Petrol mistake

[frank rabbets]

Yes you've guessed I filled up my 80 with petrol instead of diesel. The good news is that the red light had been on for a long time so the petrol is pure............and my wife screaming at me stopped me driving off none the wiser. My neighbour towed me home in HIS 4x4.........Audi.

I started driving on a farm in 1957 petrol, diesel, TVO, parafin and 2 stroke and have never made any fuelling mistakes whatsoever.

WABN

Frank

 

[Chris]

It's easily done. AA bloke told me that there are several hundred every single day.

Not sure about the silver lining though Frank. The petrol being pure is what advantage exactly? - do you mean to drain it and sell it to get your money back? Having looked inside my tank, there is a fair bit left in there even when it reads empty. I drained my through the plug and was surprised at how much came out. This would contaminate the petrol. Maybe not much on a full tank. Probably not so bad in an old carb aspirated car. Maybe not so wise in a modern fuel injected lean burn jobbie, I dunno.

Still, it'll give your pipes a good clean out. Once the smoke subsides, it'll be running like a new one. If you leave the filler cap on, it slows the flow out of the drain plug quite a bit. Makes it a bit easier to stem the flow when you need to stick it back in too.


Chris

 

[Chas]

Been there done that Frank, so I fitted one of these;

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_226201

The fuel cap can only be removed by the diesel pump nozzle, there are little 'catches' that must be pushed in by the nozzle, a petrol pump nozzle is a smaller diameter and won't release the catches

 

[Chris]

That's neat Chas, but of course the big problem comes from putting derv in a petrol. Not so much the other way around. If you put a couple of lits of petrol in your cruiser, then top up with diesel and you'll be fine. But the other way around and it's 'oops'. I tend to keep my tank pretty much topped up most of the time. Little and often really. It's just what I do. Therefore if I put petrol in, it wouldn't be much.

Tidy little fitting though. Just seeing it should be enough to make you think twice.

Chris

 

[Chas]

Tidy little fitting though. Just seeing it should be enough to make you think twice.Chris

It comes with a plastic tube of the correct diameter so you can remove your fuel cap at home if necessary, but once coming back through France I used that tube to remove the cap so I could pour in 500ml of two stroke oil then picked up the pump nozzle, noting that it was black and as I thought therefore diesel, but it was four star , luckily the tank was 3/4 full so the truck still ran, although a little unhappily, usually I don't refuel until the red light comes on.

 

[Chris]

NO WAY! Petrol pump is black? Damn those Frenchies.

Have to start sniffing the pumps Chas.

Great to have these international conventions.

C

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Should I bring some jerry cans round Frank?

 

[SimonD]

Diesel pumps are green in the US not black [which is mainly petrol] - at least in the Mid-West.

 

[Chas]

NO WAY! Petrol pump is black? Damn those Frenchies. Have to start sniffing the pumps Chas.
Great to have these international conventions.C

Better than sniffing saddles in the bike park I suppose

 

[Paul]

Maybe i should make some more of these

 

[Justin_Elliott]

If you do Paul I'd be interested in one...

 

[Chas]

If you do Paul I'd be interested in one...

Ditto

 

[BobMurphy]

NO WAY! Petrol pump is black? Damn those Frenchies.

Have to start sniffing the pumps Chas.

Great to have these international conventions.

C

I was on a motorcycle tour around Turkey last year . . . (plus France, Italy, Greece . . ).

Pulled up at one pump in Turkey and lifted the green nozzle, but it didn't look right, so I put it back and asked the Tour Leader. "Its petrol" he said as he filled his BMW F800GS . . .

I had just started putting some in when the owner came running out shouting.

Petrol nozzels were 'pink' (but not anywhere else ).

Fortunately my old BMW 1150 boxer twin ran fine with 0.9 litres of diesel in 30 litres of petrol .

The 800GS had to be drained, though, it cost us two hours delay.

Its bad enough when you don't speak the language, but when you can't even read the script .


Bob.