Hand held fuel (diesel) transfer pump ?

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Boo2

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Hi,

I need to empty my diesel tank (around 130l capacity but I'm not sure how full it is). There are quite a few fuel transfer pumps on eBay ranging from electric one at £40-£60 and up to rotary hand cranked ones for less than £20 to double-action "bicycle pump" type pumps for under £10. If I buy the cheapst hand-pumped or cranked types will I die from exertion before I get 100l odd of fuel pumped ? Are there any out there that are so rubbish they're best avoided ? Or does anyone know one which works well at a good price ?

Thanks,

Boo2
 
Boo2 said:
Hi,

I need to empty my diesel tank (around 130l capacity but I'm not sure how full it is). There are quite a few fuel transfer pumps on eBay ranging from electric one at £40-£60 and up to rotary hand cranked ones for less than £20 to double-action "bicycle pump" type pumps for under £10. If I buy the cheapst hand-pumped or cranked types will I die from exertion before I get 100l odd of fuel pumped ? Are there any out there that are so rubbish they're best avoided ? Or does anyone know one which works well at a good price ?

Thanks,

Boo2
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If you can get the container you are transferring too below the level of your tank, you can use a simple siphon pump, used one to empty 40 gallons from our Moody 40 in Toulon. used a 5 gallon container & emptied it into the marina waste oil tank every time it was full. The fuel was contaminated.
Stearman 65.
 
I've used a pump that looks very similar to the one in the picture. It’s worked surprisingly well, quickly and easily shifting 20l of diesel, even through a length of hose. The inside of the casing is a little unrefined so I stripped mine and cleaned it before use to ensure there was no metal swarf.

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I pumped 25l of diesel out of a car tank with nothing more than an outboard motor priming bulb. It took about 20 mins of 'squeezing', not the end of the world! One of the cheapies will do fine. Handy for other jobs too.
 
I use a 'Jiggle' pump to transfer fuel, but again the can you draining into needs to be lower than the tank, I have also used cheapo drill pump that did the job
 
nigelmercier said:
I bought a Rule IL200P Diesel Fuel Transfer Pump for about £25. It is perfect for the job. I tried syphoning (too slow), then a guy who does this for a living lent me the Rule Pump. I ordered one for myself 20 minutes later, when the entire tank was empty.
Click to expand...

Does this pump work if the (first) tank/jerry can is lower than the deck fitting (you know that thing you open to fill with diesel; don't know what is called)?
 
I used a 12v submersible pump lowered in through the inspection hatch, but Nigel's pump looks the business as it can also be used with a hose inserted via the filler. I wish I'd known about that one when I bought mine.

Pete
 
The pump Nigel posted is a centrifugal pump so will have limited priming ability.

I use a Jabsco gear pump to fill my tanks from cans on my walkon finger with the pump on my deck and moves 25 lt of fuel in less than 5 minutes.
 
You might consider using compressed air to push it out. Have to watch pressures and tank strength though. You could always do multi stage lift with an intermediate tank.
 
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