Gosh darn safety spout

john4153 · Sep 2, 2010

My first tractor (Case DX40/NH TC40DA), so instead of driving 6 miles to the nearest town, I use a 5-gallon poly can to refuel. I guess I could have just repainted my old steel gas can with a metal spout yellow, but I wanted to be environmentally sensitive. So, I got one of those new safety cans that gets gets as much fuel on my pants as it does in the tractor.

Long story, short, the translucent spout extender fell into my tank. Darn it. How do I get it out? Does that plastic even float in diesel?

Some options I have considered:

1) Hire a skinny 8-year old boy to reach in past the restrictor to find it.

2) Use my Ryobi snake camera to find it and try to guide it to where I can reach it with some prongs.
3) Empty and remove the tank and/or fuel level sender unit?

Any other ideas?

John

rekees4300 · Sep 2, 2010

This seems to be a common problem without a simple solution

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/john-deere-owning-operating/178969-dropped-plastic-gas-nozzle-into.html

Code54 · Sep 2, 2010

Dollar store - they have these "grabber things" - flexible metal shaft with a plunger on one end and 4 bent wire things on the other. Push the plunger, the other end slides out and expands to about a 1" diameter and then release the plunger and it pulls back under spring tension (with the spout in it).
Works great for grabbing nuts, bolts, etc when you cant reach them. Think they even called it a grabber. Plus it is only a $1
Good luck

john4153 · Sep 2, 2010

Well that doesn't help me find the spout, but it does make me feel a lot better.

I waited a whole week, because I was too embarrassed by my stupidity.

From what I read, I assume it does not float in diesel?

John

BTW, I have lots of grabbers. I just can't find it.

TripleR · Sep 2, 2010

John, fear not, you are not alone by any means. My wife has done it on our tractor twice and I did it on my ATV. She was able to reach it with needle nose pliers and a long thin screw driver. I had to remove the tank on my ATV.

wedge40 · Sep 3, 2010

I think you should remove the tank. Leave the fuel in it and pack the whole thing up and send it to the EPA and let them get the thing out.

Wedge

MikeD74T · Sep 3, 2010

Answers are simple for spout removal, process is not, leave it there, fish it out, or dump it out.
As for fueling, go to nearest NAPA store, find the oldest counter man (min age 50), tell him you want a tractor funnel. "tractor funnel" - Google Product SearchYou should end up with a 10"+/- galvanized funnel with a fine mesh screen that will lock onto some fill ports but will fit into others. I've used them since the early 60's & won't bother with anything else. I get my fuel in 5 gallon hydraulic fluid buckets ( yup wrong color & unlabeled). I set the funnel on my Kioti tank, set the can upside down on the funnel & wait until the glugging stops. Anyone that can't hit a 10" funnel should probably spend $ hundreds on a pump refueling system. MikeD74T

gwdixon · Sep 3, 2010

MikeD74T said:
Answers are simple for spout removal, process is not, leave it there, fish it out, or dump it out.
As for fueling, go to nearest NAPA store, find the oldest counter man (min age 50), tell him you want a tractor funnel. "tractor funnel" - Google Product SearchYou should end up with a 10"+/- galvanized funnel with a fine mesh screen that will lock onto some fill ports but will fit into others. I've used them since the early 60's & won't bother with anything else. I get my fuel in 5 gallon hydraulic fluid buckets ( yup wrong color & unlabeled). I set the funnel on my Kioti tank, set the can upside down on the funnel & wait until the glugging stops. Anyone that can't hit a 10" funnel should probably spend $ hundreds on a pump refueling system. MikeD74T

Yep, any kind of funnel is better than no funnel. Just unscrew the EPA cap (as you do when filling the can) and pour the fuel.

As far a finding the cap - in a dark barn or during the night take a flashlight and look for the cap. The light will shine right through the fuel. Once located the "fishing device" mentioned earlier (long tube with four prongs on the end) should work. Most hardware or auto supply stores carry them.

Don87 · Sep 3, 2010

Skinny 8 year old(while sitting back drinking a cold one), sounds like the best idea so far..............:laughing:

Gary Fowler · Sep 4, 2010

I had the aluminum nozzle from my fuel hose fall out into my tank when fueling. I left it in till I ran down to about a 1/4 tank then with help from the noon day sun, I could se it shining in the bottom. I found a couple of small pieces of can and managed to roll the pipe around till I got one of the canes inside. I then used the other one to wedge it tightly and lifted it out. Got lucky and only took me a couple of minutes after I found it. Shiny aluminum inside a shiny tank is hard to see. The shape of the tank helped me since it was flat with one side sloping about a 45 angle so when I rolled the pipe around it was facing up enough for me to get my first cane into it and then the other one was just perfect to stick in beside the first one and wedge it tight. That nozzle wont come out again as it now has a 1/4" self tapping screw through the nozzle handle and into the end tubing. I never saw one of those come out before.

flyingcow · Sep 4, 2010

My first thought was run it until close to empty. then go fishing.

john4153 · Sep 8, 2010

Well, I got it out. But, it took the help of an obstetrician.

Drained and removed tank. It is really not that hard to do on a DX40/TC40DA. The spout kept getting lodged behind the filler restriction. With the tank tilted slightly forward, the spout could be rolled forward and grasped as shown.

John

LBrown59 · Sep 8, 2010

gwdixon said:
Yep, any kind of funnel is better than no funnel.
*Just unscrew the EPA cap (as you do when filling the can) and pour the fuel.

*That didn't work so good when i tried it yesterday.
The fuel would splash out all over the tractor and the ground when it hit the sides and bottom of the filter.

MikeD74T said:
out all over the tractor and the ground when it hid the sides and bottom of the filter.
go to nearest NAPA store, find the oldest counter man & tell him you want a tractor funnel. "tractor funnel" - Google Product SearchYou should end up with a 10"+/- galvanized funnel with a fine mesh screen .
I've used them since the early 60's & won't bother with anything else. I get my fuel in 5 gallon hydraulic fluid buckets ( yup wrong color & unlabeled). I set the funnel on my Kioti tank, set the can upside down on the funnel & wait until the glugging stops. Anyone that can't hit a 10" funnel should probably spend $ hundreds on a pump refueling system. MikeD74T

The problem with that funnel is it's galvanized and diesel dissolves it .
Another problem it will not filter water out of fuel .
A MR Funnel eliminates both of these problems .

rekees4300 · Sep 8, 2010

john4153 said:
Well, I got it out. But, it took the help of an obstetrician.

Have you named the new baby?

Bear Foot Farm · Sep 9, 2010

Have you named the new baby?

I imagine he's called it several names by now

pitt_md · Sep 10, 2010

Not meaning to hijack the post but what the heck is up with the new fuel cans? I have one that requires a person with 3 hands to operate....

going to look for a way to modify the spout.

john4153 · Sep 10, 2010

pitt_md said:
going to look for a way to modify the spout.

If you are referring to the fact that once you move the slide switch and press to pour, it will auto shut-off if you release, there is a simple cure. On the underside of the spout, there is a plastic extension that provides the spring pressure for the shut-off. Just use a pair of diagonal cutters and cut that off near its base. Now when you set the slide lever to "on" and start to pour, it will not automatically go back to off. You can, however, manually set it to off. John