't need a fuel gauge or warning light for sva do you? i plan to use a stick periodically dipped into the tank 
I don't know much about beetles either. i think the reason the guy got it was cos it fits (kinda) and there is written £19 on the side!
if you don't fail, you aren't trying hard enough.
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JoelP
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| posted on 5/8/04 at 08:18 PM |
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fuel pipes very rarely draw from the bottom of the tank - you tend to get the smeg sucked into the engine. As craig says, it may be a drain hole.
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skinny
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| posted on 6/8/04 at 03:34 PM |
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ok, that is making sense... apart from one thing - if the pipe doesn't pick up from the bottom of the tank, when the level gets low isn't
there always going to be fuel in the tank that the pipe can't reach?
or can you still pick up from the bottom of the tank but just not through the drain hole? would a little inline paper-type filter do me any good?
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JoelP
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| posted on 6/8/04 at 03:47 PM |
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believe it or not, when your car konks out without fuel, there is still fuel in the tank. As you say, its just below the pickup pipe. Might not be
universal but it is common.
myself, i would look about for other holes. One option would be to cut a big hole in the top of the tank, and insert the sierra sender/gauge
mechanism. This is a plate about 3 inches round, with the float, the pickup pipe and the return. you just need to cut the right shaped hole to get a
good fit.
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Peteff
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| posted on 6/8/04 at 05:50 PM |
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Mk2 Escort for example
I was welding a boot floor for a mate and told him to run it low on fuel so we could remove the tank. He ran it on empty for 2 days then daren't
use it again. We took the tank off and got one and a quarter gallons more out of it.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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skinny
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| posted on 10/8/04 at 10:47 AM |
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learn something every day. is there any reason i can't use a
boat fuel tank?
if you don't fail, you aren't trying hard enough.
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 10/8/04 at 10:58 AM |
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i have a rover 216 which when you run to empty still has 8 litre left in the tank???
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mangogrooveworkshop
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| posted on 10/8/04 at 11:03 AM |
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I have a wife that tests this theory all the time. She thinks E is for enough and F is for finnished!
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stephen_gusterson
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| posted on 10/8/04 at 11:31 AM |
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bear in mind that many car fuel tanks are weird and whacky shapes - with the bottom of the tank often having a much larger area than the top. This
explains the non linearity of the fuel guage, and the fact that the large floor area hogs the fuel thats remaining.
a tank having a base area of 450 x 900 mm with 10mm of fuel left holds a tad over 4 litres (just about a gallon)
atb
steve
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JoelP
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| posted on 10/8/04 at 08:58 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by skinny
learn something every day. is there any reason i can't use a boat fuel tank
i have bought one off ebay very similar to this. About £22, and 23 litres. The vent valve in the cap isnt compliant, it leaks upside down, so it needs
covering for SVA and a vent tube adding. Aside from that, should be ok. I'll let you know if i fail with it!
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skinny
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| posted on 11/8/04 at 09:32 AM |
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i have bought one off ebay very similar to this. About £22, and 23 litres. The vent valve in the cap isnt compliant, it leaks upside down, so it needs
covering for SVA and a vent tube adding. Aside from that, should be ok. I'll let you know if i fail with it!
brilliant, thanks
if you don't fail, you aren't trying hard enough.
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Peteff
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| posted on 11/8/04 at 02:38 PM |
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It has to be permanently attached to the vehicle. The handle may be a bit of a giveaway if you just fasten it on with bungees.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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JoelP
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| posted on 11/8/04 at 06:11 PM |
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bugger, didnt know that... still, it will be perminantly attached so if it needs some self amalgamating tape it will get some!
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DarrenW
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| posted on 2/9/04 at 02:23 PM |
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Quote:
I have a wife that tests this theory all the time. She thinks E is for enough and F is for finnished!
My wife used to run an old Stanza she had till a bonny red light came on the dash. She could see the gauge said psi and a little cute oil can picture.
She came to the conclusion that psi meant 'put some in'!!!!
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