Best ways to fill up the fuel tank? By sillylittleboy (Read 1,898 times)

[sillylittleboy]

I can't imagine this HASN'T been brought up before, so if it has then my apologies but it is probably worth resurrecting.  My issue that I'm having is filling up my tank at the pump.  My first fill or two came out of a plastic gas container, which allowed me to truly regulate the flow very delicately.  When I go to a regular fuel pump to fill up I find that even when I'm very cautious and slow with the handle and flow of gasoline, I still get a little fuel that flies back and up and around the fuel tank.  I always have to be ready with a handful of paper towels, but I'm thinking there's GOT to be a better way.  Maybe I just need to get me a plastic fuel container and fill THAT up and use it to fill my scooter's tank.

Any other suggestions?  My tank only holds like 1-1/2 gallons and the fill-up hole is small with a cross member right inside the hole that creates a lot of the problems.

[jct842]

The cross bar is the limit to fill. Best way to fill up is use GASOLINE, not crapahol. Filling too full with some of the scooters with a canister will result is bad performance due to plugging the canister with fuel.

[sillylittleboy]

Jul 10, 2016 19:22:17 GMT -6 jct842 said:

The cross bar is the limit to fill. Best way to fill up is use GASOLINE, not crapahol. Filling too full with some of the scooters with a canister will result is bad performance due to plugging the canister with fuel.

Yea, that's what I use - GASOLINE.  I definitely do NOT use ethanol, which I believe you were referring to with the "crapahol" moniker.  My scooter manual said to use Premium grade, so that's what I've used from the very first fill-up.  Plain and pure (as can be gotten) gasoline with the highest octane rating I can get in Iowa - no special additives like ethanol or crapahol.

But none of this helps me with the problem I'm experiencing at the pump. No matter how light my touch is on the gas pump control, the fuel comes out of the nozzle so fast that it often strikes the inside of the fuel tank causing pools of fuel to form in rings around the gas cap or fuel tank opening.  No matter how careful I am or how slowly I try to dispense the gasoline, there's always much of it that splashes back up and out.

Maybe I am just a SilllyLittleBoy, cause I sure can't figure out what I'm doing wrong OR what I should be doing to correct/fix my splattering gasoline issue.  Let me know if anyone has any kind of hints, tips, or "you're doing it all wrong" comment to help out one SillyBIGBoy, then I would be very grateful.

[jct842]

The manual is right if you are in china, it's wrong if you read it here in the usa. Chinese premium is about what our low grade is. They use a different rating system!

[cyborg]

As a backup you can always use a lighter to check the level

[thecableguy]

I buy non-alcohol premium at a station near me, filling two 5 gal cans at a time and fuel my scoot with them. Since they only have a single hose, I'll put the first gallon in my car's tank, then fill the cans.

I top off before going on a ride if it looks like I'll go below half on the crappy fuel gauge since my scoot starts to have fuel delivery issues if I run it too low. (half on the gauge is actually about 1/4 tank)

It all just works easier this way, since most of the stations in Madison don't offer pure gas...

Jim

[sillylittleboy]

Maybe something got lost in the translation, besides the octane levels. Here in Iowa the best we can get is 91 octane. We used to have 87 (regular), 91 (ethanol 10%), and 93 (premium). Our state has recently been flooded with 84 octane gas, which it is illegal for stations to sell or provide. So this means the gas distributors have been mixing the 84 with ethanol to bring it up to 87 or mixing it with premium to bring it up to 91 (probably just above 90). So me using premium isn't saying much.

No, my real issue is in the process of putting gas into the scooter. My scooter has a pretty small opening and a pretty small tank (1-1/2 gallons). So whenever I use the gas pump at my local convenience store and place the nozzle into the scooter's gas tank (using the only opening), no matter how light I am on the gas nozzle, I end up getting some splash-back right away. Even with an empty fuel tank, I still get the gas splashing up and out and around the fill-er-up opening in the fuel tank.

I was thinking that maybe I need to use 2-3 gallon fuel cans (plastic cans) to fill up my tank. The gas comes out slow and steady without any splashing or back-up onto the bike or areas outside of the gas tank or gas tank opening. It's just not very convenient for me to keep a can of gas sitting around available. I live in an apartment and don't want to keep it in the apartment or in the car AND there's not really any place outside where I can put it where it won't get borrowed, stolen, or tampered with in some way.

OR maybe I'm just doing it all wrong, but that's because I'm just a...

SillyLittleBoy

[crwford]

Never had a problem filling my trikes up and my 10to 1 300 cc requires 91 or better you are not put noozle in to deep are you?

[johnjs]

Try using a funnel as you pump the gas. May help you out a bit.I use from a gas can myself so i never tried at the pump.

[crwford]

Are you going to same gas station if so try another you are the first 1 that I have hear having this problem.

[ucwt]

I've found the same issue at certain stations.

I've tried everything to keep it from blowing out during fill

Some places seem like the valve in the pump handle is either old
And worn out or set for a higher volume flow rate.

Here the shell station seems to be my best bet, the liquid
refined dinosaur comes out so slow it doesn't even become aerated.

Best way on those crap pump handles is short quick bursts and don't top it off all the way.

[sillylittleboy]

Thanks ucwt (great Hunter S. quote). It's nice to know that I'm not the only one with this issue AND I like your suggestion of trying different pumps or stations to find the best flow. The place where I had the issue was Quik Trip and they don't even know how to spell.

Of course none of the convenience stores here in the Midwest know how to spell. We've got

• Quik Trip
• Kwik Star
• Kum & Go (that one always makes me giggle, I mean... really?
• Kwik Shop
• Casey's General Store

I bet if I try a few places, then I'll find a station with the perfect fuel flow.

[sillylittleboy]

Jul 31, 2016 4:44:31 GMT -6 ucwt said:

I've found the same issue at certain stations...                  <---- Chosen as the best answer!

I'm surprised no one else, except for ucwt, has had this same issue.  I took my scooter to a different convenience store (we don't really have "gas stations" any longer, do we?) to see if there was any difference at the fuel pump with the fluid pressure or gas pumps volume/"time frame."

BOY WAS THERE!  The place closest to me where I always shop for my conveniences, you cannot get it to pump slow enough, light enough, or any enough to prevent the fuel from splashing up and out of my scooter's gas tank.  I went down the road a bit further to another convenience store that is owned and managed by a large grocery store company, shares that grocery store's name, and is located right in front of one of those large mother-ship-grocery stores that keep it supplied and protected. What's up with that?

ANYWAY... I filled up there and it was like night and day. At this store the pump was very easy to manage and allowed me to pretty much fill it to the rim with Brimm, Finn.

And... Now You Know or at least I do. Thanks!

[richardv]

I have that same issue with two local stations with my TRUCK. I have to stand and hold the handle at a very low setting and can't use the holder thing. 17 gallons takes a while. But the other two will not accept my debit card unless for prepay.
Would the mother-ship be the Pig?

[jct842]

When I had a malibu I could not get a full tank of gas at walmart and a couple other gas stations. Pumps kept shutting off no matter how slow I tried filling. Found I could at most shell stations so that is where I bought gas. It was a penny or so more but for 10 cents it is worth it for a full tank of gas. I have a new nissan now and no problems so far with any gas station.