02GF74 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Today's brain bender. I removed the kit car's petrol tank in order to fix the sender - got it working after cleaning it up - whooopee!! I've measured the tank and it holds 35.0 l (7.8 gallons) but I notice that the pick up tube has been welded 50 mm from the bottom. A quick calculation shows that the last gallon will never be used up thus the capacity is 6.8 gallons. Anyone with half a brain would have put the pick up lower or else have it curve down towards the base ideally with a little mesh filter on the end. I am trying to figure out a way to reclaim as much as possible of the last gallon. There is access through the filler (diameter 47 mm) and through the sender 50 mm diameter. The hole for the sender is in the side panel above the pick-up tube and the filler is in the top. I am trying to avoid anything that involves welding for safety reasons so fishing for ideas how to get the pick-up tube to reach lower down. Some ideas I have had are: 1. push on some hose and weigh down the other end so it rests on the bottom but how to get it onto the 8 mm tube inside the tank? 2. put wire through the pick-up tube to pull on a weighted hose. 3. drill out the pick up tube and fit a compression fitting but it would be extremely difficult to get the nut on the fitting inside the tank. Other ideas welcome (and is it worth the bother for 1 gallon? Having the pick up high means any crud and water in the tank will not get sucked up so it is not all bad). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Having the pick up high means any crud and water in the tank will not get sucked up so it is not all bad). I'd have thought that's exactly why the pickup is well off the bottom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 Drill a hole in the bottom of the tank.... Or if you try welding it you will certainly get all the fuel out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02GF74 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 I'd have thought that's exactly why the pickup is well off the bottom? hmmm, but 1 gallon is a bit excessive surely? and isn't the filter (when I fit it! ) menat to do that? (BTW it is a stainless steel tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exmoor Beast Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 At least you won't suck the waxed cardboard seal from a fuel additive bottle off the bottom of the tank causing months of headscratching trying to find the source of your fueling problem Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 The bottom of the pick up pipe should be almost touching the bottom. On a series fuel tank it sits in the top of the hole that the drain plug sits. The mesh screen should prevent anything from being sucked up, and as the screen is wrapped around the end of the tube - it should also prevent anything from blocking it entirely. The tube is quite expensive for what it is - £35 or thereabouts for a new one. 88" and 109" look identical, but are different part numbers, so I think the difference is only tube length. Maybe you just have the wrong one? Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02GF74 Posted March 7, 2006 Author Share Posted March 7, 2006 Les, you;ve hit the cider early this evening; go back and read original post. I removed the kit car's petrol tank in order to fix the sender - got it working after cleaning it up - whooopee!! Thanks for lecture BTW but I know all about the pick up tube and mesh on underseat tanks; I made my own mesh cone/base and soldered it onto the pick up tube as one of them had perished; not that hard to do if you can find the mesh that is! The difficulty I have is access; LR have big hole that you can put a hand through plus the pick up is bolted in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Just because it's a kit car doesn't mean you aren't using a standard fuel tank 02. This is a land Rover forum after all and I assumed it would relate to them in some way. If you provoke a lecture, then you're likely to get one. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Hiya, I might have slightly misunderstood your setup so leave it to you to decide how valid my reply is I welded up a setup to use on a Jerry can (breather to the outside plus pickup) and wanted something that got to the bottom. Originally I used a piece of 8mm rubber fuel pipe on the bottom but have recently modified it with the rubber piece at the top like a bit of a flexi coupling. I selected the rubber pipe to be a tight fit on the pipe and as it is not holding pressure from the outside but rather needs to prevent leaks "in" so I did not use clips of any kind... By chopping your lift pipe at the top, means you can extend it with rubber pipe and not have to mess with the gauze pickup at the bottom. Hope it helps or invokes a thought you might not have had before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MogLite Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Beat on the top of the tank with a hammer until the pickup is closer to the bottom of the tank This is a Land Rover forum after all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 hmmm, but 1 gallon is a bit excessive surely? and isn't the filter (when I fit it! ) menat to do that?(BTW it is a stainless steel tank) RR classic has 2 gallons of unusable fuel to stop water and carp being picked up by the pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02GF74 Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Just because it's a kit car doesn't mean you aren't using a standard fuel tank 02. This is a land Rover forum after all and I assumed it would relate to them in some way. If you provoke a lecture, then you're likely to get one. fair enough; should have put OT. I welded up a setup to use on a Jerry can (breather to the outside plus pickup) and wanted something that got to the bottom. Originally I used a piece of 8mm rubber fuel pipe on the bottom but have recently modified it with the rubber piece at the top like a bit of a flexi coupling.I selected the rubber pipe to be a tight fit on the pipe and as it is not holding pressure from the outside but rather needs to prevent leaks "in" so I did not use clips of any kind... I tried that; pulled using a hooked wire some rubber hose onto the end with the metal pick up; seemed a bit loose though and was not sure if the hose would like immersion in petrol (should be ok if petrol hose?) Beat on the top of the tank with a hammer until the pickup is closer to the bottom of the tank not really possible; it is 1.5 mm stainless and bloody hard to bend (too heavy by far). RR classic has 2 gallons of unusable fuel to stop water and carp being picked up by the pump. yeah but to remove my tank it is undo 2 bolts, remove 2 wires and lift up then empty/swill until clean. Being stainless there should be no grot insdie it nor any water get in - can't see myself wading in it! Sate of play is by using 1, 2, 3 or 4 hooked wires, I have managed to pull on a piece of 10 mm kunifer tube over the inside of the pick up. It seems reasonably secure but there is still a couple more mm of the tube that could do with being pulled further. What I really need is a small child, preferably a vitorian orphaned chimneysweep, to put their arm inside the 50 mm hole and push the tube on; if you have such a child, please can I borrow for 2 minutes. (tempted to ask the neighbour but worried they'd think I'm very strange) I can either try to araldite the tube on more securely but mulling over an idea to make a wedge that fits onto a bolt; as I do the bolt up, the wedge splays apart gripping the additional pick up tube then I pull on it. Trick bit is making the wedge as the hole I am working in is 6 mm ID but the pick up is 8 mm ID; making the wedge splay apart that much may not be possible. (I did try sucking on the tube and it does pick up petrol so would work - at the moment the engine is running on a jam jar for petrol tank) At leasl I found out how frustrtaing it must be to be a gynaecologist (sp?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Remember the water comes from condensation on the steel Steel sweats which if you have a good filter should be taken out but you would need to keep a eye on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 id drop a load of stones into the bottom of the tank. something like 20mm agregate will do, the stones will displace the fuel, giving you back most of your 'lost gallon' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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