Gas Tank Draining

[Guest]

Hey guys another question here... going to be replacing the petcock with a pingel per 'pingel thread' and ditch the vacum petcock since I prefer to have #1 a reserve and #2 a 'OFF' function. Issue is I have a gas tank that has a fair amount of gas left in it tha tI need to get rid of.

Can anyone help me out on how I should drain the tank?... Don't think taking lid off and dumping is a good way to accomplish this :-| or clean

[chiphead]

Get a clean 5 gallon gas can, hook up a piece of fuel line to the petcock, other end in the can, turn petcock to Prime then when it's almost empty, roll the tank to the left to get all the gas that is on the RH side of the hump over to the petcock. Keep the tank on it's right side when you install the new petcock to minimize leakage.

[Kcwiro]

can I disconnect the hoses going to the carbs without worry of the gas coming out?

just make sure the petcock is not on 'prime' stupid question but I have this thing about combustable liquids leaking all over me... or my garage floor

[chef1366]

On a vacuum petcock that still operates, no.
You'll still have a bit of fuel in the hose itself.

[Pearson]

can I disconnect the hoses going to the carbs without worry of the gas coming out?

just make sure the petcock is not on 'prime' stupid question but I have this thing about combustable liquids leaking all over me... or my garage floor

I appreciate your prudence. A little gas will come out but don't sweat it. Make sure your pipes aren't hot and you have no open source of flame (no smoking either:shock: ) no heaters, etc. You'll be just fine. You already have a healthy dose of respect so long as you keep your perspective you should have no probs. I can't tell you how much gas I've dumped on myself chasing a phantom petcock issue when I swapped to a Pingel.

[renobruce]

can I disconnect the hoses going to the carbs without worry of the gas coming out?

just make sure the petcock is not on 'prime' stupid question but I have this thing about combustable liquids leaking all over me... or my garage floor

I'm not too worried about the gas on me or my floor, but I hate getting it on my bikes! I use a small pair of vise grips and clamp on the hose down by the nipple on the carbs and pull it off. Then I release the clamp off the hose and into a small container. If your petcock is leaking you can re-clamp onto the hose while you remove the tank.

[Kcwiro]

ok... one last question... my vacuum petcock works sort of...

As I understand it I can disconnect the feeder hose going to carb #2, some gas from hose will leak out no biggie then I can remove the tank switch tank to prime and let it flow til empty.

Did I miss anything out of this?

As I read the pingle mod will eliminate the need for the vacuum line coming from my carbs so I will get a plug with my pingle to take care of that hole. I will then replace the black 'extremely short' hose with clear lines instead....kind of eliminates the worry of fuel not flowing doesn't it...now I'll be able to see it :-D

[Pearson]

ok... one last question... my vacuum petcock works sort of...

As I understand it I can disconnect the feeder hose going to carb #2, some gas from hose will leak out no biggie then I can remove the tank switch tank to prime and let it flow til empty.

Did I miss anything out of this?

As I read the pingle mod will eliminate the need for the vacuum line coming from my carbs so I will get a plug with my pingle to take care of that hole. I will then replace the black 'extremely short' hose with clear lines instead....kind of eliminates the worry of fuel not flowing doesn't it...now I'll be able to see it :-D

You got it. Put the petcock in anything other than PRI you should get minimal fuel leakage (there's no vacuum present). When I got my Pingel I didn't get a plug. I had to buy one from the parts store for a buck or 2. Slips on and is very subtle. If you're getting an adapter plate, ask them to throw in an extra gasket and halamar for free just in case. Be aware I had to file the hole a bit to fit the new fuel pick up tube.

[Kcwiro]

I believe if I found the correct part number 6211-CH (chrome hex) or AH (aluminum hex) it does say I will need an adapter plate. Looks like I will have to look at my vacume since i don't remember if the existing one is round or hex... I remember reading on the pingle mod briefly mentioned the filing down part...difficulty 1 being easy 10 being hard what that rate?

Don't think I should have much trouble but figured I would ask. Any pointers that could be useful for prep or anything would be helpful too.

Thanks

[Pearson]

... I remember reading on the pingle mod briefly mentioned the filing down part...difficulty 1 being easy 10 being hard what that rate?.

I'd give it a 2. With a small rat tail or half round file and a flexible magnet to pick up shavings it was a 10 minute job. Follow instructions that come with your new valve. Of course tank should be allowed to air dry a couple days before you go making sparks inside the tank. :shock:

[Kcwiro]

FOLLOWUP:

well I got the tank off and my tank did not want to seem to drain even with petcock on PRIME ended up just pulling the valve off and dumping the fuel into a bucket...it worked but my hands definately still have that aroma of fuel to them this morning...sure my friend can say the same.

I left the tank in the open air in my friends shed for the fumes to air out and remaining fuel to evaporate. I'll be looking through the pingel thread again to see if I can find the prep info for the tank.

Figured I would work on that project next week since I have a four day weekend and though it won't take that logn to setup figured I best work on things as I remove them from the bike. Then when time comes for re-assembly I'm not rushed at all.

sicne the tank is now empty and drying out should I worry any about the tank rusting? Though I doubt much can happen better safe than sorry since my tank is in relively good shape.