There may come a time when you need to remove gasoline from your lawn mower, and you’re going to need an easy and safe method. Unfortunately, removing gas from a mower is not as simple as just picking up the mower and pouring out the unwanted gasoline. So, I’ve put together my three favorite ways to get gas out of a mower that you can use for big zero-turns, small walk-behinds, and everything in between.
Why You Might Need to Drain the Gas from Your Lawn Mower
First, let’s take a look at why you might need to remove gasoline from your lawn mower. These are some everyday occurrences that people experience all the time. One or two of these you might already be familiar with.
- Bad and degraded gasoline. The gasoline in the tank has gone bad and needs to be removed ASAP.
- Carrying out servicing. When servicing the lawn mower fuel system, removing the gas makes things a whole lot easier.
- Used the wrong gas. Accidentally putting the wrong gasoline in the mower, like using your two-cycle gas can by mistake.
- Transporting the lawn mower. If the mower needs to be transported in an enclosed vehicle, then it’s much safer to remove the fuel.
How to Drain Gas From a Lawn Mower (My Go-To Method)
Using a pump is my go-to method for removing gas from my mower. I like it because it’s quick, easy, and of course, safe. It’s also the method that requires the fewest tools and has the simplest approach. So, here’s my go-to method to pump out the gasoline from a mower.
Equipment to Remove Fuel from a Lawn Mower Using a Transfer Pump
- Spare Fuel Can
- Fuel Transfer Pump
- Cleaning Rag
- Gloves
- Protective Eyewear
Prepping the Area
The first thing you want to do when handling fuel is to make sure the environment is safe. You need to make sure nothing in the vicinity is going to cause any dangers. So, there should be no naked flames nearby or grandchildren running about.
Prepping Yourself
For this, I use a pair of thin rubber gloves and some lightweight, protective eyewear. Gasoline isn’t too bad when you get it on your skin, but it’s not fun if you get it in your eyes. So, some simple PPE goes a long way.
Grabbing a Spare Fuel Can
You’re going to need a spare fuel can to hold the gasoline pumped out of the lawn mower. Now, if you are using this method because you have bad gasoline, then it needs to be suitable to transport gasoline and be a can you are happy to put bad gasoline in and potentially not use again.
Position the Gas Can
Next, you want to position the gas can close enough to the mower so that the transfer pump can reach it—a simple step but essential all the same.
Position the Transfer Pump
Transfer pumps work in only one direction; inflow and outflow. If you get the pump in the wrong way around, you’ll be filling the lawn mowers fuel tank, not emptying it. So, check the pump and look for the direction markers, usually arrows stating the direction. Then put the inflow end in the mower’s tank and the outflow in the spare fuel can.
Start the Transfer Pump
Once everything is correctly set up, you can start the pumping process. Be sure to keep hold of the pump and that both ends stay put in their respective locations. Once the pumping begins, I like to use the end that is sucking from the mower as a vacuum.
The pump should have enough suction to suck up any junk from within the mower tank and into the spare fuel can. Just be sure to keep the pipe at the bottom of the fuel tank once the level gets low. This helps to remove the last of the gasoline.
Cleaning Up
Once the tank is empty, you can remove the pump and turn it off. Just make sure that the pump is completely empty of gasoline before you put it away. Next, use a cleaning cloth to tidy up the area. Make sure you don’t leave any spilled gasoline in your work area or on the mower.
2 Other Methods to Empty Gas from Your Lawn Mower
If using a transfer pump isn’t something that you want to give a go, then here are two other methods you can try instead. The first method is siphoning from the top of the fuel tank, and the second is draining from the fuel tank’s bottom outlet.
Siphoning Your Fuel Tank
Siphoning a fuel tank is a method of removing fuel directly out of the top of the tank. This one takes a little more effort and makes it to number two on my list of methods. The process here is very much the same as pumping; instead, this time, you’ll swap out the pump for a siphon.
Additionally, having the mower up high helps the siphoning process as siphoning relies on gravity. So, the higher the mower and lower the spare fuel can, the faster the transfer.
Equipment to Remove Fuel from a Lawn Mower Using a Siphon
- Spare Fuel Can
- Fuel Siphon
- Cleaning Rag
- Gloves
- Protective Eyewear
Draining Your Fuel Tank
Your mower may have one of those filler caps with a safety device that makes it difficult to get into the tank. So what do you do if you need to empty your fuel tank without a siphon or pump? Well, you’ll need to drain the tank via the fuel tank’s outlet.
Removing the fuel line from the fuel system allows the mower’s tank to drain. This is a great way to remove any grime buildup from your tank. All you need to do is connect a separate length of fuel line to the fuel system and connect it to your spare tank. As long as you connect the fuel tank and the fuel pump, you’ll be able to drain the tank.
Equipment to Remove Fuel from a Lawn Mower using the Tank’s Outlet
- Spare Fuel Can
- Pliers
- Spare Fuel line
- Cleaning Rag
- Gloves
- Protective Eyewear
Staying Safe When Draining Gas from Your Mower + Mistakes to Avoid
You need to be extremely careful when handling gasoline as it’s highly flammable and hazardous to you and the environment. Additionally, you must consider where to dispose of the unwanted gasoline. A quick phone call to your local city offices, and they should point you in the right direction where you can safely dispose of your fuel. So, before you start to drain gas from your lawn mower, remember to prepare the following items:
- Location of Fuel Disposal
- PPE – Eyewear
- PPE – Gloves
- Fuel Suitable Container
- Pumps/Siphons Suitable for Fuel
Finally, now that you know how to remove gas from your lawn mower, here are a few tips to make it successful.
- Keep the siphoning process continuous. Do not break the siphon, as restarting it with very little fuel in the tank can be nearly impossible.
- Be aware the spare fuel can will be contaminated if it holds bad fuel, and you may not want to use it again.
- Have some spare fuel lines if you intend to drain the fuel system, and you need to replace any broken fuel lines.
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