Trouble pumping gas

[Ronald M]

Off topic except that we mostly all use cars to get to photo shots.

I been having trouble putting gas into my 1983 Oldsmobile station wagon. I put in 1/3 gallon and the pump quits and gas has foamed up the filler neck.
Restarted the thing 50 times for a 10 gal fill up. Different Shell station , same thing.

Yesterday my son told me his in-laws bought a new Saturn some time back and went to class on the car. Surprised this savy gentleman would go, but he learned one thing. If you get foam and quitting and gas backs up, it means the station tanks are low and they are pumping the crud and water from the bottom of the tank. Their advice was to simply stop ASAP and leave. You do not want this fuel.

i see why this is happening. Keeping the tank full means increased inventory cost to he station to the detriment of the customer. My theory anyway. The other was fact.

Same thing if you see a delivery tanker there. The new load has stirred up the tank contents. Do not stop.

 

[oftheherd]

Interesting. I had never heard that before. Hopefully your 83 won't be effected too badly. I usually only go to the high volume stations like Wawa and Sheetz. Not only are the usually less expensive, but they have a sufficiently high turnover that you are less likely to get old gas. As to water and crud, all tanks collect that as those things settle out. Periodically they must be drained or pumped clear. They should follow a schedule and test in between. Some may not.

 

[robklurfield]

perhaps you need to use a pump from the same period as the car...😀

 

[Ronald M]

I inherited it. No rust. Runs like my new car, carrys more photogear, 92,000 mostly highway on it.

I replaced the tires, brakes, exhaust, tune up, alternator, water pump, radiator, hoses.

I have run it 7 years for $4000. Can you claim that?

Plus it is so old I do not need emissions checks anymore.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Off topic except that we mostly all use cars to get to photo shots.

I been having trouble putting gas into my 1983 Oldsmobile station wagon. I put in 1/3 gallon and the pump quits and gas has foamed up the filler neck.
Restarted the thing 50 times for a 10 gal fill up. Different Shell station , same thing.

Yesterday my son told me his in-laws bought a new Saturn some time back and went to class on the car. Surprised this savy gentleman would go, but he learned one thing. If you get foam and quitting and gas backs up, it means the station tanks are low and they are pumping the crud and water from the bottom of the tank. Their advice was to simply stop ASAP and leave. You do not want this fuel.

i see why this is happening. Keeping the tank full means increased inventory cost to he station to the detriment of the customer. My theory anyway. The other was fact.

Same thing if you see a delivery tanker there. The new load has stirred up the tank contents. Do not stop.

I am less than convinced. Gasoline formulation varies from time to time (costs, time of year). Some formulations foam more than others. The fact that it was TWO Shell stations argues in favour of this.

Source: former director of petroleum testing lab. Next time I speak to him I'll pump him (as it were) more carefully about this exact question. From the same source and others (and from personal experience): you may actually get slightly better mileage out of the more expensive fuel, because of differences in formulation. Whether the better mileage outstrips the extra cost, or indeed experimental variation, is another matter. With my BMW R100RS, I think it may, but not with my old Land Rover.

But from personal experience: anyone who runs an old car and does their own maintenance is likely to use petrol (gasoline) from time to time for cleaning dirty components. Ever noticed how fast stuff settles out of dirty gasoline?

I'm not saying I'm right. I'm just saying that I've never heard this in my whole life (I'm 60) from any reputable mechanic or petroleum tester. This may merely indicate that I've never been listening hard enough, or have never asked the right questions. But as I say, I'd want confirmation before I believe this.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ronald M]

Theory confirmed.

Went to a new station today and did a 5 gallon top off at full speed. Worked perfectly.

These kinds of problems do not self fix.

Yes Roger, I am 68 and never heard of it either.

 

[whatever]

I'm paying $3.25 per gallon in California, the only thing foaming is me.

 

[-doomed-]

Interesting. I had never heard that before. Hopefully your 83 won't be effected too badly. I usually only go to the high volume stations like Wawa and Sheetz. Not only are the usually less expensive, but they have a sufficiently high turnover that you are less likely to get old gas. As to water and crud, all tanks collect that as those things settle out. Periodically they must be drained or pumped clear. They should follow a schedule and test in between. Some may not.

Wawa gas is iffy on the quality. I've run the premium through a few cars until I got a really nasty batch. It played hell on my normally quick car, I suspect it had picked up a bit of water somehow. It ran like garbage for a few days until I burned through it. On the upside, that little bit of water cleans quite a bit of garbage out of the cylinders, it really gets the carbon out.
I haven't gone back to that station since.