dangerous???

Ellis Kinney · Oct 18, 2018

I have a couple of small flat objects in the gas tank of a Farmall M. I'm not sure what they would be, they appear thin and about the size of a dime or a penny, but roughly shaped. Would it be dangerous to drain the gas tank and go after them with a shop vac? The problem is that most of the time they don't bother anything but occasionally one gets situated over the gas line intake and shuts off the engine. Thanks, Ellis

onefarmer · Oct 18, 2018

I wouldn't use a vacuum. I'd try a magnet, if that doesn't work try mechanical fingers.

Keith True · Oct 18, 2018

Keep the shop vac away from the gas tank.Sucking the fumes through an electric motor will scare the crap out of you,and send pieces of the vac all around.There is a vacuum made for that purpose,for spill cleanups and such,but not too many people own one.The round things are probably old cap seals from fuel treatments,dry gas cans,etc.

Russ from MN · Oct 18, 2018

No, don't use a shop vac! Recently in the news someone had spilled some gas and was using a wet/dry shop vac to clean it up, when the right mixture got to the sparks at the motor brushes it all blew and burned the individuals badly. I don't think all shop vacs pass the vacuum air through the motor but some do, it has to be cooled by something. If a magnet won't work try something sticky on the end of a stick, even real heavy grease should work.

Traditional Farmer · Oct 18, 2018

drain the tank and put in an air hose eventually the things flying around will come out the top hole or get a long set of grabber tongs and pick them out.

onefarmer · Oct 18, 2018

Here's a pic of mechanical fingers. Go get some at Oreillys or your favorite auto parts dealer.

Super H Mike · Oct 18, 2018

I recently had the exact same issue with my M, the objects turned out to be those tin sealing flaps that come on the top of a bottle of Heet or gas additive. I used the grabby fingers for the large pieces. I then got a siphon hose going and with a flashlight I was able to use the siphon as a vacuum and got all the little pieces and sediment. I didn't drain the gas and haven't had a problem since.

Stephen Newell · Oct 18, 2018

You don't want to do that unless you blow air into the tank for a couple days and completely dry it out. By sending the vacuum hose into the tank you would be drawing gas fumes to the vacuum motor which creates a spark. For what you are doing I would be inclined to reach a grabber in there if it's somewhere you can see it. You might just be able to shake it out.

Clarence Slydell · Oct 18, 2018

(quoted from post at 09:44:19 10/18/18) I have a couple of small flat objects in the gas tank of a Farmall M. I'm not sure what they would be, they appear thin and about the size of a dime or a penny, but roughly shaped. Would it be dangerous to drain the gas tank and go after them with a shop vac? The problem is that most of the time they don't bother anything but occasionally one gets situated over the gas line intake and shuts off the engine. Thanks, Ellis

If you do make sure someone makes a video.

Steve in VA · Oct 18, 2018

This plan makes sense to me. No way I'd pull fuel fumes through an electric powered blower.

tomtinker · Oct 18, 2018

I put a short stand pipe in all my farmall bowl assemblies and screw them back into the tank, cures a whole lot of problems.

guido · Oct 18, 2018

Hello Ellis Kinney,

If it is iron washer a magnet should do the trick. Otherwise a two faced tape, Or even a piece of duct tape is all you need. Just stick it in a piece of pipe or wood and fish them out. Even black electrical tape with the sticky part in the tip would get them out. No need to over think here!

Guido.

Ellis Kinney · Oct 18, 2018

I'll do a video in your name. Ellis

Texasmark1 · Oct 18, 2018

I have put the balls out of ballbearings in the bottom of tanks to knock off the rust. Were too large to get hung up anywhere.

ss55 · Oct 18, 2018

Several decades ago, the Fall fund raiser for the Chicago Corvair Car Club was a vacuum cleaner contest. Each vacuum in turn was set over an open pan of gasoline and turned on until it quit running in front of a cheering crowd. The vacuum that ran the longest time was the winner. Canister units like Shop Vacs usually exploded off the canister and quit. Some uprights managed to shoot out a jet of flame out the exhaust for several minutes. Eventually they would all catch fire or explode.

After a few mishaps the club had trouble finding insurance, discontinued the event and took down their videos.

showcrop · Oct 18, 2018

2X siphon.

moresmoke · Oct 18, 2018

This.
Vac

Kansasredneck · Oct 18, 2018

If you want to vacuum from a fuel tank, you cannot use anything with an electric motor. There are siphons which work using compressed air blowing through a tube to create suction. We used them for cleaning up debris from the various mills in the shop where I worked.
Essentially they are a Y shaped pipe. The foot is the ejection point, one arm is for the air supply and the other is the vacuum tube.

hd6gtom · Oct 18, 2018

Several years ago, when I had the tire shop and a couple of thousand scrap tires out back, I found a air operated nnalert that I used to suck the water out ta those tires. It was less than $20.00 at the time. Worked very well.

NCWayne · Oct 18, 2018

They are probably the tops used to seal bottles of chemicals. I've run into them in gas tanks too, and they are a royal PITA for the very reason you state, they will get sucked over the fuel line from the tank, and cut off the flow.
The way I have gotten them out is to use an air powered siphon. Hook the siphon hose to a rod of some kind to stiffen it up. With the siphon blowing the gas in a safe direction, and into a container if possible, slowly lower the vacuum tube to the piece and hold it there until it gets a suction on it great enough to pick it up. I works like a charm, and you don't have to worry as much about it trying to move away from you, as you do with mechanical fingers (been there, had that problem too)

showcrop · Oct 19, 2018

Or if you can't see spending $50.00 to do it you could use a $3.99 transfer siphon from your local hardware store. I have one that hangs near the door of my shop that I use all the time for fueling my tractors.

TimWafer · Oct 19, 2018

https://youtu.be/WjSpp_7jECI

Lighting the afterburners!

Clarence Slydell · Oct 19, 2018

(quoted from post at 10:32:26 10/19/18) https://youtu.be/WjSpp_7jECI

Lighting the afterburners!

That video linked to this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrb51xs7Heg

jwmfarms · Oct 19, 2018

We had a food disk, probably from a bottle of gas dry in the tank on a 1550 Oliver. Was there when we bought it, but after it cut off on my brother, it had to go! He sharpened a point on a length of copper wire, stab it through the center, slapped the cap back on, and went back to work. Longest part of the whole process was finding the right piece of wire!

jwmfarms · Oct 19, 2018

We had a foil like disk, probably from a bottle of gas dry, in the tank on a 1550 Oliver. Was there when we bought it, but after it cut off on my brother, it had to go! He sharpened a point on a length of copper wire, stabbed it through the center, slapped the cap back on, and went back to work. Longest part of the whole process was finding the right piece of wire!

Dennis Minn · Oct 20, 2018

ellis,

look at an eductor/ejector that is air-powered.

D.

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