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Keeping spare petrol in the boot of my car?

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  • hartcjhart
    hartcjhart Posts: 9,463 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    show off:rotfl:
    I :love: MOJACAR
  • anewman
    anewman Posts: 9,200 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Do they call that low chops per gallon?

    I remember once seeing a woman pouring a clear liquid that I assume was petrol from a petrol can into an empty 2 litre coke bottle :o

    Keep your car's built-in tank topped up and it should be fine :)
  • cajef
    cajef Posts: 6,283 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    aardvaak wrote: »
    Core! you are lucky once a year for your lawn mower I have to use the whole 5 litres to cut my lawn once!


    Buy a 10 litre can, then you can cut it twice before having to fill up.:D
  • moonrakerz
    moonrakerz Posts: 8,650 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    hartcjhart wrote: »
    ELF AND SAFETY ELF AND SAFETY!!!

    the chance of an explosion is very very small,

    Until someone drives into the back of you at the traffic lights ! just about the most common accident on the roads.

    Not ELF & SAFETY - just common sense !
  • hartcjhart
    hartcjhart Posts: 9,463 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Moonraker says
    Until someone drives into the back of you at the traffic lights ! just about the most common accident on the roads.

    Not ELF & SAFETY - just common sense !

    reply, there are probably thousands of accidents like that a day involving cars with petrol cans in the boot and they dont explode into flames.

    I say again there is no great danger keeping a can of fuel in the boot,
    the chance of a can exploding is hundreds of thousands to one due to an accident
    I :love: MOJACAR
  • deltic_2
    deltic_2 Posts: 164 Forumite
    hartcjhart wrote: »
    I say again there is no great danger keeping a can of fuel in the boot,
    the chance of a can exploding is hundreds of thousands to one due to an accident

    Let's hope you are not the one...because you will never know.

    Strapping it in will give it very little protection from movement in the event of a 1.5 tonne car hitting you at 30mph in the rear. The forces are immense.

    If it is that safe to carry, why does the law limit you to only carrying 5 litres ? That 5 litre allowance is only really there to allow personal transportation of fuel for small items such as lawn mowers etc for short periods of time or distances, more than it is for refueling your car.

    There is no excuse for not keeping enough fuel in your car at all times.
  • Stephen_Leak
    Stephen_Leak Posts: 8,762 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I've been doing some more "Googling" and came up with this ...

    "
    In addition to the normal amount in a vehicles fuel tank, the Petroleum Spirit (Motor Vehicle) Regulations currently allow up to 30 litres of petroleum spirit to be permanently stored in a vehicle or in its normal domestic garage. This storage must be in suitable containers as follows: 2 x 10 litre in metal containers plus 2 x 5 litres in plastic containers."

    The plastic containers must comply with the
    Petroleum Spirit (Plastic Containers) Regulations.
    The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in my life. :)
  • Wig
    Wig Posts: 14,139 Forumite
    All the doom and gloomers out in force again I see. A petrol can in the back of a car with the cap on securely will be no hazard what-so-ever, at least no more of a hazard that the whopping great (thin) plastic/metal tank strapped underneath your car.

    The nanny state uses it as an excuse to stop us from bringing cheaper fuel in from countries/territories by Ferry or Channel tunnel. (petrol is 50p ish litre on Guernsey and the customs make a point of asking drivers if they have any extra fuel onboard, which they would confiscate using god knows what law, no doubt use it to top up their own vehicles.)


    To the OP, I sometimes drive with a can in the boot, usually when I don't want to fill up but in the event that I do run out I know I will not be stuck. I suggest you do the same. When your tank is full or greater than 1/4 tank there is no need for the spare can, under a 1/4 tank by all means keep a full 5 litres. Don't worry about it "going off" it certainly isn't going to "go off" The only fuel I have known to "go off" is a 2 stroke mix using Stihl 50:1 oil - the instructions say not to use old fuel mixes, I didn't understand why my chainsaw wasn't starting, I changed the fuel to a new mix and it started straight away. This must have been something to do with the 2 stroke oil. But clean unadulterated petrol will not "go off" and I have never known it to "go off" and I have used old petrol a lot in my time.

    Mrbadexample's experience of a fatigue failure of a petrol can has to be a rare event and may have been caused by the container not being a modern type.

    The reason I advise only keeping it in the boot when you really need it, is not for fear of accidents, it is because these containers do leak a small amout of vapour into the car, and whilst this is not a problem with the windows down a bit, it is noticeable when you get into the car, so just for the sake of your car smelling nice and the air you breathe inside the car, only take a can with you when you are running low.
  • moonrakerz
    moonrakerz Posts: 8,650 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    To go back to the OP - why do you need to carry petrol in the boot of your car on a regular basis ???????
    There is NO reason to run out of petrol !!!
  • hartcjhart
    hartcjhart Posts: 9,463 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    perhaps coz fuel guages can go wrong:confused:
    I :love: MOJACAR
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