I recently bought a generator that runs on gasonline. I'm not keen on having lots of gas stored in containers in my garage. So, I thought why not siphon gas from my 2017 RX 450h... However, after watching some youtube videos, They used a small diameter hose to jam into a valve in the fuel filler valve. I'm somewhat reluctant to do this. But, is this possible with this car?

 

Most newer model year cars have some type of obstruction down the filler pipe to prevent bad actors from siphoning gas out of other peoples cars. You could try running a somewhat stiff but smaller size hose (gas line hose) down to see if there is indeed an obstruction in the filler pipe.

 

I would think it would be safer to store a small gas can that it would be to try and siphon out from the car.

 

In a far distant life I was a medic in the Air Force. In the Emergency Room one night two teenage dependents came in; they had been trying to siphon (steal) some gas, and the sick sucker had a small amount of gasoline in both lungs. He (of course they were boys :-) ) did not look happy.

 

When you think about it, there isn't much difference between storing gas in the Lexus gas can (ie. tank) or in a different gas can a few feet away. It just adds another nuisance step siphoning it out of the car.

 

Agreed, BUT when a storm is coming, you buy gas for your car and this suggested gas can. However, if you do not use the gas in the gas can, you have to move it to the car...otherwise it will go bad

 

So what's the problem with that?

 

Here's another option. Add some of this to your gasoline in a separate gas can and it says it will keep for 24 months. https://www.walmart.com/ip/STA-BIL-2...hoC-lsQAvD_BwE

I have never tried it so cannot verify if it works.

 

I've used Sta-bil in all my gas cans for my lawnmower and snow blower for years, haven't had any problems yet, even though both go through months of seasonal down time.

 

Or you could just empty the can in to the car now and then and get fresh in the can. Lot's of options.

 

I've used Stabil for 20 yrs or more for storing gas for mowers, blowers, generators, etc., I usually overdose the amount of Stabil by another half per directions, and never had a problem. I also "spike" the gas with Seafoam when I add some to whatever I'm dragging out to do maintenance on. I also add some Stabil to the gas tank of the engine and try to run the carb out completely so there is no/very little gas in the carb to gum up.

 

I have also used Sta-Bil for many years whenever I fill a portable gas can. I never drain my lawnmower or snow blower and never have a problem with the fuel being stored for many months off season.

Where I do have trouble is trying to use one of my portable cans to add fuel to my pickup truck. The Lexus always get filled at the gas station and I do not put Sta-Bil in the Lexus. I have two relatively new, but different brand (Scepter and Briggs & Stratton), portable 2-gallon cans. Both have the latest difficult to use spouts mandated by some government agency. It takes one hand to open the spout safety device and the other hand to support the can itself. Both spouts are designed so that I have to use a long neck plastic funnel between the vehicle and can. The funnel is hard to manage with both hands busy on the can. So, I avoid using a can to add gas to a vehicle as much as possible. It is very tempting to put an old-style spout on the new can just to put gas in a vehicle. The safety spouts are OK for the outdoor equipment.

 

I always buy ethanol free gas for my small engine gas cans. This is sold as premium fuel in my area specifically labeled as ethanol free. Then I add both Stabil and Seafoam to the can. If the gas sits more than 2 months or so, I dump it in my car and buy fresh gas.

The other thing that I have learned is to only buy ethanol free gas at stations that have a separate pump hose for the ethanol free fuel. I saw one study with gas pumps that had only one single hose and handle for all the different grades of gas that you then selected with the different buttons on the pump. These single pump handle hoses would hold quite a bit of residual gas in the hose down to the separate underground tanks. If the customer before you selected ethanol containing gas, you could then select the ethanol free option but the first gallon or so that came out of the hose contained ethanol containing gas from the prior customer.

 

In light of the recent hurricane that hit the Appalacian region, being able to siphon gas from any vehicle is a real concern. My brother, who lives on a mountain there, found a neighbor of his, on oxygen and on a portable generator, running out of fuel and unable to get out to get any gasoline. They couldn't get off the mountain to get any fuel, had no electricity for 10 days, and their cars were newer vehicles and they couldn't siphon any gas for the generator. This was (and for some, still is) a real SHTF situation.

It's not simply about getting from point A to point B in your car. It's about using real life survival skills when no one's there to rescue you, your family or neighbors in a true emergency. Inadvertently, the government is boxing us in, making it harder to survive these situations without help from the government that may not come, which has certainly been true for the Hurricane Helene victims.

 

It’s my understanding that the difficulty with siphoning comes from an obstruction where the filler neck meets the gas tank. This obstruction is an anti-rollover valve which is intended to prevent the tank from gushing out its contents if the vehicle rolls over. So presumably, the safety folks looked at “how likely are vehicles to roll over” versus “how likely is it that someone needs to siphon gas to keep a generator running because a natural disaster occurred” and I suspect there are a fair number of vehicle rollovers every year.