Gas station stupidity

[ADoyle]

I figured this was the right board, as this did involve driving. I saw someone speed away from a gas station because she was upset that the attendant turned off the pump she was using. The reason is that she was totally clueless about all of the no smoking signs, and ignored the attendant when he told her she couldn't smoke while pumping gas.

I guess it could have been worse, that driver could have tried to leave with the pump like some stupid people do. It's just a reminder never to wonder how stupid people can get, because they seem to accept it as a challenge.

[OneMoreTime]

I hope she ran out of gas!!

[wolfie]

I hope the gas station (incorrectly - it can keep some newer cars with anti-misfueling devices from being able to fill up at the pump) replaced the nozzle on the diesel pump with an unleaded nozzle - and the walking ignition source was too busy concentrating on her cancer stick to realize that she was filling her car with diesel.

[eltf177]

Never told this story before. Was walking into a gas station to fill my gas can with regular for my lawn mower when some hell-on-wheels bitch damn near ran me down. Then when I'm getting my gas she gives me hell for being in her way! Well, I noticed she was putting regular into a can marked diesel. If she hadn't been such a witch I would have warned her, but I chose to say nothing...

[Slave to the Phone]

^^^ I wouldn't have said anything either!

Many years ago, we were at a gas station and I idly watched a someone in a pick up pull up to one of the pumps with the green diesel nozzle and start pumping. Suddenly, he lost his s*** and started swearing about the gas station filling his truck with the wrong stuff and how he was going to sue them for ruining his engine.

My sweetie looked over and told him that the first thing he needed to do was to shut off the nozzle because he was still pumping diesel. He started swearing at my sweetie and we were done anyhow, so we left.

[dalesys]

... shut off the nozzle because he was still pumping diesel. He started swearing ...

I call that behavior "Snit for brains."

[Slave to the Phone]

I call that behavior "Snit for brains."

Quickly files the VIN number off and calls it my own! I LOVE that, consider it well and truly stolen!!!

Yeah, if that SC had lost his s*** while blaming himself for putting the wrong gas into his truck at a pre-pay, self-serve gas station my sweetie would have been right there to help. (A small amount of diesel in a full tank of gas probably wouldn't have hurt the anything. This happened about 20 years ago and the SC's truck wasn't new. Car's weren't as picky back then.)

[dalesys]

I remember summer of '72... one of the other dieselboys told me about a carload of hippies in an old Cadillac who had cruised around the pumps looking for the best deal... 39.9 regular... 31.9 diesel #1... 29.9 diesel #2 !JACKPOT! and topped off their tank to make it to Salt Lake.

It made it up the on ramp, coughing and wheezing, and disappeared into the West...

The mixture was probably better than Pemex Premium of the day...

[Nunavut Pants]

In about 1988 I tried to put diesel into my gasoline-powered car. I failed, happily. I went back to the booth and asked the attendant if I could instead fill on that OTHER pump. I must have been a bit grumpy earlier, because he said, "I wondered why you wanted to put diesel in it." I just laughed at myself...

[wolfie]

Fun fact: Gasoline and car/light truck diesel nozzles used to be the same size. When unleaded gas came out, it was dispensed through smaller nozzles, and automakers were required to install restrictors in the filler necks of "unleaded only" cars to keep the leaded gas nozzles out. Now that leaded gas for cars has been phased out, all automotive gas pumps have the small nozzles, while diesel still has the nozzles which used to be used for leaded gas.

[Captain Neon]

I've met guys with cars built before 1975 that add as much as a gallon of diesel to each tank of gasoline for added lubrication. There was a fad for a while among classic car drivers to add 8 oz. of ATF to each tank of gasoline. I don't know if it does much, but I guess it doesn't really hurt anything.

[Slave to the Phone]

Now you are just being mean, wolfie!!! Outing my age and everything!!!

Yeah, OK, maybe this happened longer than 20 years ago, because it was when unleaded was first rolling out and gas stations were different than service stations. We were filling up our sun faded red 65 chevy pick-up and we sold that truck to a collector when it was drinking age.

Nowadays, I would totally not believe that someone managed to innocently put diesel in their unleaded only gas tank. Back then, it was something that could have happened to anyone, including me. (Except for the losing my s*** and wanting to sue to gas station part.)

[wolfie]

Could still happen today - there are tales on the TDI Club forums of people unable to fuel late-model diesel VWs because a damaged nozzle on a diesel pump was replaced with the smaller (unleaded) nozzle - which the anti-misfueling device won't allow to be used to fill the tank.

[Terza]

Still happens over here in the UK - I had someone last week who put £10 unleaded into his little diesel van. Luckily, that way round it's not so bad on the car, and his tank had a good £30-odd of diesel in already!

Just to compound his misery that morning, he'd left his wallet at home, so I had to issue him with a No Means Of Payment form, which if he hadn't paid later that day meant the police would have been round to see him!

[wolfie]

Actually that's worse than putting diesel in a gas vehicle. A gas vehicle with diesel in the tank will run poorly or not at all (depending on the mix) but with no lasting effects. Drain the fuel system and refill with the proper fuel, and you're good to go. Very expensive, since the mixed fuel is classed as hazardous waste.

On many diesel vehicles, the injection pump is lubricated by the fuel. Modern diesel fuel isn't as good a lubricant as the traditional stuff (process that takes out the sulphur also reduces the lubricity), so there's less "headroom" for error. Gasoline acts as a cleaner/degreaser, not a lubricant, so the injection pump is running unlubricated. If you've got straight gas it's not as bad, since the engine won't run on it, so the pump isn't running "dry". A mix of gas and diesel like this guy had is VERY bad - the engine will run (poorly), so the pump will be grinding its guts out.