wrong fuel (Petrol in a diesel tank)

Marktheshark

You will notice it when you run low, they do not mix very well.

SailorSam

In the old days ...... (what do i sound like)
In the old days, 'cos it was common for diesel to freeze in the winter, lorry drivers and taxi drivers would often put a gallon of petrol in before filling the tank with diesel. These days diesel have all sorts of additives in it to stop it freezing.
But a bit of petrol will do no harm.

vaio

force_ten wrote: »

when the car is parked up the petrol will float to the top of the diesel tank, when you start driving again it will start to mix in again and will slowly be dispersed into the diesel fuel

the fact that petrol floats on top of the diesel it will keep it away from the fuel pick up point in the tank and it will eventually mixed in with the diesel and used up.....

Really? I'd have thought that once they were mixed they would stay mixed.

If they don't then surely the old lorry driver trick of adding patrol to diesel to stop wax formation wouldn't work

roonaldo

It wont do any harm, regularly keep topping with diesel to be sure

force_ten

vaio wrote: »

Really? I'd have thought that once they were mixed they would stay mixed.

If they don't then surely the old lorry driver trick of adding patrol to diesel to stop wax formation wouldn't work

the two fuels mix very well together and so it should not be a problem whilst the vehicle was moving thus stirring the tanks

but i was under the impression that once parked the two fuels would start to separate over time, my apologies if i am wrong

Robisere

force_ten wrote: »

the two fuels mix very well together and so it should not be a problem whilst the vehicle was moving thus stirring the tanks

but i was under the impression that once parked the two fuels would start to separate over time, my apologies if i am wrong

No you are not wrong. Mixed, they form a Colloid, not a solution. A colloid consists of dissimilar particles in suspension, a solution consists of materials dissolved in fluids. Over time, the two fuels will separate, that's when problems begin. But, as has been said, a small amount will be OK. I once worked as a workshop foreman in a garage business that also hired vehicles. A customer ignored verbal warnings and the words "DIESEL ONLY" across the dashboard and filler cap, filling a minibus with petrol. Drove a few miles, had to be recovered. My boss and I had to drain the tank, blow out all pipes, fit a new fuel filter and leave overnight. Next morning we filled it with diesel, started it up and left the workshop, leaving both doors open. Huge cloud of white smoke, after 10 minutes it cleared, no further problems.

Completely ruined my weekend!:mad: