Putting fuel in your bus

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satchmo
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Location: Crosby, MN
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Putting fuel in your bus

Post by satchmo » Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:29 am

Some may remember that I rented a 79 Westy for a little trip over the Christmas holiday (viewtopic.php?f=33&t=10307).

In that thread, I forgot to mention the difficulty I experienced trying to put fuel into the tank using the special gas pump nozzles they have here in California. The gas pump nozzles here have an accordian pleated hose sheathed over the nozzle that is supposed to be compressed against the fuel filler inlet in order to recover gas vapors or something. It doesn't work on a 79 bus. If you leave the fuel pump hose unattended, all the gas flows out of the filler inlet and down the side of your bus. If you stand there compressing the accordian sheath against the inlet, only a lot of gas flows out and down the side of your bus. The only way I could get fuel into the tank without a puddle of gas around my feet was to apply about 30 pounds of force pushing the nozzle in AND about 20 pounds of force pulling up on the handle so the tip of the nozzle was pointing down as much as possible. That worked most of the time.

Has anyone come up with a solution to this? I know the California air quality standards mandate stock emissions equipment on buses built since 1975, and the fuel filler is part of what must remain unchanged in order to pass smog here, but it seems someone must have come up with an engineered fix. How about an extension that fits on the filler in place of the gas cap? Would that be a possibility? Even if it weren't perfect at least it might prevent gas from dripping down the side of the bus.

Tim
Sorry if this has been discussed before.
By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
second, by immitation, which is easiest;
and third, by experience, which is bitterest. -Confucius

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JLT
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by JLT » Sun Feb 26, 2012 11:44 am

You know, this came up before on some list I'm on, and somebody mentioned a nozzle adapter that you can get for motorcycles that works fine on a late Bay bus. It's called the Gas Buddy, and there's a write-up for it on this URL:

http://wingstuff.com/products/22494-alu ... esync=done

Be advised that I haven't tried this myself, but only know about it second-hand.
-- JLT
Sacramento CA

Present bus: '71 Dormobile Westie "George"
(sometimes towing a '65 Allstate single-wheel trailer)
Former buses: '61 17-window Deluxe "Pink Bus"
'70 Frankenwestie "Blunder Bus"
'71 Frankenwestie "Thunder Bus"

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satchmo
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by satchmo » Mon Feb 27, 2012 4:52 am

I figured others besides me had run into problems with California fuel nozzles.

Colin to the rescue once again: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=9013

Thanks, Tim
By three methods we may learn wisdom:
First, by reflection, which is noblest;
second, by immitation, which is easiest;
and third, by experience, which is bitterest. -Confucius

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WaterDawg
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by WaterDawg » Fri Nov 29, 2013 11:41 am

I know this is old, but having just been in CA and many other states with this type of fuel nozzle, I too had mucho problemo putting fuel in without it all spilling out.

Since my home region (NY and VT) have a 50/50 chance of running into this type of nozzle, was curious if anyone has tried this yet?
http://wingstuff.com/products/22494-alu ... esync=done

I am sure it works on our bikes, but with the bus we need to get that nozzle in there and then move it to about the 2pm position.
Larry Jensen
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Bleyseng
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by Bleyseng » Fri Nov 29, 2013 12:15 pm

Here in Washington I have the same problem with 50% of the stations having those crappy fuel nozzles. I just go to the stations that have the old style so gas doesn't puke everywhere. I like that "Gas buddy" idea so I'll have to order one.
Geoff
77 Sage Green Westy- CS 2.0L-160,000 miles
70 Ghia vert, black, stock 1600SP,- 139,000 miles,
76 914 2.1L-Nepal Orange- 160,000+ miles
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Westy78
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by Westy78 » Fri Nov 29, 2013 12:21 pm

WaterDawg wrote:I know this is old, but having just been in CA and many other states with this type of fuel nozzle, I I too had mucho problemo putting fuel in without it all spilling out.

Since my home region (NY and VT) have a 50/50 chance of running into this type of nozzle, was curious if anyone has tried this yet?
http://wingstuff.com/products/22494-alu ... esync=done

I am sure it works on our bikes, but with the bus we need to get that nozzle in there and then move it to about the 2pm position.

The problem I see with that device is that the pump may not shut off automatically when the tank is full. It would work fine for bikes because you can see the fuel level in the tank. If you fill a bus till you can see the fuel in the filler neck you've gone way over the correct level possibly destroying the charcoal cannister's effectiveness and forcing fuel into the vent system.
Chorizo, it's what's for breakfast.

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Amskeptic
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Nov 30, 2013 5:25 pm

Westy78 wrote:
WaterDawg wrote:I know this is old, but having just been in CA and many other states with this type of fuel nozzle, I I too had mucho problemo putting fuel in without it all spilling out.

The problem I see with that device is that the pump may not shut off automatically when the tank is full. It would work fine for bikes because you can see the fuel level in the tank. If you fill a bus till you can see the fuel in the filler neck you've gone way over the correct level possibly destroying the charcoal cannister's effectiveness and forcing fuel into the vent system.
Flip the dispenser boot around. It is scary, it is rude, it is on camera, it works . . . until you can bail out of the states that have them.

The latest rules saaaaaay that they can go back to simple rubber hats on the dispenser nozzles because modern cars can digest the displaced fuel tank vapors readily as they fill up.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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WaterDawg
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by WaterDawg » Wed Dec 04, 2013 7:48 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Westy78 wrote:
WaterDawg wrote:I know this is old, but having just been in CA and many other states with this type of fuel nozzle, I I too had mucho problemo putting fuel in without it all spilling out.

The problem I see with that device is that the pump may not shut off automatically when the tank is full. It would work fine for bikes because you can see the fuel level in the tank. If you fill a bus till you can see the fuel in the filler neck you've gone way over the correct level possibly destroying the charcoal cannister's effectiveness and forcing fuel into the vent system.
Flip the dispenser boot around. It is scary, it is rude, it is on camera, it works . . . until you can bail out of the states that have them.

The latest rules saaaaaay that they can go back to simple rubber hats on the dispenser nozzles because modern cars can digest the displaced fuel tank vapors readily as they fill up.
Colin
Was in MA today trying to fill up and like CA, had the same problem, but I could not, for the life of me, flip that boot around. Put at least an 1/8 of a gallon on the ground.

This is the boot I'm talking about...

Image
Larry Jensen
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Amskeptic
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Re: Putting fuel in your bus

Post by Amskeptic » Wed Dec 04, 2013 8:07 pm

WaterDawg wrote: Was in MA today trying to fill up and like CA, had the same problem, but I could not, for the life of me, flip that boot around. Put at least an 1/8 of a gallon on the ground.

This is the boot I'm talking about...
[img]
Did I mention that it takes a screwdriver to loosen the clamp?
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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