Electric motor in the drill loves to give off little sparks... I personally think his best bet is to start by dropping the tank. When it comes to something that's as potentially dangerous as this situation shortcuts are NOT an option. Drop the tank and go from there, either cut the filler hose off with a pipe cutter (no filings) and syphon from there, or try putting power to the fuel pump. Keep a fire exstinguisher near by as well, as was stated make sure it's ABC.

 

ok go old school and use a hand drill :P haha, I think best/easiest way to recover the gas is def running the fuel line into a countainer and putting power to it.....dropping the tank is probably more time and effort than the amount of gas your going to recover.....you could always dump some fuel stabilizer in it, then put a pan of salt water to the bottom and wait for it to corrode until the gas leaks out, then it might be worth 2 bucks a litre

 

i like the way you think ;]

 

Find the fuel relay and jump the 2 connections with a paper clip? Thats what ive done to 3 cars. Pumps purrs like a kitty and gives me gas. haha

 

That anti syphon thing only works for hoses the size of the hole for filling. Try using some 3/8 tubing. Mines about 15 foot long, I prod it around till it gets through the blockages, and then jam most of it in the tank so only a littles sticking out. Then I stick a thumb on the end, and pull 10ft back out - hold it down below the tank - and take thumb off. Works like a charm but its gonna take a while, I usualy just fill the mower tank from my blazer since its not going anywhere anytime soon. Ive had sucess getting larger hose in there, but its kinda hard so I use the small hose.