DOH! how Do I Get That Out of My Tank?

HELL YEAH Gasoline fumes and an electrical spark sounds like big fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know a guy(used to be pretty boy) did the shop vac thing, not so pretty anymore.

 

ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!! suck vapors thru the electric motor and the float wont matter any more...

 

....yeah ....that sounds good,but how does he get the float out the tank after you've finished pulling your poker out?

 

Okay, here's one.

Take some tube (steel, aluminum, whatever you might have 3/16 or 1/4) with a flare on one end (inverted flare, 37 deg AN doesn't matter). Tie some tie wire or string around the end with the flare on it (I prefer tie wire). Feed the other end of the wire / string (whatever) through the tube. You now have a rigid lasso (sp?) of sorts.

I used to use a larger version (out of EMT conduit) a friend built me to lasso busted axles out of a diff.

The smaller the tube, the easier it will be to see around.

Hope this helps.

 

be careful with flammable vapors running through a standard shop vac, very likely to = a huge kaboom
edit: dizzamn, everybody already beat me to it.

 

Hahah, Wile E, one of my favorites. That would be an ACME shop vac

 

Well, thanks for (some of ) the suggestions.

I jacked up the car and had my lasso (per nexxusian) at the ready, but couldn't get the float to come out where I could even see it. I think it may have itself wedged by the fuel pickup- which is what started this whole thing: it seems to be obstructing the fuel flow when theres just a few gallons left; otherwise I'd have just left it in there.

I'll drop the tank this weekend.

 

Years ago there was an article in the Seattle newspaper of someone trying use their shop vac to siphon gas out of their tank. It started working until the fire started and their garage burned down. That was before YouTube.