StuartO Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I had an interesting experience at the petrol station yesterday and may have learned something new. It was busy and there were queues for all lanes and when it came my turn the lady in front had just started refueling at the first pump so I overtook her (despite having a trailer in tow) because there was something about the way she was going about refueling which somehow looked odd. She was leaning back against her car in a nonchalant way, fuel pump in hand, holding the trigger and intently watching the gauge on the pump. I reversed on to the leading pump in the row, refueled, went in and paid and as I walked back to my car she was still there, still with this very odd and seemingly contrived nonchalant air. So I wandered over to ask if I could help; unless her car had a bottomless tank had a bottomless tank, and it couldn't possibly have taken the cashier that long to authorise her pump. She declined my offer of help by explaining that she was refuelling slowly because the fuel contained ethanol - and according to her this meant you would get less liquid and more gas unless you refuel very slowly. She was clearly quite proud of taking the trouble to do this (she had still put in less than £20 worth) and seemingly unaware of the pace at which everyone else was getting on with things. I can't work out how ethanol in the fuel would have any impact on the delivery of a calibrated fuel pump, but maybe that's my problem rather than hers. Or maybe someone has fed her some silly tale and she's swallowed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Was she blonde!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy Wonka Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I have feeling there's a phallic connotation lurking in her reasoning – but for the life of me I can't put my finger on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will H Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 That's OK but all the bumps in the road will cause her gas losses to be multiplied a million times with all the liquid sloshing about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 Tracker - 2015-12-22 5:19 PM Was she blonde!! She was a middle-aged lady, although I doubt she would regard herself as such, and she had long hair coloured from a bottle but auburn rather than blonde (and e were in Suffolk and not Essex. She had a substantial presence as well as girth and was perhaps aiming to project "assertive female" rather than personable woman, so I didn't dare stick around to debate anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 There has been a fair amount of press coverage regarding proposals to replace regular unleaded petrol with a fuel that includes 10% ethanol http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/11733743/British-drivers-face-higher-petrol-prices-after-Brussels-renews-push-for-eco-friendly-fuel.html but although that might increase vehicle running costs (and there’s also been a lot of concern about high ethanol-content petrol causing problems with older motors) I don’t believe ’slow fuelling’ would make any economic savings whatsoever. (Probably a Daily Mail reader - they’ll believe anything...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 StuartO - 2015-12-22 6:13 PM She had a substantial presence as well as girth and was perhaps aiming to project "assertive female" rather than personable woman, so I didn't dare stick around to debate anything. Wise words and wiser actions!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Ethanol is alcohol, a liquid. I think she had been reading American sites where of course petrol is called "gas". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeco Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 E10 petrol (10% ethanol) is available at every petrol outlet here. it is 93 up to 95 octane depending on who you believe. It did replace the normal 100% unleaded that was 91 octane so they continued to sell it as 91 when in fact it was higher. The down side is that it is not as efficient and fuel consumption is thus marginally higher. All the major car manufacturers are happy with 10% and say there is no problem with the engine warranties or long term use. The fuel is slightly cheaper than normal unleaded so is popular. E10 has been available here for years and in all that time I have never read or heard of this gas issue.Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Although petrol with an ethanol-content is not mentioned, this selection of webpages contains advice that 'slow-fuelling' a vehicle at a service-station to minimise vapour-loss will be financially beneficial. http://rense.com/general81/gass.htm https://www.autohausaz.com/html/gas-pump-savings.html http://www.homeenergyefficiencyaudit.com/save-money-at-the-gas-station-efficiency-at-the-pump/ http://reachingutopia.com/save-money-at-the-gas-pump/ Comments on the ‘advice' can be read here: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/automobiles/a/pumping_gas.htm https://www.truthorfiction.com/pumping-gas/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 When I lived in Switzerland in the nineties all petrol pumps had benzene recovery 'gaiters' around them - a black flexible concertina around the pump outlet that would sit over the car's filler point and contain benzeze escapes. The gas was then sucked up another hose and captured, although what they did with it then I don't know. I expected them to become more widespread but in fact I've not seen them elsewhere since. The plume of escaping gas is clearly visible in the right conditions when filling a car, but I wouldn't have thought that filling slowly would make an appreciable difference. Personally, at today's prices, I can't wait to get it in the tank and start using it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 The phrase 'urban myth' comes to mind? Maybe the longer your fuel filler is open to the air the more vapour will escape? A bit like the theory of perpetual motion maybe - the slower you fill the less gas you lose through turbulence and the longer you fill the more gas escapes by natural evaporation? Does disturbing the surface of a liquid make it more liable to evaporate? If so all the while fuel is flowing, regardless of flow rate, the surface of the liquid both in the tank and as it exits the nozzle is being disturbed possibly giving it all a greater surface area for longer and making it more liable to evaporate? On many a modern petrol engined car the fuel filler orifice is very small to prevent a diesel pump being used and this must go some way to preventing vapour loss? But I am no scientist so what do I know - I just get the fuel in, pay and get going asap and if I ever need to worry about saving .05p's worth of vapour on a tankful of fuel I will give up driving!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 So take an extra 10 min., filling up include modest labour charge into the equation say £10/hr, you would probably be out of pocket. :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracker Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-12-23 10:11 AM So take an extra 10 min., filling up include modest labour charge into the equation say £10/hr, you would probably be out of pocket. :D :D :D If only someone would pay me £10 an hour for anything (well almost anything!) these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will H Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Years ago there was a product (I Forget what it was called) that when filling your tank you could buy a squirt of this stuff that aided fuel economy. Like all additives its all in the mind and never proven. PS was it Redex ? PPS another thought on the lady filling fuel, all the time she has the tank open to air the fuel going in is disturbing what's already there with a greater loss of gas then if it went in fast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Will H - 2015-12-23 10:52 AM Years ago there was a product (I Forget what it was called) that when filling your tank you could buy a squirt of this stuff that aided fuel economy. Like all additives its all in the mind and never proven. PS was it Redex ? Yes, Redex. It was supposed to reduce the number of de-cokes you had to do. For younger viewers - take cylinder head off, remove carbon build up and grind in the valves. Oh, those were the days !!! Remember putting a squirt of oil in the tank of my 2 stroke motorbike but that was essential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 When calculating the cost / benefits of taking 10 minutes to fill your car you may need to take into account the possible cost of repairs for damage to the vehicle inflicted by the long queue of irate motorists waiting in the queue. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Robbo - 2015-12-23 11:07 AM Will H - 2015-12-23 10:52 AM Years ago there was a product (I Forget what it was called) that when filling your tank you could buy a squirt of this stuff that aided fuel economy. Like all additives its all in the mind and never proven. PS was it Redex ? Yes, Redex. It was supposed to reduce the number of de-cokes you had to do. For younger viewers - take cylinder head off, remove carbon build up and grind in the valves. Oh, those were the days !!! Remember putting a squirt of oil in the tank of my 2 stroke motorbike but that was essential. Redex is an Upper Cylinder Lubricant and still available (also for diesel engines). It certainly kept engines clear of Carbon deposits. I saw quite a few engines that were stripped down and were clean as a whistle, motorcycle engines in particular. They even had a Pink tinge to the lovely shine. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Slow fuelling to get more fuel reads like someone's having a laugh at her expense. The only 'sometimes thought of as an old wives tale' is refuel when it is the coldest....early morning is best. However in terms of a car fuel tank capacity is not really worth the hassle . The advantage with this method is the fuel in the ground is cold (colder than say mid afternoon but not by much) ergo it occupies less space (volume) and you can get a little more in the tank. The dispensing pump is not calibrated or capable of compensating for the temperature changes throughout the day therefore the colder the fuel the more you get in relation to warmer temperature refuelling. I would suggest though for the average car ...or even motorhome the savings would probably unnoticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rambling robin Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Back in the day (late 60's and early 70's) I worked as what was called a Petrol Pump Attendant - remember them??? Little hut on the pump island and a funny machine full of gummed up solid Green Shield Stamps??? That was in the days when a power cut just meant that you got the crank handle out and pumped by hand. 8-) Some cars were always known to be 'slow fillers' and you always dreaded the arrival of 2 or 3 of those turning up for a fill-up on a bank holiday afternoon........ Quite often you would fill up till the pump cut, then bounce the car on its suspension to free air trapped in odd nooks and crannies of the tank and filler pipe. You could then squeeze a few more pints in. Slow filling helped to reduce trapping air. This was all in the days before recirculating vents and other modern technology in the filler pipe which was little more than a design afterthought. *-) So, not so much an urban myth, more mythplaced history ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I have no choice when it comes to "filling up slowly" as the tank on the Mk5 Transit is notoriously slow and very easy to get 'blow back' from fuel shooting out if you try to shove it in too quick. Whenever on tour it can sometimes prove embarrassing as with every fill i want to 'neck it' to keep more precise record of mpg but at some stations they want to do it for you. Then i have to try explaining 1) i want it full and 2) it's a verrrry sloooow filling tank! *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 What a load of old Gas. Codawallop. The ethanol may vaporise once dispensed BUT it has already been measured in it's liquid form via the pump meter. So by filling slowly all she is doing is allowing vapour to detrimentally enter the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 I don't want to think about this. You only get one life and I have other things to worry about than saving one mile to a tank full or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek pringle Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 hi, Let's hope the good lady never gets in front of Tyson Fury in the queue hey. cheers derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 rambling robin - 2015-12-23 4:07 PM Back in the day (late 60's and early 70's) I worked as what was called a Petrol Pump Attendant - remember them??? Little hut on the pump island and a funny machine full of gummed up solid Green Shield Stamps??? That was in the days when a power cut just meant that you got the crank handle out and pumped by hand. 8-) Some cars were always known to be 'slow fillers' and you always dreaded the arrival of 2 or 3 of those turning up for a fill-up on a bank holiday afternoon........ Quite often you would fill up till the pump cut, then bounce the car on its suspension to free air trapped in odd nooks and crannies of the tank and filler pipe. You could then squeeze a few more pints in. Slow filling helped to reduce trapping air. This was all in the days before recirculating vents and other modern technology in the filler pipe which was little more than a design afterthought. *-) So, not so much an urban myth, more mythplaced history ;-) I seem to remember that the Austin A30 was one of the worst fillers. The older Landrover (that had the fuel tank under the seat) was the best. Yes, I had a p/t job in a filling station while a schoolboy in the early 1960s. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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