Petrol container in car

antodeco

Hi folks,
Just a quick one. Is it ok to leave petrol in a container in the car for long periods of time? The car has a 20 litre tank, and Ive just been caught short side of the road! (Thank god for mobile boards!)

It would be handy if I could carry backup petrol just incase. I know it's my fault, but it can be hard to see how much petrol I actually have left! I was also just on my way to get some too. Grr!

samsemtex

antodeco wrote: »

Hi folks,
Just a quick one. Is it ok to leave petrol in a container in the car for long periods of time? The car has a 20 litre tank, and Ive just been caught short side of the road! (Thank god for mobile boards!)

It would be handy if I could carry backup petrol just incase. I know it's my fault, but it can be hard to see how much petrol I actually have left! I was also just on my way to get some too. Grr!

Your car has a 20 litre tank? Are you sure its a car?

antodeco

lol! It might be 25! Put it thus way, I haven't yet managed to put more than €26 in petrol into it, from near on empty (and that's at 1.16 a litre!)

JimmyCrackCorn!

Not meaning to be a smart arse but does it have a petrol gauge as i dont see how you can run out if you keep an eye on it.

Leaving a petrol can in the boot isnt illegal but i woulnt like it there if something went wrong.

L1011

JimmyCrackCorn! wrote: »

Not meaning to be a smart arse but does it have a petrol gauge as i dont see how you can run out if you keep an eye on it.

Leaving a petrol can in the boot isnt illegal but i woulnt like it there if something went wrong.

Tiny tank, tank fuel gauge on some cars.

You can have petrol in a tank in the boot on land but most ferry companies disallow it - if this isn't a concern, you're good to go. You don't want to leave petrol for too long or else it basically starts to go off too, so use and refill it now and then.

ttm

afaik its legal and safe enough to carry 5l of petrol in an approved container. I'm probably wrong but I believe some of the larger 10l and 20l cans you can get aren't legal for petrol.

Anyway if you do carry a spare can of fuel as I used to do when I had a car with a dodgy petrol gauge use it occasionally (every couple of months) and fill it up again as the petrol can go stale which isn't supposed to be good. Edit> Sorry MYOB you beat me to that advice, but glad to see I'm not the only one that thinks petrol can go off.

ttm

Just thinking.....is it only me that can remember the days when cars used to have a reserve tank? All the (very) old Rovers used to have one, when the main tank got very low you could switch over to the reserve tank that as far as I can remember had about a gallon in it.

antodeco

Grand, might carry one just in case. Id use it and fill every stop to make sure it's always 'fresh'.

Jimmy, the problem is two things. Firstly there is no warning light, so it's 'keep an eye' notification. Secondly, as it's such a small tank, you can go from having enough petrol to having none. Most modern cars have a 5 litre buffer zone at point of warning. My car has about 2 cup fulls when in the red!

Anyway, I got it going, but still having problems. Think the carburetor pin/tube might be bent, so don't think there's enough fuel getting to the engine. Engine bolt us snapped, so a lot of play/rocking of the engine. Hopefully will have it all sorted next week.

bladebrew

what car is this?? the mini,do they have 20 litre tanks as standard?

L1011

ttm wrote: »

Just thinking.....is it only me that can remember the days when cars used to have a reserve tank? All the (very) old Rovers used to have one, when the main tank got very low you could switch over to the reserve tank that as far as I can remember had about a gallon in it.

Most still do, sort of. My Citroen van has 5 litres after it shows absolute empty on the gauge. My normal car tells you its totally empty with 7 litres left in total usually (5 "reserve" and 2 where its just getting paranoid)

antodeco

Yup, the mini. I put 5 litres from empty there, and another 15 at the pump. My maths isint the best, but I think that's 20

Dirk Gently

antodeco wrote: »

Jimmy, the problem is two things. Firstly there is no warning light, so it's 'keep an eye' notification. Secondly, as it's such a small tank, you can go from having enough petrol to having none. Most modern cars have a 5 litre buffer zone at point of warning. My car has about 2 cup fulls when in the red!

reset your trip meter every time you fill up and judge it that way. It's still a keep your eye on it exercise but you can judge it down to the kilometre that way if the fuel gauge is hard to see. It's just a matter of remembering to reset it every time you fill up.

antodeco

Whilst that is a good idea, there is no trip meter either!

Dankoozy

i had a 20-30l can (not sure which) topple over in the boot before. don't know (and don't care) if its legal or not but it destroyed my ****ing jacket and took months to get rid of the smell.

so use a small enough can that won't topple over (or tie it up) and don't fill it to the brim. most petrol cans i have seem to have caps on them that don't seal very well

biko

Sure, just make sure it says on the can it's intended for petrol.
Otherwise it might leak fumes.

Jarren

this is mine

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_197103_langId_-1_categoryId_212454

it does what is says on the tin

In my case anyway

lol5605

Should be a problem, as far as I know all the guards keep petrol in the boot just in case.

Hal1

Magnus wrote: »

Sure, just make sure it says on the can it's intended for petrol.
Otherwise it might leak fumes.

I was just thinking the same thing. Those cheap plastic cans aren't ideal for storing in your car as they leak and you can get fumes coming from the can. Get something guaranteed not to leak, like one of those range rover type water carriers you see on the rear of them.

ianobrien

I was just thinking, a Jerry Can is 20liters. Can you find room for one of them.....

pred racer

you can get 10L metal jerry cans, they dont leak and you can keep petrol in them for months (no fumes escape). you also dont have to worry about having them in your boot on a hot day.
I have 2 of the 20L ones and they are brilliant.

CJhaughey

You can get 5 litre Jerry cans as well, proper steel ones with the clamp lid.
I would not recommend the use of plastic cans long term, they tend to swell and leak under pressure.
Steel or no deal.
Another advantage is that you can get clamp on spouts for the steel cans that don't leak and allow the can to breathe as you pour avoiding the glugging that causes spillages.

netwhizkid

How could you take a car like that on a motorway?? What is the top speed of the mini also out of interest? One of the best ways of keeping an eye on the fuel is fill it and measure your mileage and judge from that!

david

Anything over 5l and you need a HazChem license!

Make sure you get a decent container not a petrol station red plastic job

trad

I seem to recall some minis with twin tanks, possibly a cooper. Might be an option if you can source the parts.

ttm

I really can't see the problem with 5l approved red plastic petrol cans from the petrol station. I have one which is at least 15years old, has been in use all that time and has never leaked and there is no degradation to the plastic.

I prefer plastic in the boot as while I'd always secure it when full to prevent the problems another poster has had it always seems to be the case when I use the contents the can tends to get thrown back in the boot and an empty plastic can which is very light can't do any damage if it bumps around inthe boot untill I next fill it up and secure it again

antodeco

Thanks for all the replies. I have A spare plastic jerry can which I might use.

netwhizkid wrote: »

How could you take a car like that on a motorway?? What is the top speed of the mini also out of interest?

I generally use the on-ramp :rolleyes:

Have done around 130kph in it, but my engine is having speed issues at the moment!

netwhizkid

antodeco wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. I have A spare plastic jerry can which I might use.


I generally use the on-ramp :rolleyes:

Have done around 130kph in it, but my engine is having speed issues at the moment!

lol! Now I was implying that if it was me I would be afraid of running out of juice half way down the likes of the M8 to Cork or the M4 to london.

CJhaughey

ttm wrote: »

I really can't see the problem with 5l approved red plastic petrol cans from the petrol station. I have one which is at least 15years old, has been in use all that time and has never leaked and there is no degradation to the plastic.

The fact that it is 15 years old probably has a lot to do with the quality of the can.
I have not seen ANY plastic cans of recent manufacture that won't leak after a while.
Do a quick test, have a sneaky kneel on it when the shopkeeper isn't looking and if it leaks forget it.
Petrol is effervescent and can create good pressure inside a can if it is being shaken about (Irish roads) and this is what causes the can to leak, especially if it is on it's side.

antodeco

netwhizkid wrote: »

lol! Now I was implying that if it was me I would be afraid of running out of juice half way down the likes of the M8 to Cork or the M4 to london.

I got from Cork to Dublin in 1 tank! Was scary from around Naas up though

robtri

Don't know if its possible or not.....
but maybe have a chat with a mini owners club and see if you could possibly look at changing the tank for a larger unit and getting a more modern petrol gauge with a light??

derry

I run my non flex fuel car on E85 fuel which is 85% alcohol 15% petrol

more info how to run cars on E85 fuel in this thread

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055680639


This means the E85 typ petrol doesnt go bad so quickly.Normal petrol is only garenteed for three months .This is because best I can figure the bad gunk in the petrol that the Irish oil comapanies dont want to pay to get rid off they throw it into the petrol and get the CAT in our cars to burn it up and this stuff mucks he petrol. It seems to me this gunk is also then making our cars gets less MPG as a result compared to good quality fuel found in many other countries where the oil companies cant get away wth those practices.

Alcohol is safer to transport than petrol as it has a much higher temperaure to become flamible or high temperature vapour rate in science speak . As it is still 15% petrol it will burn a yellow type flame like a petrol fire and not invisible like 100% pure alcohol fuels which is why alcohol fuels were dangerous in the past . The invisible flames were sorta difficult to see but if you stuck your hands in you got a bad burn.

I use a 20 liter Aldi steel petrol container jerry can which cant spill the fuel for when I do long journeys as it can be difficult to get E85 outside big cities in ROI and that usully gives me the extra half tank and the range to get back to E85 stations .At typically 95cents a liter it worth the hassle factor for me
I have the can well ixxed down and have a fire fight CO2 bottle

Yeah its probably true that 5 liters fuel is all that is legal to carry and probably true that exceeding the speed limit will get you points ..........:D

Derry

KamiKazi

Same size tank as my bike :eek: I don't have a fuel gauge, so its a case of watching the miles and if needs be flicking the tap onto reserve and finding a station asap

pa990

lol5605 wrote: »

Should be a problem, as far as I know all the guards keep petrol in the boot just in case.

No they don't

galwaytt

trad wrote: »

I seem to recall some minis with twin tanks, possibly a cooper. Might be an option if you can source the parts.

...that's right - there was a common rally Mini mod, where there was a 2nd tank fitted in the boot, to mirror the existing. Doubles your range/capacity in one go.

Have a look, here: http://www.minisport.com/acatalog/Mini_Fuel_Tanks.html

Oh, and double your fill-up cost as well.........:p (can't win them all!)