Why would anyone leave their car running while filling up their gas tank?

Aaron,

The only time I have done that was on a trip thru southern Oregon in my rag-top sportscar in the middle of a major snowstorm. Wind-chill had to be in the ten degree range. I checked my engine oil level and it was way down, so I added a two quarts I carried in my trunk. The oil was so think it took about 6 minutes to empty both cans (long before it came in plastic bottles). Thank goodness the car had a decent heater and that's why I didn't turn the engine off. Brrrr.

Jim

Safety hazard, you ask? Let us count the ways:

• An open (and flowing) gas pump, making several thousands of gallons of flammable fuel in the underground tank potentially available for an explosion and fire

• An open gas tank, exposing another dozen gallons or so in the car to the same vulnerability

• Static electricity, built up on clothing from getting into the car after starting the pump and then getting back out to finish up, that just might find the steel nozzle a convenient route to ground, cause a spark when it discharges, ignite the vapors at the fill neck -- and make crispy critters out of the car's owner and others in the ensuing fire

• The potential for a fuel spill on the pavement if nozzle's automatic shutoff fails, causing 1) another short-term fire hazard and 2) adding to LA's smog as the fuel evaporates

The idiocy of people around gasoline astounds me, but it's nothing new. Yes, the pump also has an internal automatic shutoff intended to isolate the storage tank in case of fire, or when some pinhead drives off without removing the nozzle from the fill neck (Don't laugh too hard. I've seen it happen, more than once.), but that doesn't mean these safety features can't fail. See "Deepwater Horizon" for further details.

When handling gasoline, the surest way to live a long, healthy life is to assume that anything built by humankind is vulnerable to failure -- and never to overestimate the intelligence of people at nearby gas pumps.

Pretty cool that I get an email everytime someone leaves a comment. Jim, completely understandable with cold weather and pumping while leaving the car running.

Don, can't tell you how many times I've seen people leave while the gas pump hose is still connected to their car. lol. Also, smoking when pumping gas is another one up there on my list of peeves.

One of my old "heaps" would make me nervous that it wouldn't start. '67 Impala wagon w/ a 327 under the hood. It DID NOT like to start if the engine was hot! I tried everything... powerful starter, big battery, but nothing worked. Wait 5 - 10 minutes, all is well. It's not a nice thing to be holding up a gas line in the 70's! So I am GUILTY AS CHARGED.

But what a great car! Some "hot rod" would pull up next to me, and rev the engine... and glance with disdain at "Dad's Station Wagon". Man, that 327 gave them a run for their money!

Don,

Years ago, I had a Ford Econoline van with twin fuel tanks. Then came along the Feds mandate of vapor recovery nozzles on filling station fuel pumps: the early ones with the spring-loaded rubber bellows that were very hard to use. At a name-brand station in Tacoma, WA. I tried to fill my front tank but for some reason it pressurized my fuel tank and blew off the hose between the filler pipe and the tank. Before I knew it, I had pumped 3-4 gallons of gasoline all over the concrete bay under my van. The attendent couldn't have cared less and the following day I called their Corporate office and they didn't care. In retrospect, I should have contacted the local fire marshall.

Jim

Here in New York where there are very few "full sevice" gas stations anymore, they have removed (what do you call them? lol) catches so you must stand there yourself holding and squeezing the trigger on the pump to fill the gas yourself. Yeah, in bad weather it's no picnic but it's got to be done.

No cell phones allowed when operating the pump here. Leave it in the car.

When filling a container, put in on the ground. Sometimes I see people filling a container while it's in the trunk or the back of a pick-up. That's dangerous as the container is not grounded.

Just try to fill your own fuel tank in Oregon State (I always do that to "P-off" the attendent, who usually comes running out of his 'hive' ... BUT only if he was paying attention). The Law in Oregon is you must have an 'attendent' fill your tank. Amazing.

Jim

It's illegal in Florida to fuel with the engine running. You can't fill a gas can unless it's on the ground, not in your car. Why? The chance of static electricity, engine fire, etc. To me it's more a safety issue than conservation. If you blow your self up, you won't care if it's conserved.

My friend has driven the fuel tankempty, refueled it and now the engine runs very poor. We changed spark plugs, cables, measured fuel pressure (56 psi), cleaned the fuel pump in the fuel tank and it is still running as if it is running on three cylinders. Any suggestions?