How do I refuel my car?
Silly question but... You’d be surprised how many motorists get it wrong when refuelling. By
Maetzig.
Refuelling a car is simply the act of pulling up alongside a bowser at a service station and pumping some fuel into the tank, right?
Well, you’d be surprised how many people get it wrong. Ask any staff member at a service station and they will tell you it happens all the time - motorists pulling up on the ‘‘wrong’’ side, or putting the wrong fuel into the tank.
Most of the time it’s a bit difficult putting diesel into a petrol car, firstly because to access the diesel nozzle you have to first lift a lid on the bowser that says WARNING DIESEL in big letters. and secondly because the diesel nozzles are usually larger than petrol ones so cannot fit into the fuel tank. But it does happen from time to time.
It’s not so bad when this happens. Because diesel and petrol are ignited by two completely different methods (diesel has to be compressed to ignite, while petrol is ignited by a spark) the consequence of putting diesel in a petrol tank is that the car won’t start because the spark plugs and fuel system have been clogged up.
Far more frequent is putting petrol into a diesel car - and when that happens, the consequences can be extremely expensive. That’s because while diesel is a lubricant that helps the fuel pump system do its job, petrol is the exact opposite some expert once said pumping petrol through a diesel fuel system creates about as much friction as pumping sand.
So if you discover you’ve inadvertently put petrol into a diesel tank, don’t do anything other than tell the people at the service station. Don’t even put the key back into the ignition, and definitely don’t start the engine. Just tell the people at the service station, and they will most likely arrange a specialist to empty the fuel tank.
Obviously, the best thing to do is not pump the wrong fuel in the first place. So here’s a simple guide.
You should know which side of your vehicle the fuel tank is located.
But if you’re unsure, check your fuel gauge. You’ll spot a little fuel bowser icon, and there will be an arrow on one side of the icon it’s pointing to the side of your car where the filler is.
Most cars have a tab on the floor or under the dash area that you pull to open the fuel filler cover.
Once you have done that, step outside and select the right nozzle to dispense your fuel. There are normally three nozzles, and they are colourcoded and clearly marked - with the diesel coloured black and its nozzle hiding under the big flap.
If your car is running on 91 octane petrol and you inadvertently put in 95, or vice-versa, it doesn’t really matter.
It will just cost you more (or less), and performance will be slightly affected. A bit of diesel in a petrol car isn’t serious either. But even a small amount of petrol in a diesel car has the potential to destroy an engine. So don’t drive it, even for a short distance.
And while you’re digesting all this advice, here’s some useless information:
Ever wondered why the pumps at service stations are called bowsers?
It’s because the first-ever fuel pump was invented by an American called Sylvanus Bowser in 1885. The original design was used to pump fuel for kerosene lamps and stoves, but with the advent of motor vehicles the ‘‘bowsers’’ were soon modified to handle petrol.
The term bowser used to be common all over the world, but it is now restricted pretty much to New Zealand and Australia.