Petrol stations, turbo timers and idiots!

[slamm]

What do people do with turbo timers at the gas station? Do you sit and wait for the engine to stop before opening fuel tank, or do you fill up while its still running? I've been meaning to ask people about this but never got around to it, but a recent experience reminded me.

I was filling up with petrol today and there was an older woman in her 60's waiting for the pump next to me. I noticed she had something in her hand and watched for a second and its a lit cigarette with the window right down. Being only about two metres from me I said to her "excuse me can you put that out, you're in a petrol station" she looked at me blankly and kept on smoking. I was in shock. I've never seen anyone do that before. She then drove forward up to her pump and I watched her open the door, throw the cigarette on the ground and stamp it out with her foot. The lady next to her looked at me with disbelief.

In the line up inside to pay another lady said she was at a petrol station at christmas and a guy had just bought a pack of cigarettes, as he walked outside, he lit one up. The attendant locked the doors and called the cops.

I would never have thought anyone could be so stupid. I really didn't. Has anyone else ever seen this before?

[predator]

yeah.. it's not actually that dangerous.

The chances of the petrol station going up are next to none. Has anybody ever heard of it *actually* happening in Australia?

My old man said back 20 years or so it was pretty common to see somebody having a smoke at the petrol station. I remember as a kid he used to do similar in his old EH.

If a hot car with a turbo glowing comes down from a hard run in the mountains doesn't blow up a petrol station, or red hot brakes, a hot engine, etc - the chances of a relatively small amount of heat/fire on a cigarette doing it are slim.

It's a paranoid world these days we live in, with urban myths, the mass media, this and that spreading stories.

I am sure there is a chance it could happen, and I guess its not a great idea. But the odds are fairly low.

[jager]

turbo timers, i usually fill up at nite as i only finish work at nine and by then its pre-pay like wtf?? i hate pre-pay but i let my call idle away as i go in pay for the petrol i haven't got yet!!! take my time walk back to the car and by then in only got like 20-30 secs let i switch it off, the ony reason is coz i had a few paranoid dumb petrol station employees refusing to give me petrol till the car is off

now fact No.1 then is a very low chance of fuel actually igniting when im putting fuel in Fact No.2 i have an imported vehicle that i like to maintain in a tidy condition therefore my fuel lines are perfect unlike the bomb next to me that looks like its gonna blow up when he puts his foot on the gas... my mistake the cloud of smoke billowing out behing was just excess smoke from the oil burning out the exhaust

i have to agree with predator we live in a paranoid world, people believe myth over fact and as the future holds out the world is only becoming a dumber society

so do what you want or play along with society and always remember when a officer pulls u over question everything and reveal nothing as they play on the dumb ones

my 2c i'll shut up now

PS i don't actually have a turbo timer as they products are illegal to have on a street driven vehicle.. another great incenctive by our so beloved police officer to defect you for something that looks after the vehicle... pleaz POLICE!!! correct me if im wrong

[RT33]

From what I've been told it's ok to smoke in a petrol station, just as long as it's been light prior to entering the servo. Petrol is only ment to ignight with a naked flame. Correct me if im wrong.

[slamm]

so what about stubbing it out on the ground next to the bowsers where there is always spilt petrol? Maybe i am being paranoid but i'm happy not smoking when i fill up.

[Guest Mashrock]

i dont smoke.

but.

from memory. petrol does not ignite when you throw a cigerette but at it??

maybe something you can try.

[muaythailuke]

I wouldnt worry about it too much I worked in a servo for around 3 years and mates used to come and smoke in the workshop and the servo being in the place it was we sold alot of smoke's and people used to always spark em up on there way out to there car and I never got blown up.

Then theres the anal bloody servo attendents that go quier if your on your mobile while pumping fuel, ive had it turned off on me before because of that, now thats a load of shit. The best one ive heard is when my brother was filling his ute which runs on LPG or petrol and he was filling them both at once and him pumps were turned of because the attendent told him the gases might mix and cause an explosion, now how stupid is that!!!!

[eXc]

Well i dunno about at a servo, but I know ppl that have just finished filling their dirbike up (so from a gerry can at the track) walked about 5m away, lit up a smoke, and the vapour caught and by by bikes. it was only a few weeks old too....I will see if i can find some pics and the 'official' story to post up.

BTW - I just got my first turbo, and when I got the servo I was like "hurry up and shut off so i can opent he tank" Don't some cars need the tank to be sealed or whatever so you get pressure? ie. take the cap of the tank and car wont go?

[eXc]

Can't find the thread with the story tho...

[geno8r]

Mythbusters 'the tv show' did the mobile phone use at gas station test... & yes of course its crock of sh#t

[eXc]

from memory. petrol does not ignite when you throw a cigerette but at it??

maybe something you can try.

you for real? you never used petrol to start a fire? it is rather flamable....diesel is not as bad, you don't lose ya eyebrows when you use diesel oh and it's not funny to put petrol on a fire without telling your mate that is lighting it. Some d!ckwad did that to a *chick* friend of mine....d1ck.

[Sambo33]

I usually turn my car straight off before i fill up with petrol, but if the turbos been boosted a bit or the servo's not too busy i'll sit in my car and let it idle down for a minute.

[dojobi]

When I had my Skyline I used to just turn the timer off. No big deal at all.

Just to add my 2c to the mobile/cigarette thing - mobiles and any other stuff with ICs in them are almost guaranteed to not spark. Even if they did the chance of it being close enough to the petrol is very low. Cigarettes worry me though.

[midnight]

mythbusters is not always 100% correct... the scarey thing tho was that you are more likely to start a fire via static dischrage if u get back and out of ur car when ur filling up, then touch the car when ur taking the pump out.

[geordie]

I was sitting in the servo one day and an officer was filling his bike up infront of me. My mates phone rang (whilst i was in the car and he was inside paying, not filling) and the cop points at me with a stern look on his face and does this whole hang up the phone mime action. I did it coz i didnt want to draw any unessasary attention to my mates line (slammed big time).....

Bloody made me laugh when i looked at the "TIGHT" bike pants the officer was wearing hehehehe

[Ant]

When I had my Skyline I used to just turn the timer off. No big deal at all.

Just to add my 2c to the mobile/cigarette thing - mobiles and any other stuff with ICs in them are almost guaranteed to not spark. Even if they did the chance of it being close enough to the petrol is very low. Cigarettes worry me though.

I think what they are worried about are a dodgy battery or similar connection in the phone which may spark, and, more likely, a phone with vibrate mode turned on. The vibration is made by a tiny little brushed DC electric motor, which have a tendancy to make tiny little sparks on the brushes as it turns.....

Also liquid petrol is highly unlikely to ignite, the bit that goes up with a bang is petrol vapours, which are invisible. So should you stray into an area in the station with your lit cigarette in vapours have built up........

Though you are right, this is what engineers call a 'double fault' situation - 2 things have to go wrong in order for bad things to happen.

[SKY031]

liquid petrol is highly unlikely to ignite, the bit that goes up with a bang is petrol vapours

I can't believe it took this many replies before someone said that.

[someonestolecc]

I can't believe it took this many replies before someone said that.

Me too. It's the vapour. Although the person who mentioned dirt bike was onto it.

I wouldn't like to have someone next to me smoking in the servo.. they're welcome to do it when they're the only one there but yeah.

I wouldn't worry about phones and leaving your car on though but I'm not basing that on any scientific theories just my personal feeling

[heyhey]

I think what they are worried about are a dodgy battery or similar connection in the phone which may spark, and, more likely, a phone with vibrate mode turned on. The vibration is made by a tiny little brushed DC electric motor, which have a tendancy to make tiny little sparks on the brushes as it turns.....

Also liquid petrol is highly unlikely to ignite, the bit that goes up with a bang is petrol vapours, which are invisible. So should you stray into an area in the station with your lit cigarette in vapours have built up........

Though you are right, this is what engineers call a 'double fault' situation - 2 things have to go wrong in order for bad things to happen.

You are totally right about the phones. It's only the faulty phones with bad connections to the battery ect that are the problem. Most phones are fine to be used around petrol pumps. That was the only problem with the mythbusters experiment is they only used new phones.

I work in a servo and I know how much petrol gets spilled so I would be getting out of the way fast if I saw anyone with a lit cigarette. It's no suprise though that the best customers in servos are the import owners and car enthusiasts. They are the most cooperative when you ask them to shut off the engine (most do it anyway). The worst would be the bombs that come in with a rooted battery that complain that they won't be able to start it again or the 4wd owners that argue that a diesel car doesn't spark so it can't catch fire.

I think the servo operator that called the cops cause of the guy smoking on the driveway was a bit extreme. Mostly if I catch someone smoking i give them a serve. It's amazing how many don't even realise what they are doing.

[pinoi_boi_r33]

in the philippines there is still a lot of service stations that are not self serve, that have the dudes that fill up for ya. And i can't count the number of times the attendants smoke while filling up the tank.

i always wait for the turbo timer to turn off the vehicle. I usually go when its not busy and when the car hasn't been boosting or been driven for a long time, so that the timer isn't on for very long.