Mr Rawles:
Would a hand-lever pump like this one or this one work for pulling up fuel from a gas station underground tank]? Thanks, – F.
JWR Replies: Both of those hand pumps are designed specifically for pumping from drums with standard barrel bung threads. They should work with underground tank is you add an extension hose with a nice tight seal at the union of the hose. However, this type of pump is less flexible than my preferred 12 VDC pump design, since they cannot be used for one step vehicle-to-vehicle fuel transfers. They are also only marginally faster, they are more labor intensive to use, and they are much more expensive. Just buy a spare electric fuel pump for your primary vehicle and construct your own 12 VDC pump. This will also provide you a spare fuel pump if the one for your vehicle ever goes kaput. If new off-the-shelf pumps are too expensive, then pull a used one at a wrecking yard. (Which, BTW, is also good mechanical experience.)