Cautious when "refueling"

[G.G.]

I read about this just a couple of weeks ago on one of the forums. Someone was saying to be careful as green doesn't always mean diesel. They had done the very same thing. I was getting gas yesterday for my car at Hess. I noticed that the regular gas pump was green and thought, "This must be what they were talking about." I had never paid attention to the colors before. Your "mistake" and alerting us will certainly help many others.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by Craig P.

Reminds me of a houseboat trip we went on with some friends. We had a hand pump that we used to fuel up the jet skis and boat with, via the houseboat fuel tank. Our idiot friends inserted the pump into the black water tank and began filling up one of their jet skis with sewage. Needless to say, that ski was out of commission the rest of the trip!
Craig

I've been on houseboat/jetski trips like that. I think we know some of the same people.

Rick

[Dogpatch]

Originally Posted by chief02

I have seen Yellow handle Diesel pumps!

That's the universal color up here. Yellow for diesel.

Gas is color coded to the service station.

[SeattlePirat]

Sorry yellow isnt universal if its not universal, we use green here adn most places use green

[wb7auk]

While making a tour of Oregon I pulled into a station the other day and the attendant
came out and asked how much and what did I need. Now I was parked at the diesel
pump and printed in large letters on the fuel inlet was the word Diesel only.
I told the attendant diesel and to fill it up and much to my surprise he started to reach for the reg gas nozzle. I stopped him and told him that I was at the diesel pump and he can see the word Diesel ONLY can't he. Afterwards muttering to myself
I recalled being told some 60 plus years ago that people would be better off if they
engaged their brains before getting out of bed.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by wb7auk

While making a tour of Oregon I pulled into a station the other day and the attendant
came out and asked how much and what did I need. Now I was parked at the diesel
pump and printed in large letters on the fuel inlet was the word Diesel only.
I told the attendant diesel and to fill it up and much to my surprise he started to reach for the reg gas nozzle. I stopped him and told him that I was at the diesel pump and he can see the word Diesel ONLY can't he. Afterwards muttering to myself
I recalled being told some 60 plus years ago that people would be better off if they
engaged their brains before getting out of bed.

But Oregon state law requires that a "professional" pump fuel because we can't be trusted.

Rick

[Horizonchase]

Originally Posted by EMD_Driver

It doesn't only happen at those two gas stations... My girlfriend took her F350 to Flying J for some diesel. A friend was there and they struck up a conversation. While talking, she grabbed the gas nozzle by mistake. By the time she realized what she had done, she had put 12 gallons of gas in the tank!

Not knowing any better and thinking it wouldn't hurt, she started the truck and pulled it up about 50 feet. It was a 2005 truck, with the electric fuel pump. She then had it towed home. It took me three hours to drain the tank and attempt to purge the fuel lines. After putting 10 gallons of diesel in the tank, I attempted to start the truck. Even with the lines purged and fresh diesel in the tank, it was 15 grueling minutes, before it finally ran right.

The only good thing to come from the ordeal, was that I was able to put the gas/diesel mix in my own truck (1993 F250 IDI diesel) and it ran great on it! The owner's manual for the F250 even stated that they recommended putting some gas in the tank, during the cold winter months.

Hey actually suggested that you add gas to your diesel fuel in the cold winter months?

[HD4Mark]

Originally Posted by RickO

But Oregon state law requires that a "professional" pump fuel because we can't be trusted.

Rick

I think New Jersey is the same. Creates a lot of jobs though.

Getting gas by mistake is one of those things I fret about too since it is a mistake that would be easy to do. I must look ten times at the label that says ultra low sulfur or #2 diesel before letting it rip.

Yes, there should be some kind of color code. Ever notice the electronic highway price signs are almost always red for gas and green for diesel? Sounds like a plan for the pump handles. The pump itself at Hess stations around here seem to be orange if it is any help.

It's not hard to tell after fueling up if you got diesel since my hands smell like it for hours even after scrubbing them.

[Melmoses]

The yellow handle which is a new color seems to be the bio-diesel color. By higher level I mean greater than 2%. Several people have been having problems with bio-diesel - another thing you have to watch for, not just the handle color. Scary these days! I did some research and found that B-2 diesel is 2% bio-diesel, 98% diesel and it does not have to be labeled on the pump. Anything higher than B-2 has to be labeled as such and it can run up to 20% bio-diesel. Without going into a long story - avoid anything higher than B-2 - if you see a label run before you put that diesel in your MH. It causes crud to loosen in your tank and the station's tanks and will clog the fuel filters. It does it in just a few minutes. Stranded on the side of the road trying to change fuel filters is not a fun experience. Pilot and Flying J's have been mentioned on another forum as a source so watch for the labels!

[djbmsu]

Here is the cost result of my blunder yesterday. I called two companies the first said they could come to the coach and pump out the entire content and then refill it with diesel fuel and additives. The second company said it had to be towed to their shop where the tank would have to be removed and all the fuel lines purged then re installed and filled with new diesel fuel. His estimate was $1,450.00 He stated that pumping out the contaminated fuel would not get it all because there was NO WAY it coule be pumped ALL out. I ended up contracting the first firm that guarenteed they do this for a living and that his system registers every drop removed from the tank and as long as I had NOT turned on the key to start the fuel pump that all of the gas was still in the tank. Their total charge to remove 80.4 gallons of fuel was $250.00 including disposal per EPA and included treatment for the new diesel fuel.
Interesting also was that the totally empty100 gal. tank now filled to the top took 105.5 gallons of fuel.
I will now double check myself when stopping for fuel.

[grafxman]

Originally Posted by djbmsu

Interesting also was that the totally empty100 gal. tank now filled to the top took 105.5 gallons of fuel.
I will now double check myself when stopping for fuel.

Perhaps they are taking a lesson from the crooks in GA just north of Jacksonville. They set their pumps to pump 4 gal and 3 quarts but indicate and charge for 5 gallons. They also paid off the state inspector.

[Horizonchase]

Originally Posted by djbmsu

Here is the cost result of my blunder yesterday. I called two companies the first said they could come to the coach and pump out the entire content and then refill it with diesel fuel and additives. The second company said it had to be towed to their shop where the tank would have to be removed and all the fuel lines purged then re installed and filled with new diesel fuel. His estimate was $1,450.00 He stated that pumping out the contaminated fuel would not get it all because there was NO WAY it coule be pumped ALL out. I ended up contracting the first firm that guarenteed they do this for a living and that his system registers every drop removed from the tank and as long as I had NOT turned on the key to start the fuel pump that all of the gas was still in the tank. Their total charge to remove 80.4 gallons of fuel was $250.00 including disposal per EPA and included treatment for the new diesel fuel.
Interesting also was that the totally empty100 gal. tank now filled to the top took 105.5 gallons of fuel.
I will now double check myself when stopping for fuel.

Glad you went with the first firm. It pays to shop around.

[Dunner]

Originally Posted by RickO

So.... what would have happened if he hadn't noticed and just started down the road? Obviously it would have been very bad but would it be fire and brimstone bad... like in the engine catching fire or worse?

Rick

Very basically a diesel engine runs by detonation. Diesel fuel burns very slowly. Gasoline burns very fast. It would ignite the gasoline much sooner than the diesel fuel and would be much worse than detonation and ping in a gasoline engine. Think of it as the timing being very advanced. Compare it to running 5 octane in a gasoline engine.

"Gasoline is formulated to resist auto-ignition in a spark engine, but gasoline introduced into a diesel engine will ignite at the wrong time causing severe detonation. Though diesel engine reciprocating components (pistons, wrist pins and connecting rods) are built to withstand enormous explosive force, the shock wave effects of uncontrolled detonation can easily destroy them."

I don't remember the formula, but in an extreme emergency, you can use gasoline and motor oil to power a diesel engine. I think it is something like 3 quarts of motor oil to a gallon of gasoline.

[burfurd]

On a trip to Colorado several years ago, some of the other guys accidentally pumped gasoline into a diesel truck and didn't notice it. We drove about 3 or 4 miles to a restaurant to eat dinner that afternoon and the guy driving the truck remarked that his truck had started running rough and just quit as we pulled into the parking lot. After some receipt searching, found out what had happened and we drained the tank in the parking lot and went and purchased some diesel to put in the tank.

After bleeding the lines, got the truck started with no lasting problems. Didn't even hurt the turbo.

burfurd