Unleaded or diesel?

[SteveSS]

My daughter told me 24 gas stations in Denver had their underground unleaded tanks filled with diesel, and it wasn't realized until later.

 

[toolmanmike]

That sucks.

 

[68BabyBlue]

When I worked in the tank truck business, unloading into the wrong pipe was a major issue, but a well kept secret. Incompatible plastic pellets had the potential for seven figure claims if they reached finished product. Diesel in place gas is going to be a serious claim for the carrier.

 

[dadsbee]

Diesel into a gas vehicle, at least it just stops running. Now gas into a Diesel, I've watched that excitement first hand at a truck stop. Guy got 90 feet off the pump with his box truck before the hood was airborne.

 

[oldbee]

Either way is a real mess! I once had a diesel Chevette come in with gas in it;drained tank & f.filter, when fresh diesel got to the injectors it started purring again. Luckily, no damage.

 

[XS22J8R]

I’m surprised the industry hasn’t come up with better safeguards to prevent this issue from happening.
In general aviation there had been issues with reciprocating engine aircraft getting accidently refueled with jet fuel. Often resulting in deadly accidents.
Several steps were taken to stop this from happening. One was coming up with a different shape nozzle for jet fuel refueling vs Avgas.
So why haven’t they haven’t incorporated different hose fittings for fuel tankers and gas station tanks to prevent the wrong fuel from being put in the wrong tank by a careless trucker?
I suppose the cost to make this change is far greater than the cost to fix engines from time to time when this error is made.
In aviation it caused deadly accidents, so likely was mandated by the FAA, as opposed to a cost v benefit analysis.

 

[33 IMP]

I’m surprised the industry hasn’t come up with better safeguards to prevent this issue from happening.
In general aviation there had been issues with reciprocating engine aircraft getting accidently refueled with jet fuel. Often resulting in deadly accidents.
Several steps were taken to stop this from happening. One was coming up with a different shape nozzle for jet fuel refueling vs Avgas.
So why haven’t they haven’t incorporated different hose fittings for fuel tankers and gas station tanks to prevent the wrong fuel from being put in the wrong tank by a careless trucker?
I suppose the cost to make this change is far greater than the cost to fix engines from time to time when this error is made.
In aviation it caused deadly accidents, so likely was mandated by the FAA, as opposed to a cost v benefit analysis.

Yep, you caught it. Cost.
California as of first of this year mandates double wall underground tanks
Usually a couple million dollars for the changeover from single wall tanks.
Countless independent fuel stations have closed their doors.

 

[33 IMP]

When I worked in the tank truck business, unloading into the wrong pipe was a major issue, but a well kept secret. Incompatible plastic pellets had the potential for seven figure claims if they reached finished product. Diesel in place gas is going to be a serious claim for the carrier.

I'd bet there will be a BUNCH of lawsuits over this, with more than one defendant.

 

[440 PHIXX]

Olds 350 diesels blew up even when you put diesel in them.

 

[68BabyBlue]

I'd bet there will be a BUNCH of lawsuits over this, with more than one defendant.

When I was an in house counsel for a 900 truck fleet, I never went without work. When I looked into buying a small carrier in decades past, my wife said, "did you not learn about driver error costs the first time around?"

Yep, you caught it. Cost.
California as of first of this year mandates double wall underground tanks
Usually a couple million dollars for the changeover from single wall tanks.
Countless independent fuel stations have closed their doors.

I have a lifelong friend who graduated from Penn State with a 2.01 GPA in Environmental Resource Management. He got a job working as a ditch digger in San Diego shortly after our graduation in 1975. He eventually started his own company, and made a killing digging up underground fuel tanks, and getting sign offs on the remediations.

 

[sam dupont]

One would think the insurance companies would pay off once, and then demand a solution, such as the aircraft fuel solution. A change of nozzles and matching receptacles seems cheap compared to what they're looking at in this case.

 

[33 IMP]

One would think the insurance companies would pay off once, and then demand a solution, such as the aircraft fuel solution. A change of nozzles and matching receptacles seems cheap compared to what they're looking at in this case.

Not if your looking at a couple hundred thousand tanks....
Aircraft fall out of the sky.
Cars dont.

 

[69 Sleeper Bee]

Happened here at a station right off I-10 close to me, around 30 cars & trucks got diesel instead of gas and they didn't make it a mile down the road before they quit running and stacked up like chord wood on the side of the road. Big lawsuit for the station.

 

[furious70]

Not if your looking at a couple hundred thousand tanks....
Aircraft fall out of the sky.
Cars dont.

Can't cost that much to put an adapter on top though?
Not unlike diesel dispensers being larger diameter both for flow and to not fit in a car.

 

[33 IMP]

Can't cost that much to put an adapter on top though?
Not unlike diesel dispensers being larger diameter both for flow and to not fit in a car.

I agree, it's probably a good idea, but probably not gonna happen unless the feds mandate it
Then who is gonna pay for it? Eventually......... US!

 

[64BEL]

Diesel into a gas vehicle, at least it just stops running. Now gas into a Diesel, I've watched that excitement first hand at a truck stop. Guy got 90 feet off the pump with his box truck before the hood was airborne.

I always give the nozzle a sniff to make sure it's diesel before I pump anything onto the tank of my Ram. Even if it's the big diesel nozzle.

 

[dadsbee]

I always give the nozzle a sniff to make sure it's diesel before I pump anything onto the tank of my Ram. Even if it's the big diesel nozzle.

Brother and I were the driver and 15 year old "tour guide" for exchange students on a coast to coat trip in a 4104 GMC bus . Box truck in front of us pulled up and let the island kid fill his tanks, putting gas vs diesel in.

 

[68-500]

Twenty some stations sounds like a mix up at the main hub. 1 trucker didn’t screw up that many times

 

[1967coronet]

The last 4 yrs I drove truck was hauling fuel. Gasoline and Diesel both.
24 locations ? Completely nuts.
There is no way you can pop a cap on a 10,000 cap. tank and not know what is in it.
Not to mention you stick measure every tank . The veeder root tank level systems and the like are notorious for being off.
Anyway when you pull that stick and you can not tell the differeance between oil and gasoline ???
The pits are marked and color coded.
24 stations ???
I could see 1 idiot mabey dumping a split load wrong in a couple locations but 24 ?
Without a transport company catching it?

 

[1967coronet]

Twenty some stations sounds like a mix up at the main hub. 1 trucker didn’t screw up that many times

I hear you , but I can not imagine 20 some separate loads getting loaded wrong without at least 1 driver catching it.