Petrol stations-is a litre really a litre??

[mrw82]

as i said earlier

Originally Posted by mrw82

one of the major complaints servos get is a ****er in a commodore saying ' i got a 50 litre tank and i just put 55 litres in it'. car tanks are rough sizes, and have extra capacity for vapour expansion. if you keep 'clicking' the nozzle after your tanks full you fill the expansion area, which can be dangerous, so dont do it.

looks like its not just commodore drivers tho. :

[EA2BA]

1 day I put about 50L into a 45L tank of a Lancer that had a 1/4 or more left, the pump didnt sound so good, I had a word with the attendant and he let me pay what was fair.

I do feel most the time the pumps are wrong and not to my favor.

[Ives]

If petrol stations really blow up because people are calling/SMS'ing others, I'd be dead by now.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by Miller

I've managed to fit 69.5L into the 68L fuel tank in the ef. Work that one out :

FFS, this is a joke, isn’t it?

Just because Ford says your bloody tank holds 68 litres doesn’t mean that it’s the total capacity of the tank. When tanks are designed, they have to allow for expansion amongst other things. It’s like saying that you got 20.8 litres into a jerry can and accusing the servo of ripping you off.

Did you consider the amount of fuel that sits in the filler neck when you fill it to its maximum?

[bob^]

Why is my 2lt bottle of coke not filled up to the very top? maybe that isn't 2lt ...

[Ives]

Originally Posted by bob^

Why is my 2lt bottle of coke not filled up to the very top? maybe that isn't 2lt ...

You can always take it back.

[Badcooky]

MRW82 we need hearsay on this thread not the truth dagnabit.

[bobkatz]

MMMM some of you guys have way too much time on your hands or you are super stingy

[ThoR_]

There is for sure a difference..........ive had the same thing as blacklabel...........a litre aint a litre.....but what can you do? You can actually have the pumps tested by the companys that do it if you like.........

They did a thing on the news about it and fuels are different weights to so even though you have a full tanbk you maybe get 50-60kms less from some fuels because the weights are wrong

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by ThoR_

There is for sure a difference..........ive had the same thing as blacklabel...........a litre aint a litre.....but what can you do? You can actually have the pumps tested by the companys that do it if you like.........

They did a thing on the news about it and fuels are different weights to so even though you have a full tanbk you maybe get 50-60kms less from some fuels because the weights are wrong

What the hell are you talking about?

How much do you know about liquid density? I suppose if the news said something, it must be true. ThoR, you can hold you head up high for the most ridicules post in this thread. You have a lot to learn.

[Simmo]

i pulled into a BP as my fuel light came on and proceded to put 69L of ultimate into my 68L tank. i asked the attendant what the game was, as it seemed obvious that the pumps were undercompensating a bit. he reckoned that cos it was a cold night, fuel shrinks in size and it could fit more in. last time i checked 68L is 68L no matter what the liquid. i told him to pull his socks up and that i wasnt coming back.

[Lightning Strike GT]

Originally Posted by bobkatz

You shouldnt use your phone near the pumps, maybe you should be the one who gets a fine

Who told you that crock of crap it is an urban myth :

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by Simmo

i pulled into a BP as my fuel light came on and proceded to put 69L of ultimate into my 68L tank. i asked the attendant what the game was, as it seemed obvious that the pumps were undercompensating a bit. he reckoned that cos it was a cold night, fuel shrinks in size and it could fit more in. last time i checked 68L is 68L no matter what the liquid. i told him to pull his socks up and that i wasnt coming back.

Perhaps you need to go back and read the whole thread again...

[Simmo]

Originally Posted by BF XR8

Who told you that crock of crap it is an urban myth :

its not, actually.

[xy500]

Originally Posted by DRHEMI

So that just means they can be accurate for 1 month and be out for the other 5 months

Its not like they are gong to call you back there and tell you that they have to give you a credit as they overcharged.........

Everybody seems to have a case of the distrusting bug.
service station pumps are calibrated very carefully and the calibrations are locked in place- these are checked AT LEAST every 6 months often more than that, and in my experience they are never out more than 0.001 of a litre at the worst. these things don't just 'go out' and i'm sick of hearing people say that "my car only takes 60 litres and it just took 62 litres" that means your car just did take 62 litres, not that the pump is wrong, all factory capacity measurements aren't for if the tank is full up the the spout, they are for the tank only! so try find a witch somewhere else because beleive it or not this is an issue service stations and the government regulate very closely.
col

[Simmo]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Perhaps you need to go back and read the whole thread again...

if i did that all the time, i wouldnt have this awesome post count now would i? get the mods to delete it if you care enough. along with this one.

[ltd]

Years ago we had a company van diesel. It had a 57 litre tank and 3.5 litre neck. I went to Mobil in south strathfield with about 3/8 of a tank showing on the fuel guage. I started pumping as normal, you can imagine my surprise at the pump clicking just past 80 litres. I went to the attendant and complained; he told me it was correct. Long story short, I followed up the complaint and before me had already been about 200 complaints from this station, they were fined over $25000.00 for rigging their pumps. This happened about 8 years ago.

Another story, is one time I was in a conquest on a charter operation from Darwin to Melboune via Cooma. As there was a problem with refuellers in Melbourne I took the opportunity to fill up in Cooma, as they get the dash 8's in there frequently over the winter. Long story short, the pump on the Jet A fuel was so antiquated that I had to hold the lever up for the refueller. Anyway, he filled up one wing and was moving to the next when I changed hands for the lever. To my surprise the lever dropped and reset the gauge. 800-850 litres of fuel for free. I told him about it as I was feeling bad and he just simply said; "just give me 50 bucks cash". I still had to pay for the right wing though but was thrilled with the prospect of saving over 600 dollars on the left wings' fuel. I love those pumps, pity the refuellers these days don't use them.

[irish2]

My ex put 60 litres in a 50 litre tank. Went in and complained, the attendant brought out a measuring container of 1 litre capacity and filled it to 1 litre and the guage read 1.6 litres. So she paid for only 30 litres of the fuel.

[Miller]

Originally Posted by Full Noise

FFS, this is a joke, isn’t it?

Well actually 'ffs' it's not a joke. I rocked up to the servo with a bit under 1/4 full on my gauge and managed to fit 69.5 litres. Now if the tank had have been completely dry then I would have understood the extra 1.5 litres but fuel already being IN the tank, plus stated capacity being 68 litres, one would assume that it would not be able to fit that much.

[mrw82]

have any of you conspiricy theorists considered the accuracy of YOUR CARS fuel guage?

[mrw82]

once the pumps are calibrated and certified the adjustment mechanism is sealed and CANNOT be tampered with. the date, person who stamped it and company they work for are recorded and sent to the Weights and measures authority. when the pump is again recertified the old details are again recorded from the pump, aswell as the new details and again sent to weights and measures who monitor it all VERY closely.

quick question for you all:
How many of you, after filling your tank, lift the hose to drain the dregs into your tank??

[irlewy86]

Fact - Manufacturers refer to the useable volume of fuel you can have in your tank. It is not the exact volume in which you can pump.

Temperature causes liquids to expand, take global warming, the earth gets hotter and we all drown. Fuel companies in Canada installed top of the range temperature sensing fuel pumps in thier servo's because the cold temperatures where costing them millions. But you'll never see that in Australia

[Badcooky]

I put 70 litres in my tank and shock horror it was 70 litres i was disgusted.

[Bushbasher]

After reading the entire thread I thought I'd stick my 2 bobs worth in. Firstly, most tank capacities are advertised as the maximum you should be putting in the tank. That means when the pump clicks off, that is the "full" point. But beyond that, most tanks are about 15% bigger than the stated capacity to allow for fuel expansion in the tank. This 15% air pocket is above the point of the inlet pipe where the pipe meets the tank proper so creating a "bubble"the fuel can't fill quickly. Thus the pump clicks off when the fuel fills the tank to the top of the neck inlet then fills the neck and shuts off the pump. But then what happens is the fuel in the neck bleeds down into the tank as the air comes back up that little bleeder line you can see inside the top of the neck of your filler. The upshot of all this is that the capacity if the tank varies depending on which way the car is leaning at the bowser. For example, My old EL wagon had a stated 72L capacity and on flat ground it would take about that from empty before the pump clicked off but if the forecourt sloped away from the pump then more fuel would go in as the tank was effectively rolled over slightly putting the neck higher relative to the air pocket. Conversly, if the forecourt sloped into the bowser less fuel would go in. NOW, if you hit that full spot then trickle feed the fuel in so the air has a chance to escape via the bleeder to the top of the neck you will eventually totally fill the tank. My old EL wagon could actually take a little over 85L using this method. This can get you an extra 100-150km range out of the tank which might save you that stop at some servo out in the boonies at an extra 20c per litre. Only do this if you are immediately leaving on a long trip so as to use up the extra fuel before it had a chance to heat up and expand in the tank cos if you don't use the fuel straight away it'll expand and either force it's way out of the tank or do other damage as it expands.

SO, all you guys who say you got 2 or 4 or 5 litres more than the capacity of your tanks, consider whether the driveway sloped away from the pump or not . If your regular sevo sloped into the pump and the other one sloped away then there could be as much as 7 or 8L difference in the "full" point.

The only time I ever got ripped off for fuel was with an old hand wound pump out of an overhead tank. I pulled the guy up on it and the pump was replaced and I got a refund for a months worth of fills.


Bushbasher

[XR6Dan]

Originally Posted by irlewy86

Temperature causes liquids to expand, take global warming, the earth gets hotter and we all drown.

Not too many ice-caps in your fuel tank...

I've got the opposite with the Focus, its a 55 litre tank but after not being able to start the car due to no fuel, only 50L got into the tank.

When I had the falcon I noticed similar with being able to fit more than what the factory tank was, the filler tube fits 2 or 3 litres itself.