Itinerant Air-Cooled

Other states may have these vapor recovery nozzles as well, but California's latest are a total pain in the neck with the late model bus.

A great deal of gasoline puking down the side of your late model bus occurs with the "bevel cut" California vapor recovery dispensor boots.
Yes, in the name of reducing hydrocarbons, California's bevelled boot guarantees the escape of billions of hydrocarbon . . . units.

As a committed environmentalist who also hates to see the original paint get stripped off the side of my car, I now grab a screwdriver when I get the Windex out at a gas stop. Loosen the clamp holding the boot on the nozzle and rotate the boot 180*:



See, now it cants properly when you insert the nozzle. No spills. Restore configuration and tighten the clamp lightly when you are done:

You know, sometimes I thought it was just me. I live in an air district that, so far, has not required those. I drive the bus to work, 10 miles south into the Bay Area air district, and I'll be damned if I don't barf most of the gas out down the side of the bus and onto the pavement. Fuggin frustrating. I try to just fill up at home to avoid it.

Not possible to simply turn the handle upside down and dispense the gas? We used to be able to do that in the old days.

Bookwus wrote:Not possible to simply turn the handle upside down and dispense the gas? We used to be able to do that in the old days.

Nooooooo, the hose and the everything bash into the belt line. Then the vapor recovery switch trips terminally. These late model buses. Oy. Just turn the damn boot.
Colin
(and turn it back if you are polite)

thank god, I thought I was nuts. every time I fill up I have to go about 2/3rds speed or it'll just start dumping down the side. no more automatic shutoff?

in the vanagon id just set the little holder to keep it wide open and walk away. now im delicately pulling it just past halfway speed to be sure it isn't on my shoes.

thanks for the tip, I gotta try this.

I just hold it and do it all manually on the Bus.

airkooledchris wrote:...no more automatic shutoff?

The shutoffs only work when fuel backs up into the nozzle and trips an air diaphragm at the end of a tiny internal air tube. They don't respond to gas spillage unless it backs up into the nozzle.

I have always wondered if it would be possible to use a molded hose to to go between the dispensor/the fuel tank and just hold the bellows back.

We don't have those here so I cannot test it out.

Randy in Maine wrote:We don't have those here so I cannot test it out.

We don't yet either, but I usually have a small pocket knife on me--so when we do get them....

I had that problem from day one with my 77. Hasn't happened since I moved. Still a little touchy but not like in Ca. Ca fuel/smog restrictions SUCK!!!

I've never had any issue here in "step away from the pump" Oregon. I avoid Washington's more expensive self-serve options if at all possible. And then the filler on a '70 is situated a bit differently than the later bays.


neal

http://www.aerostich.com/e-z-fill-nozzle-key.html

Especially given the shipping options, this one is much more reasonably priced at $12 shipped to your door.

Im going to try one. I hate having to hold the pump trigger at 1/4th engaged constantly and still getting spills.

I thought I read these things were determined to be ineffective and would/could be removed.

yondermtn wrote:I thought I read these things were determined to be ineffective and would/could be removed.

You did indeed read something:

The conclusion was that modern vehicles are good enough at swallowing the displaced air in the fuel tank as it fills up, that it was senseless to make the gas station do it through all of those dispensor hoses. The very best method for the very least hydrocarbons is a simple rubber hat on the nozzle.

Sometimes, sometimes modern life gets back to simple . . .
Colin