Filling up jerry cans at Tesco petrol station 21 November 2012 at 12:21AM in Praise, Vent & Warnings 10 replies 35.2K views

ice_babe

We wanted to make the most of the 50p of a litre vouchers at Tescos. My brother filled up the car and started to fill up a 20l jerry can (hubby was helping an old lady who was having trouble with her pump). The guy from the petrol station came out and said they were breaking the law by filling up the jerry can and was going to confiscate it. Then started going on about how hes a police constable and if he got pulled over his car would be crushed. And he would let them use it this time but he could report them ect. Hubby went over to see what all the fuss is about and he walked off. When my brother went in to pay he then said he would only accept 4 out of the 5 10p off vouchers as he had filled up a can! What a jobsworth, he cant make up his own rules regarding the vouchers can he :mad:

maninthestreet

So this was an off-duty PC moon-lighting at Tescos??

Mrs_Ryan

He could be a special...

ice_babe

maninthestreet wrote: »

So this was an off-duty PC moon-lighting at Tescos??

Looks like hes a wana be policeman :eek:
I always avoid him on the checkout as once I had to wait ages while he was chatting to a young girl in front of me then tried to chat me up and all i wanted to do was pay and leave, I was wearing my work uniform (well known electrical retailer) and he was trying to impress me by telling me all the items hes bought from the company i work for. hes old enough to be my dad :eek:

Really tempted to make a complaint.

ice_babe

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

He could be a special...

I think thats what he said.

My poor little brother looked a bit worried when he said that the police would take his car as well as the petrol. He cant threaten to get someones car crushed though lol

paddedjohn

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

He could be a special...

He certainly sounds it.;)

tattycath

sounds like he's 'special' (roll eyes)

tattycath

tattycath wrote: »

sounds like he's 'special' (roll eyes)

paddedjohn wrote: »

He certainly sounds it.;)

cross posted :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

heretolearn_2

Actually, although he didn't explain things very well, he was right. It's illegal now to use the old 20l jerry cans.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17548007

redux

heretolearn wrote: »

Actually, although he didn't explain things very well, he was right. It's illegal now to use the old 20l jerry cans.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17548007

Not necessarily, and perhaps that BBC article could be improved.

There are rules about the carriage of fuel, mainly about labelling and hazard notices, but they don't apply to domestic situations. There is no ban on using 20 litre steel containers known as jerry cans for transport.

The regulations specify limits of maximum sizes of 10 litre steel and 5 litre plastic cans for storing petrol at home, and a maximum of two of each.

The restrictions are not as strict for the storage of diesel, as it's less dangerous

http://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/petroleum-faqs.htm

Excerpts:

How should I store diesel and what quantity am I allowed?

There are no specific legal requirements on how to store diesel or the quantity allowed either in workplaces or domestic premises. It is not, from a health and safety point of view, a particularly hazardous substance within the meaning of the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 - its vapour flash point is too high. This means that its vapour will not ignite at normal room temperatures.

How many containers can I fill at a petrol station?

Petrol filling stations may have their own internal policy on the types and numbers of containers they are prepared to fill - frequently one or two 5 litre plastic and/or one or two 10 litre metal. This is a decision made by the filling station operator and is not a legal requirement.

Petrol filling stations usually have to abide by a licence condition to allow only 'suitable' containers to be filled. This is usually interpreted as metal containers up to a maximum size of 23 litres or plastic containers up to a maximum size of 5 litres. A licence condition has the same effect as a legal requirement. The licence condition does not limit how many containers one customer may fill.

So if someone wants to fill cans with diesel, then in theory 20 litre steel cans are permissible, with any restriction depending only on the filling station policy, which is not a legal matter.

If petrol, then it is illegal to store the large cans within a certain distance of a house, or in a vehicle close to the house [see other parts of that document]. But to be pedantic it is not necessarily illegal to fill them, albeit they must be stored legally.

ice_babe

Thats interesting, The law isnt very clear at all

All the guy needed to do was explain this to us. Didnt need to threaten us ect.

We went actually going to store the fuel. The promotion at the moment for 50p of a litre, you can buy up to 100l. As we have 2 cars and they only let you fill up up we filled up one can and wanted to fill up some cans for the other car. We managed to fill up 6 5l cans in the summer no problem and thought it would be a better idea to fill up 1 large one rather than lots of little ones