So... this is going to be a wonderful Monday, judging by the start.


There is a Conoco station that is about 3/4 of the way on my trip to work in the morning that has 100% premium. The mileage the display said I had left on the tank gave me about a 5 mile cushion, so I thought I would be good. Pulling off the highway with about a mile to go mostly downhill, The display read ___.__ remaining. I was able to make it to the station, fortunately.


I started the pump and it was extremely slow, so slow I was able to watch the tenth's of gallons tick by. I stopped it and restarted a couple of times, but it didn't speed it up. Being a bit chilly out, I sat back in the car.


Another car had pulled up to the pumps a few minutes after I had started pumping. I heard a few thumping sounds in quick succession that were similar to sound the pump shutting off makes. I figured it was the other car topping off, but figured I should check my progress.

I got out of the car and found a puddle of gas on the ground. I immediately shut off the pump and went to get the attendant. He refunded a gallon's worth of gas while I grabbed some paper towels to wipe up what I could. The pool of gas at the fill tube had drained and I sealed it up and drove the 5 remaining miles to work.


I know there is a danger of fouling the charcoal evap canister from frequent topping off. Is it likely that one overfill would cause saturation of the charcoal canister? Is there anything I can do to minimize any damage this may have caused?


Thanks.

 

The real danger is getting in and out of the car while pumping fuel, reaching for the nozzle, drawing a static electricity arc and starting a Monday morning BBQ. There are almost always signs on the pumps that warn against getting back into the car and out again which does create the charge. Ever get out of the car on a cold winter's day, reach for the door handle and get zapped?
Static electricity can easily reach levels as high and more often higher than 20,000 volts. That is enough to spoil the whole day. Also, it is not the gasoline that ignites but the vapors present at the tank hatch. So, don't do that again and enjoy a few more days of motoring.

 

Most self pumps have to keep the trigger pressed to keep it going, did you stick the cap in the pump handle ?

If not, document the lack of auto shut off function, the irregularities of the pump, your purchase by keeping the dated slip and notify their local FD as this is a very dangerous situation. The pump should be turned off until it's been repaired.

Taking some steps now with proper documentation will help should you incur a financial loss.

 

Yikes! I guess my morning could have been much worse. I was lucky that it was mid forties with moisture in the air. Definitely will not do that again and will watch the nozzle as it is fueling up. The thought of trashing my emissions system and facing an expensive repair wrongly crowded out the thoughts about blowing myself up.


I haven't been topping up, so is it likely that I'll get more than a few days of motoring without throwing a code, or maybe not throwing a code at all?

 

I think there had to be something wrong with the pump since it was pumping at a rate where I could easily see the 100th's of a gallon spin by (I was wrong in my original post about that point). I definitely messed up in trusting the auto shut off at the pump.


I have the receipt showing 13.782 gallons and MINI on Track says that it holds approximately 13.2. I didn't snap any cell phone pictures, which given the situation, may not have been a wise idea anyway. Is there anything else I should try to get?

 

99% chance it will be fine.....
Imo just take the LONG way home....burn a bit more gas....my guess is the faster you lower the level...the less chance of an issue you will HAVE....so maybe drive an extra 25 miles.....
And buy gas someplace else (even just a different pump) next time!!
Don't worry or obsess about someing already done that you have no control over....

 

I was kinda thinking about taking a spirited run at lunch time today to get the level down, your suggestion just sealed the idea for me. Good excuse to have some fun, eh?


Thanks, Zippy. The reassurance helps.

 

clogged fuel filter in pump line causes that. Means they have probably sucked stuff from the bottom of their tank. I'd avoid that station.

And I don't think there is any documented cases of static discharges causing a fire. And gasoline does not burn, only the vapors. I know myth busters tried using a cell phone to set off a fire and it did not happen, proving that the don't use your cell phone while pumping was wrong.

 

after u do take a drive to burn a bit of it off, i might open and close to gas cap, just to reset the pressure maybe

 

This convo sparked a memory of not that long ago where the auto shut of nozzle failed and a little fuel belched out onto the ground. That didn't upset me as much as the spilled fuel bleaching the black trim under the hatch. I did speak to the attendant inside about the shut off failure. Nothin' works right forever.

 

Might be the case up in the Northeren states. Not so down here. very few full service stations where you don't pump your own and 99.9% have the auto cutoff. I remember how freaked out the attendants were when I would drive my Vette to NJ and insisted on pumping my own. I don't trust every jackleg to pump my gas, especially with the gas fill located in the middle of the rear deck. Wouldn't have a problem with it on the Mini though.

 

Ugh... this was at a Conoco station, supposedly a "Top Tier" station, but I guess some stations are better than others. This one offers 100% premium on all pumps, so you'd think they were trying to cater to a more discriminating driver especially since it is the most expensive fuel around. What kind of crap did I just fill my baby with?


I am a little ignorant of how the actual pumping mechanism works. I can see the clogged pump line filter causing the painfully slow pumping, but would it affect the auto shutoff also?

 

I've had that happen. The pump not shutting off even though I was there controlling it. When told the gas station guy was pissed at me for spilling gas. He could care less about spilled gas on my car. Being the nice guy I am I called the fire dept. The fireman on the phone thanked me & said they'd be right there to bag the pump.

 

I guess fuel was filling so slow it was not enough
To trip the top off valve

 

I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here: "If it's got more moving parts than an anvil, something will go wrong" Another way to say that is: If there's a 50/50 chance something will go wrong, 90% of the time, it will. So, when pumping gas or dealing with the other gender, be prepared for the unexpected.

 

I wouldn't want to be this lady.

 

That's exactly what I was talking about in post #2 with the static electricity. There are warning signs on the pumps saying not to get back into the car while pumping gas. If you just have to get back in the car, before you reach for the pump handle, ground your hand against anything else metal away from the hose before grabbing the schnozzle. She is damned lucky that's all that happened.

 

+1 before pumping gas I always touch metal regardless , all I need to know is that it may happen lol I don't need to wait for an episode of myth busters lol.

 

On days with low humidity, I get zapped every time I get out of Fenimore. I think the cloth seats are a contributor as well.