Keeping spare petrol in the boot of my car?

jeannieblue

No, thank you for this thread - it has made for a most entertaining read - please post again! and if you look hard enough, your answer is in there somewhere!

peter999

alibongo42 wrote: »

I'm almost sorry I asked now!

That'll teach you Bingo-Bongo. :rotfl:

The end of the world is nigh !!

peter999

snails's_pace

do the breakdown companies not carry petrol on board their wagons for call-outs?...like when someone runs out of fuel?
and if so then whats the difference between them and you or i carrying a spare can in the car?

deltic_2

You all make me laugh so much. How difficult is it to keep enough fuel in your car for a journey and plan for basic contingencies and filling up in between journies

You certainly don't need a degree, or a fuel can to do that...do you ??

Stephen_Leak

deltic wrote: »

You all make me laugh so much. How difficult is it to keep enough fuel in your car for a journey and plan for basic contingencies and filling up in between journies

You certainly don't need a degree, or a fuel can to do that...do you ??

:mad: Look, I don't live anywhere near a filling station, leave alone a 24 hour one. I usually fill up at the ASDA near to where I work. Even if the warning light comes on when I'm already driving home, I know that I have enough "range" to fill up after work the next day. For the overwhelming majority of the time, this system works just fine.

However ... After I get home, I then sometimes get an unexpected call from my daughter or somebody else and I have to go back out again out urgently. Of course, Sod's Law dictates that this will always happen when the tank is low. I don't have time to do a detour to the nearest filling station. As the route to my daughter's is rural, there are no filling stations on or near it. And I haven't got a garage to keep the spare fuel in either.

Therefore, I keep 5 litres in an approved plastic can in my boot, just in case.

Rant over. I feel so much better now. Nurse!

Wig

deltic wrote: »

You all make me laugh so much. How difficult is it to keep enough fuel in your car for a journey and plan for basic contingencies and filling up in between journies

You certainly don't need a degree, or a fuel can to do that...do you ??

Another one, who can't understand that there are occasions when you deliberately run low. Those people who do this do plan ahead by having a 5 litre reserve in their garage at home which they put into the car boot and take it with them on those occasions,

You don't need an English degree to be able to read this thread.

epninety

I think this thread has got pretty pointless, but that's not going to stop me sticking my oar in :rolleyes:

If it suits your situation to carry spare fuel, then do so - it's perfectly safe if you are sensible. Strap your can down so it can't move about, and keep it filled whenever possible. Liquid petrol burns, but vapour is explosive.

My daily journey to work is 45 miles each way, on A roads. without detouring, there are 24hr filling stations at each end, and one in the middle open only to 10pm. My car has a range of approx 230 miles on a tank. So I fill up about twice every three days. The margin for error is small. If I forget to fill up when starting or ending the journey I can make it to the 'middle' station, but not much use if coming home late.
No 'low fuel' warning light means it's easy to forget.

My other favourite mistake is dash out in the morning and forget my wallet - I keep a twenty hidden in the car to cover this one...

In the last 4 years (about 120k miles), I've used the can in my car about 4 times. Twice I have actually run out, both times while on my way to a petrol station. Twice I've used the can just for 'peace of mind' - avoiding the need to break the journey, or watch the gauge too closely. Very useful when towing a big heavy trailer which can be a PITA in a small, busy petrol station.

Lots of things I could do to change the situation - I could buy a different car, I could fit a 'low fuel' warning light, I could sell my house and move closer to work. I choose to simply carry spare fuel!:D

vikingaero

epninety wrote: »

My other favourite mistake is dash out in the morning and forget my wallet - I keep a twenty hidden in the car to cover this one...

I have a "condom carrier" on my keyring. It's basically 2 metal halves of a tube that screw together. Inside I roll up 3 x £20 notes because I'm a numpty and I always forget my wallet and don't want all the hassle of filling in forms at petrol stations.

People do operate in an irrational manor though. We got flagged down once on some country roads in the middle of the night. The couple wanted a lift to the nearest petrol station. After talking they said they were on a night out in Eastbourne and that on the start of their journey the low fuel warning light came on. So that was 30 miles to Easbourne and 30 miles back. I picked them up about 10 miles out of Eastbourne. How crazy must you be not to work out that you've got a gallon left and the car only does 30-40mpg.

Wig

vikingaero wrote: »

People do operate in an irrational manor though. We got flagged down once on some country roads in the middle of the night. The couple wanted a lift to the nearest petrol station. After talking they said they were on a night out in Eastbourne and that on the start of their journey the low fuel warning light came on. So that was 30 miles to Easbourne and 30 miles back. I picked them up about 10 miles out of Eastbourne. How crazy must you be not to work out that you've got a gallon left and the car only does 30-40mpg.

I hope you use some thread lock on that condom cannister <<< never seen one of those!

I'll agree the couple should've filled up at the earliest opportunity, whilst they were in Eastbourne no doubt.. but not all cars have one gallon left, some cars can have 2 gallons left and able to do 100 miles on the red light. Which is why I like to test any new car I have to find out what the range is in the red.

I'll bet the driver of the couple was getting an ear bashing from the other half

peter999

epninety wrote: »

I think this thread has got pretty pointless, but that's not going to stop me sticking my oar in :rolleyes:

Wig wrote: »

Which is why I like to test any new car I have to find out what the range is in the red.

The moral of the story is that everyone needs to run out of petrol to test the low warning range, hopefully they'll have thought to have a petrol can in the boot ready with some petrol. :rotfl:

peter999