Suppose you just filled up your vehicle and Murphy's Law strikes. Now you need to drain the gas tank before doing some sort of repair on it. Unfortunately, your tank holds 50+ liters of fuel, while the biggest ordinary gasoline storage can you are able to find only holds about 25 liters. And you very seldom need to use it for that much fuel!
Introducing the Gasoline Bag. It is potentially volumous enough to hold an entire tank of fuel, even if the tank was part of the biggest gas-guzzling SUV on the market. And because it is a bag, not a solid plastic or metal container, when you have refilled the vehicle's fuel tank from it and are done using it, it can be scrunched up to occupy minimal storage space.
I'm not sure what sorts of bag-type plastics are out there that are gasoline-resistant enough to be used for this Idea, so that is why it is Half-Baked. But I have no reason to think that the notion is impossible, that no such suitable plastic can ever be found.-- Vernon, Aug 01 2012 Alternatively, you could use a telescopic cup (aka travel cup, folding cup or collapsible cup) type arrangement to make a compact vessel.
When I last used a telescopic cup it leaked because the segments were only friction fitting. So for a better seal, each segment could be threaded at top and bottom for screw fitting.-- xaviergisz, Aug 01 2012 You can buy flexible fuel tanks already, although they are intended for expanding fuel capacity by using up otherwise empty space in the cabin or tray - not as emergency storage.
Strangely enough, they're normally recommended for diesel, not petrol - if being used in the cabin.
You can also buy them for boats, etc - for the same purpose.-- Custardguts, Aug 01 2012 Yes, they're called "float tanks" or "fuell bladders" and are both Baked and Widely Known To Exist.-- 8th of 7, Aug 01 2012 Just drain into jars and sell it as moonshine, no one will guess.-- not_morrison_rm, Aug 01 2012 //Strangely enough, they're normally recommended for diesel, not petrol - if being used in the cabin.//
Because leaked diesel is surprisingly hard to ignite, whereas leaked petrol will explode violently if you even think warm thoughts within ten feet of it.-- ytk, Aug 01 2012 No it won't - I've thrown lit matches into a shallow tray of petrol and it didn't ignite (this was as part of a fire safety training course).-- hippo, Aug 01 2012 I am with YTK, If you are indoors you don't even need to be in the same room to set off a fair amount of leaked petrol and your lit match makes your eyebrows go crispy. The vapours will pretty much ignite from next door. Where as you would have to heat diesel a helluva lot or spray it about in a fine mist.-- PainOCommonSense, Aug 07 2012 Hippo..... I find that really hard to believe. In my experience petrol is incredibly easy to ignite, and the fumes will explosively light up as the match flame passes through them. Are you sure it wasn't paraffin?-- xenzag, Aug 07 2012 A shallow tray of gasoline, in an open area, will put out a match (especially if it was just poured). The fumes over the tray will disperse quickly enough to not flash. In an enclosed space, if it's been sitting for a while, you get a bang.-- MechE, Aug 07 2012 for historical perspective, see petrol tanks Vs diesel tanks: Germany 0:1 USSR-- bs0u0155, Aug 07 2012 random, halfbakery