State: Drivers, beware of dirty gas

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Raywood

The Pirate
Staff member
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For you gas experts out there (Gasman), doesn't all the fuel get filtered at least at the pump if not at the transfer station? :confused:

State: Drivers, beware of dirty gas | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | Local & Regional
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. -- The state is urging drivers to beware of tainted gasoline being sold at pumps across the Puget Sound region.

Contaminated gas can do heavy damage to a car and in many of the cases, the gas stations themselves don't know that their product has been tainted.

Barry and Tanda Sullivan claim they're now paying for their mistake. The couple's brand-new Chevy Silverado stopped running. Then their Nissan Altima puttered to a halt. The Sullivans say dirty gas is to blame.

"It was bucking, stalling, hesitating. The engine light came on," said Barry.

The Sullivans claim they pumped the dirty gas from a Shell Station in Snohomish County on Valentine's Day. The station's manager said his distributor tested the gasoline and found nothing wrong.

But the state Department of Weight and Measures said it is seeing more and more cases of contaminated gas in the area. The department says ethanol is the trouble maker.

Around this time of year, gas stations often change their fuel mix to a higher ethanol content in order to break away sediment on the inside of the holding tanks and to cause condensation in the tanks. The problem is that the mixture can do the same to the inside of vehicles' fuel tanks.

In initial tests conducted by the state, gasoline from the Shell station under question looked fine. Samples from a secondary test, though, have been sent to a lab.

The state is also warning gas stations to make sure they're cleaning their holding tanks to prevent dirty buildup.

The Sullivans want to track down the source of the contaminated gas and make sure no one else falls victim.

"All we know is we've got two vehicles that are going to cost us $2,500 in repair bills to get fixed," said Barry.

The state expects final results from the secondary test next week.
 
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BWG56

Guru
FYI don't fill up when the tanker is there refueling, it kicks up the sediment at the bottom of the holding tanks.
 

shovelcowboy

Well-Known Member
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What the hell do they mean, "beware of dirty gas"??!!:bang:

How the hell does one know until its too late! That's about as ridiculous as "beware of any peanut butter ANYWHERE in ANYTHING"!

Our government idiots saying "now we have warned you so we are no longer responsible".:angry:

About as bad as all the side effect warnings on prescription drugs after the nice TV commercials say "ASK YOUR DOCTOR IF THIS IS RIGHT FOR YOU"!:bang:

Shovelcowboy
 

BorgerBigDog

BORN TEXAN
I hear you SHOVELCOWBOY i know all about the side effects on medications. Im taking one now called Tacrilimus. For patients with Graft Versus Host Disease. ( G.V.H.D.) When a donors stem cells or whatever fights your system. My freaking ears buzz like the sound of being in the woods with crickets in the background. Listen to that 24-7 and say huh to every one. : :angry:
 
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Gas Man

Cool isn't cheap
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There really is no filtering of the gas after production goes into the tank. Well other than a few wire mesh strainers.

The dirt can get picked up from many places. Pipeline work from fire clay, sediment in tanks, ect. Its not filtered like Jet fuel which runs thru pre filters, and clay filters many many times.

There may again be some sort of filters at the gas pumps but that is after my portion of the industry.

Gas, 86 octane, is basically the dirty slut of the industry. Its used and abused. But at the end of the day its perfectly fine.

Most of the problems, especially dirt, comes from the gas station underground tanks. They don't have the same strict guidelines that my industry has. We have so many DOT inspections required of our tanks that goes as far as extensive cleaning, epoxy lining the bottoms, ect. Not too mentionthe quality checks before it goes in and after its in the tanks.

As far as ethanol... the truck was new... it wouldn't effect it. The only cars that effects are older cars. Further, the % of ethanol doesn't change. The only thing that changes thruout the seasons is the RVP which is the measurement of how much vapors the gas gives off in heat. In the summer the EPA requires us all to adhear to lower RVP limits to limit the vapor amounts off the gasoline. We have all witnessed this when a plastic gas can in the summer expands in the heat... it tries to limit those harmfull vapors. Same reason why our gasoline tanks have floating roofs inside of them to limit the vapors that escape. Yes even the amount of vapors coming from our tank farms are controlled via EPA permits. Go over those and its BIG BIG fines, I'm talking many many many many many zeros

Did that answer everything.
 

Gas Man

Cool isn't cheap
Calendar Participant
Understand guys that the ethanol effects older cars cause its basically denatured achohol. It cleans everything. So if your gas tank is dirty, it cleans it that sediment goes into the fuel lines... and without a nice filter (your stock bdm doesn't have one!!! HINT HINT) that all goes into your gas tank like so...


So make sure you have a fuel filter and keep it in good running order





Trust me, the petcock screen mesh isn't enough
 
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