on the way to sydney from melb i ran my auto diesel out of fuel to see how far it would go after the light come on it was 130 km i was sitting on 120 km at the time i had to prime the little pump on top of the fuel filter to get it to start and it took about 500 m to run ok

[marvy]

Interestingly the manual for the car specifies that you should not "top off" the tank -

If pressurized fuel sprays out, it can cover your clothes or skin
and thus subject you to the risk of fire and burns. Always remove
the fuel cap carefully and slowly. If the cap is venting fuel or if you
hear a hissing sound, wait until the condition stops before completely
removing the cap.
• Do not "top off" after the nozzle automatically shuts off when refueling.
• Always check that the fuel cap is installed securely to prevent fuel spillage in the event of an accident.

[Dazzler]

Hi again Marvy..

I don't go to the extemes of filling of some members here but If you squeeze a bit extra in( a few more litres)  after it clicks off it makes it a lot easier to get to the magic 1000 km to the tankful (in the Diesel anyway) and reduces the number of visits to the bowser which has to be a good thing..

Haven't heard of any safety issues doing this on this site (so far anyway- touch wood) Think all the members who do this are pretty careful...

I'm not an authority but this safety message would apply without doubt to petroleum fuelled cars. Petrol fumes mix freely with air at normal temperatures and are explosive! If not contained they are, at the least, highly flamable and will burn you seriously. Ask any idiot who has tried to start a camp-fire with petrol and has come to grief with the fumes that filled their sleeve as it was dripped ever so carefully from the jerry-can.

Diesel on the other hand is far less volatile and I would be surprised if you could start a decent fire with it even if you tried.

However, I would still advise against "topping off" diesel if only to avoid any "blow-back" which can coat you and your clothes with this most foul smelling oil which because of its low volatility will not evaporate but remain with you until you can have a good wash!

[marvy]

Diesel on the other hand is far less volatile and I would be surprised if you could start a decent fire with it even if you tried.

Actually Diesel is the firebugs fuel of choice for the very reason you mentioned. As it doesn't have a very high flash point it doesn't have as much vapor in air and hence is less likely to explode. It does however burn extremely well once ignited. Many a camp fire has been lit with a cup of diesel from the 4wd when out camping.

[2i30s]

Interestingly the manual for the car specifies that you should not "top off" the tank -

If pressurized fuel sprays out, it can cover your clothes or skin
and thus subject you to the risk of fire and burns. Always remove
the fuel cap carefully and slowly. If the cap is venting fuel or if you
hear a hissing sound, wait until the condition stops before completely
removing the cap.
• Do not "top off" after the nozzle automatically shuts off when refueling.
• Always check that the fuel cap is installed securely to prevent fuel spillage in the event of an accident.

my user manual says the same thing,but our cars are both petrol engines.

[marvy]

I have experienced a strong diesel smeel in the car first thing in the morining from overfilling. Not pleasant.

I was wondering about that. Many cars have pipes from tank that suck up fuel vapors, return unused fuel to the tank and also emergency pressure release etc. I know that in older cars, if you over filled the tanks some of the additional fuel would be wasted.

Another point to think about is that fuel does expand when it gets hot. When you fill your car from an underground tank, the fuel is generally quite cool. Once this is transferred to your tank in the sun, it will get very hot and it will expand. I imagine that if you fill your tank to the extreme this could be a problem although I have never heard of an exploding fuel tank caused by this. I would imagine the excess fuel just gets dumped somehow.

my user manual says the same thing,but our cars are both petrol engines.

I believe the manual is the same for petrol and diesel and for different size engines.

[Dazzler]

All valid points Marvy but I get the impression diesel doesn't expand as much as petrol and most of us that top up to various extents usually have some distance to drive to get home straight after or do it on the way to longer trips

I have had a little bit of oily residue appear around my filler cap but some of the guys who fill to the brim wouldn't get the amazing range (1200 to 1400 kms) in their diesels if much was spilling out...

It seems to be mainly the diesel owners doing it.. It is just so handy to be able to go these vast distances without refilling when you have a long trip planned. Several of our guys have driven from South Australia to Qld or Vic to Qld with only one or two refuelling of their diesels....

[2i30s]

the manuals should,i say should,be two different books,but obviously are the same. my cousin drives a fuel tanker and tells me the fuel is usually warm when the tanker is filled at the refinery,and its usually still warm when he unloads at the petrol station.

[marvy]

my cousin drives a fuel tanker and tells me the fuel is usually warm when the tanker is filled at the refinery,and its usually still warm when he unloads at the petrol station.

Off topic alert - Yes I have heard the same thing. Many fuel vendors get upset because they pay the tanker for a full tank of "hot" fuel. Then the fuel cools underground and is reduced in volume. They then sell it to the consumer "cool" so they can't sell as many litres as they initially purchased so they lose money. Good for the customer as you can generally get a little more fuel. Probably pays (slightly) to fuel up in the morning rather then the afternoon.

[Dazzler]

There was a thread on here somewhere referring to an email I got last year about refuelling and it turns out a lot of it was hype (bull****) according to Snipes...

[2i30s]

There was a thread on here somewhere referring to an email I got last year about refuelling and it turns out a lot of it was hype (bull****) according to Snipes...

[Rodin]

Another example of Hyundai being generous:

"Let's design the car with a 53 litre tank, but give enough room for people to fit in an extra 5 or 6 litres if they want"

Genius.

[Dazzler]

Another example of Hyundai being generous:

"Let's design the car with a 53 litre tank, but give enough room for people to fit in an extra 5 or 6 litres if they want"

Genius.

   

Priceless...

[whitbomb07]

Well I've fitted 58.3lts in before and I didn't push the car to the servo!

Although who knows if the pump was properley calibrated, I've regularly gotten 56-57 in, today got 55.8 (with 70 showing on the DTE)

I've set my Scan Gauge to consider the tank to be 60lts.

Regards

Daniel

[LuciferDarklord]

I have experienced a strong diesel smeel in the car first thing in the morining from overfilling. Not pleasant.

I was wondering about that. Many cars have pipes from tank that suck up fuel vapors, return unused fuel to the tank and also emergency pressure release etc. I know that in older cars, if you over filled the tanks some of the additional fuel would be wasted.

Another point to think about is that fuel does expand when it gets hot. When you fill your car from an underground tank, the fuel is generally quite cool. Once this is transferred to your tank in the sun, it will get very hot and it will expand. I imagine that if you fill your tank to the extreme this could be a problem although I have never heard of an exploding fuel tank caused by this. I would imagine the excess fuel just gets dumped somehow.

my user manual says the same thing,but our cars are both petrol engines.

I believe the manual is the same for petrol and diesel and for different size engines.

I'm no ex[ert, but i think the liquid petrol and diesel would expand at about the same rate when heated, and not by very much (only a few %).  Petrol on the other hand has a higher vapour pressure at ambient temps, so its the vapour that would be causing the pressure and issues with spilling and swelling the tank once you start moving and have petrol swilling around in the tank, not the liquid itself.  I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to top a diesel up so much as to get the liquid to expand and damage the tank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapor_pressure

I've seen someone throw a lit cigarette butt into a bucket of diesel and it was like throwing it into a bucket of water.  If however diesel is spread out thinly, put on wood or cloth etc it is still very flammable and burns longer than petrol.