small bulkhead fitting suitable for fuel tank??

[GinNB]

I'm looking to turn an old steel outboard motor fuel tank into an elevated fuel tank for an engine with no fuel pump. It seems to me that it should be easy to find a small metal bulkhead fitting suitable for use with oil or gas but guess what? No luck so far.

I've got 1/2" and larger plastic ones suitable for use with plastic storage tanks but even the 1/2" one is too big to fit down the filler neck of the outboard tank. I have my doubts as to whether it'd be suitable for longterm exposure to gas anyway.

Closest hydraulic equivalent is either a single o-ring bulkhead fitting (part 8088411 in the Princess Auto link below) with a plain nut on top, or an o-ring boss adapter with JIC on the bottom that I could screw a rare (two hydraulic shops in my area have never seen one and don't have a listing in their catalogs) ORB coupler onto the top (inside the tank)

ORB coupler is part number 8145187 and the ORB->JIC adapter is part number 1294818 in this link (good old Princess Auto)- http://www.princessauto.com/images/stories/documents/01 Hyd.pdf

I still have my doubts that the o-ring in the adapter would seal perfectly against the bottom of the tank. I'd prefer a smaller brass version of this water or spray tank bulkhead fitting though Rittenhouse | Bulkhead Assembly

Anybody ever done something like this? When I ask the hydraulics shops what they usually use for a hydraulic tank bulkhead fitting they say they just weld one on. Welding/brazing a fitting onto the bottom of a used gasoline tank doesn't seem like a smart option to me.

 

[Bill_C]

I messed around with various fittings on the gas tank on an old motorcycle. They all wound up leaking.

Eventually I just took the tank to a radiator shop, they brazed a fitting on and it didn't cost much. I dunno what they did but I suspect they filled it with water first.

 

[Cami]

Welding or brazing on a used gasoline tank is just fine if you clean it out properly or purge it with an inert gas; there are right and wrong ways to do it. Take it to a professional. They'll either do it right or blow up THEIR shop. I might offer to help you out, but you're on the wrong coast.

Why not get a fuel pump for the engine?

 

[Wayne County Hose]

For the bulkhead you need, try Jeg's or Summit. They are common on race cars.

 

[GinNB]

Good idea on taking it to a rad shop. Their brazing skills are probably a bit more polished than mine anyway.

Cami, you see the burner in my profile pic? The tank is going on one similar to that one, and I didn't like the option of adding an electric fuel pump in case of a leak on the pressure side. Most burners use an engine with a vacuum fuel pump, but we've got one without that uses the stock attached fuel tank but it's not big enough. Running out of gas while the burner is running isn't a good thing.

I'll Google Jeg's or Summit. Thx for the tip!

 

[Cami]

Aren't flamethrowers banned by the Geneva Convention?

 

[GinNB]

Didn't anybody tell you there's no such thing as too much fun??

 

[tommu56]

What about a pulse pump like on snowmobile no power needed stops running and flow will stop.

I've seen them on Briggs engines too.

tom

 

[GinNB]

Pulse pumps (using a diaphragm and vacuum to suck the fuel from the tank using crank pressure) are what I thought of first. Called the local Honda dealer's head service guy and he said it could be done but that I'd have to drill the crankcase to get access to the crank pressure pulses. I didn't want to weaken the crankcase and maybe drop grindings into the oil, even though I could probably do it by pressurizing the case while drilling to blow the grindings upwards. Good hint though, thx. It just won't work easily with this engine.

Oh, I checked Jegs and Summit. The "fuel cell bulkhead fittings" are just what the doctor ordered, but they both want a small fortune after shipping, handling, and begging to get a $13-$15 part up to Canada. I'm going to use the magic phrase here locally at some auto parts suppliers and performance shops to see what's available around here. I guess hitting hydraulics shops and a small autoparts place first got me started in the wrong direction.

I'll try the fuel cell fitting first and let it sit with fuel in the tank for a while while bending the fitting a bit to see if motion will make it leak. If it survives the leak test I'll put it into action like that. If not, off to the rad shop it goes.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

See if you can find a race car shop or a speed shop around. Print out the page from the catalog and tell them "This is what I need" as you point to it. Even a NAPA guy can pass that test.