Gas tank valve on small engines

coshoo · Dec 30, 2019

The thread on sediment bowls reminds me of a pet peeve of mine- on small engines, the valve at the bottom of the gas tank is typically only on and off. Why not a third position- drain- with a hose barb so you can stick a tube on and drain the tank when you're winterizing the unit? Anybody ever seen such a thing?

Russ from MN · Dec 30, 2019

I was just thinking about something like that today, Bruce was showing us his big back up generator. We just have a little Coleman 2500, but it kept the freezer and the fridge going during the long outage we had, but it has a very small gas tank, probably won't run an hour under load. If it had a 3-way valve I could hook an outboard tank to it for extended run, and then use that to drain it to. It's so small I just tip it to get most of the gas out and then I put mixed (40-1) gas in it for storage, I run it a little to lube the engine and then shut the valve to run the carb down, that has worked well for me.

They do sell little siphon hoses with a check valve on the end that work well. Last fall I made a 2-hole cap with a couple of hoses through, put it on the filler, push one host to the bottom, blow on the other to start the siphon, worked well!

PJH · Dec 30, 2019

My Honda generator has a spigot on the bottom of the carburetor to slip a hose on for draining the fuel. There is a shut-off screw nearby to on/off the flow. It probably wouldn't work like Russ suggested, but it might. It runs 14 hours on a tank of fuel, so I never thought of plumbing in a larger tank. I use the carb drain every two or three years to drain the old fuel out before replacing with new fuel.

Steve@Advance · Dec 30, 2019

You could use a change over valve made for a dual tank system.

Turn it around, feed fuel from the tank into the out port, one side to the carb, the other to drain.

You would just need to be sure bugs don't nest in it if left open. Maybe a piece of cheese cloth over the open port with a zip tie.

jeffcat · Dec 30, 2019

That little plug on the bottom of the bowl is metric. Just be careful. Good idea If you want to give it a try. The original Japanese carbs have a settlement/ water bowl and a float bowl. The newer China knock offs have blanked the settlement bowl off. If you ever have any trouble with your Honda carb give this video a watch. Very through. That little black hidden plug is usually the problem. Grab a squirt can of carb cleaner and dig in.

Russ from MN · Dec 30, 2019

I have seen Honda generators hooked up to outboard tanks, don't know if it's a factory hook up, but with the long hose they could add fuel without shutting them off.

Russ from MN · Dec 31, 2019

Our Honda outboard has a drain spigot with a valve on the bottom of each carburetor, only for draining, if you feed gas in there it would flood.

Gas tank valve on small engines

coshoo

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Russ from MN

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PJH

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Steve@Advance

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jeffcat

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Russ from MN

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Russ from MN

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