Videokarma.org TV - Video - Vintage Television & Radio Forums

Videokarma.org TV - Video - Vintage Television & Radio Forums (http://www.videokarma.org/index.php)
-   General Off Topic Forums (http://www.videokarma.org/forumdisplay.php?f=20)
-   -   Playing with fire (http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=246224)

Reece 10-13-2009 01:01 PM

Playing with fire
 
Went to fill up the car the other day. On the other side of the pump from me was a Ford Exploder with the gas pump nozzle in the tank, pumping away on automatic, with nobody in sight. Tank must have been empty because it was going and going. I looked back at the convenience store office but didn't see the guy. I went on and started pumping my gas but kept an eagle eye on the Exploder. The orphan nozzle finally shut off about the time the dodohead came out of the store with his two cups of coffee in hand. I told the attendant inside about it and she said she thought somebody was still with the car or she would have shut if off inside, said it would have been a big mess if the nozzle had malfunctioned. I told her it could have been more than a mess.

There's a sticker right on the pump that says it's the law that you have to stay with your car while gassing up. This was a chance only an idiot would take.

Reece

Dude111 10-13-2009 01:11 PM

I have seen people SMOKING while filling up,its insane!!

Dan Starnes 10-13-2009 03:32 PM

I deal with Convenience stores for my job. I see all kinds of stuff like that. Scarey!

JBL GUY 10-13-2009 04:21 PM

One of the most "common and dangerous" things that I see during cold weather is for the person pumping the gas...getting back into the car to get out of the cold ...

Then sliding out of the car and touching the pump handle with out touching the body of the car first...

Nice little spark right where the concentration of gas fumes is the highest...FLAME and BOOM...:thumbsdn:

Dude111 07-14-2018 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Starnes
I deal with Convenience stores for my job. I see all kinds of stuff like that. Scarey!

People who fill up gas stations tanks say having an empty tank is more dangerous than a full one.... (Vapour)

An empty tank would probably ignite if an ash from a lit cigar went into it but a full tank of gas might not do anything....

I WOULDNT WANNA TEST IT THOUGH!!

fixmeplease 07-14-2018 01:18 PM

I had a pump not shut off once when it was full and probably a quart went on the ground before i could get the latch thingy undone. I told the attendant about it and he did nothing, didnt even care. The place has since closed, appropriately.

Electronic M 07-15-2018 12:04 AM

In the spirit of one-upmanship the following true story:

About 15 years ago when I was 12 years old my family was moving to Florida from Chicago we packed up the cat and a rented minivan that we packed full of stuff we did not trust the movers with...None of us wanted to go, but that is where life was taking us. We made it to the northern part of Florida with only one incident...Whoever was driving (IIRC Dad) was following the car ahead a bit close the car ahead ran over a VERY large remnant of a blown out semi truck tire and we only saw it when there was insufficient reaction time to avoid it. Sometime after that, we were low on gas and stopped at a place along the highway in north Fl. Mom and I got out to use the restroom and grab some snacks while dad filled the tank. Now, Dad often is not the most observant member of the family but he was in prime form that day...
I was the first to return to the van while Dad was still 'filling' it up I noticed this large puddle rolling downhill behind the van and was suspicious...I walked up to my door next to the fill spout where LOUD splashing was happening, looked under the car to see that the fill tube had been knocked completely off the tank under the van (by the tire remnant we ran over) and every drop of gas that had been pumped and was being pumped as I watched in awe was dumping straight onto the ground...Dad was right there the whole time 'filling it' and HAD NEVER NOTICED! I shouted "Stop pumping it's all spilling onto the ground" and showed him as he could not initially grasp what was happening. We 'rescued' the cat from the car and waited in the gas station ~1-3 hours for the rental place to bring another minivan. Mom was livid over the whole thing, and it felt more like a day of waiting....Then finally they arrived and we had to shift a full to the brim load from one van to another (that was 'fun')...Probably the "worst trip I've ever been on" "I wanna go home. Please let me go home"--Beach Boy's sloop John B.

We eventually did return home to the midwest after a few years...Thank god. Somehow our van load of treasure managed not to burn...A lot of gas spilled that day, and Mom insisted (to the contrary/dismay of the idjit station attendant) we not move it from the pump until the replacement car arrived.

Interesting side note I first became aware of GM's and most other auto maker's habit of offering the exact same vehicle under more than one brand with only the badge and grilles different between vehicles...One van was Chevy and the other Pontiac, and I could hardly find any differences...Till then I had never been in/near two cars of close enough age and type of different brands to notice this practice...I've grown ever more attuned since.

Jon A. 07-15-2018 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dude111 (Post 3201962)
People who fill up gas stations tanks say having an empty tank is more dangerous than a full one.... (Vapour)

An empty tank would probably ignite if an ash from a lit cigar went into it but a full tank of gas might not do anything....

I WOULDNT WANNA TEST IT THOUGH!!

True, it's the vapours that blow. If I recall correctly the super at my old building, who worked on cars a lot, once said he lit a full tank and whoever was with him made a run for it.

Anyone who has seen the extended version of The Blues Brothers knows they left the nozzle unattended while gassing up and what happened as they left.

I saw a video in which a guy welded a tank breach. He gave the gas filler a couple of shots from a fire extinguisher before starting but apparently it wasn't quite enough. On the first strike of an arc a small flame started licking through the breach; the guy was unfazed though and resumed welding almost immediately.

bgadow 07-15-2018 09:22 PM

I've had one not shut off; I've also driven off once (when I was 16 or so) with the nozzle still in the tank-whoops! The "quick disconnect" worked. As it happened the gas station was getting ready to get new pumps in the next week so they didn't even make me pay for it. Then, a few weeks ago, I followed a 25 year old F250 with gas steadily running on the pavement. He was driving on the interstate, too fast for me to catch up.

Lastly, I'll admit that I often run in and use the rest room while I'm pumping. Some fools never learn...

ppppenguin 07-16-2018 12:54 AM

In the UK you can't lock the handles on the nozzles so we don't have this problem. You have to hold them all the time you are refuelling. It's possible to fashion a sort of locking pin that a very few people use to override this on most pumps.

init4fun 07-16-2018 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ppppenguin (Post 3202003)
In the UK you can't lock the handles on the nozzles so we don't have this problem. You have to hold them all the time you are refuelling. It's possible to fashion a sort of locking pin that a very few people use to override this on most pumps.

In Massachusetts (North eastern U.S.A.) no pumps are allowed to have that feature either . Some folks will (Illegally) wedge the gas cap in the pump handle to create a sort of homebrew lock to keep the pump on but if the cashier sees it they will usually demand that the person stop and man the pump as the law intends .

dieseljeep 07-16-2018 10:29 AM

Playing with Fire!
My father used to say: "Play with fire and you'll wet the bed"!

DavGoodlin 07-16-2018 02:00 PM

This is why you can't pump your own in New Jersey, and YET its always cheaper than PA with the highest gas taxes.

Dave A 07-16-2018 06:46 PM

The filler pipe on my '59 Cadillac is maybe 12" long. Can't do the automatic or I shoot about a pint before the automatic catches up. Even by hand and listening I still fail. With the dual exhausts right over the spill I roll the car in neutral away a bit before starting. I find stations with a slight downhill tilt.

dieseljeep 07-16-2018 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavGoodlin (Post 3202022)
This is why you can't pump your own in New Jersey, and YET its always cheaper than PA with the highest gas taxes.

With two of my vehicles, a 2000 Dodge Dakota and a 2011 Toyota Prius, they won't let me lock the filler nozzle while gassing up, under some conditions. It seems like a back pressure condition. Once I get a few gallons in by delivering with a lower flow, then I can engage the latching device and it fills OK.
I never fill unattended. :thmbsp:


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:39 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
©Copyright 2012 VideoKarma.org, All rights reserved.