Strangest power equipment incident

I have no idea what happened. Brand new Honda electric generator. The big expensive one. Construction site. We've been using it a few weeks. Today, the fuel tank vacuum sealed itself. Just crumpled in on itself. Weird.

 

Pics?

 

I have trouble believing it. That carb and fuel system couldn’t pull enough vacuum to do such. Somebody mashed it. Any video surveillance?

 

I didnt snap one. Th bottom of the tank was sucked up, crumpled from bottom up.

 

Tank or cap vent got stuck or plugged?

 

My grandfather had an '85 Honda Big Red 250 4-wheeler with a metal tank. Expansion and contraction of the fumes had sucked the gas tank in on the top and both sides. It happens.

 

Cooled off overnite and found it that way in the morning ?

 

Those had a vent on the fuel cap that could be opened/closed...surprised he didn't have trouble with it if he left it closed...had more than one customer bring ATVs in for "runs fine for 15-20 minutes, then starts running worse and worse, til it finally quits"...yeah, the vent was closed

 

Sounds like it cooled down over night and vacuumed the tank in.
These new (No-Spill) gas cans i have do the same thing.

 

I can tell you with absolute certainty that a Mikuni fuel pump on a Hirth engine can suck a 5 gallon nalgene tank just about flat when someone forgets to drill a vent hole. With about 2.5 gallons of gas, a CGS Hawk will run exactly 28mins 43secs before dying on final downwind leg at Sun-n-Fun.