reasons Not to carry Gas Can in vehichle?

[Higgs Boson]

UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED by Ralph Nader.

HB

[DerbyDad03]

[gregz]

I ran out of gas once. I got 200 feet from the house, then nothing. Easy fix. Was not my daily commuter.

Greg

[micky]

What did you do with your legs?

It's incredible. Are you sure you're allive?

[micky]

If it was during the shortage and the bad rules, I don't think we can attibute this to irresponsibility.

Great story. I was living near downtown Brooklyn then, and didn't drive much, but did want gas in my tank, and for some reason I was out in Canarsie, pretty far from home, and I found a station with only 5 or 6 people in line at each pump. I waited in line, got my $5 I guess, and then got back in line for more. But everyone yelled at me so I left.

Instead of having a 5 dollar maximum, they should have a 20 or 30 dollar minimum. (or a different maxium for different kinds of cars and trucks.) Then people won't go looking for gas until they need 30 dollars worth, or they'll have to pay 30 dollars for 10 or 25 dollars wortth of gas. Either way, there won't be long lines.

[micky]

No, that was the Chevy Corvair.

He's talking about the Ford Pinto. I thought they used the bottom of the trunk to double as the top of the gas tank. If so it made it much more likely the gas tank would rip apart. Wouldn't that save more than

2.89?

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per micky:

IIRC, I has my feet on the front bumper, bent at the waist, and was laying diagonally across the fender.

But that was long, long ago and far, far away....

[Shadow]

In Brazil, you have to pay a 10 dollar bribe to every policeman that catches you with fuel containers in the car. It's illegal here. On a long journey that adds up to quite a lot. So that would be a reason. So, if in Brazil, don't, unless you get a gas allowance as part of your pay. []'s

[DerbyDad03]

That's an interesting way to put it. It's illegal to carry gas cans in a vehicle, but it's OK to bribe the police. I get what you are saying, it just sounds funny.

Why? How often are driver's pulled over/inspected while driving in Brazil? Drivers would have to get pulled over "quite a lot" for it to add up to "quite a lot". You make it sound like a certainty.

Wouldn't that be a "bribe allowance" not a "gas allowance"?

[Jax]

Higgs Boson wrote in news:c26d68a2-9e38-4852-9176- [e-mail]:

Now that's a classic!

[Shadow]

Make that "had to pay". I was remembering from the past, when I traveled a lot.

Policemen here made as little as 100 dollars a month. They just treated it as extra income. That was >10 years ago, I've since retired, and I'm sure bribes would be much more expensive now, if feasible. I can still pick up half-price alcohol at the local distillery though, and store that at home. I usually can't be bothered. Our cars are dual-fueled. You mix gasoline and alcohol and the onboard sensors works out ignition times etc.

Well, there were so may containers that they were not difficult to see. 3-4 stops every 1000 kilometers maybe ?

No, I and my wife each had 8 liters a workday of gasoline as "travel help", which was much more than I could use so I'd keep it in

10 gallon containers for when I traveled. I had to fill up at one gas station, whoever got the contract that year. That adds up to over 90 gallons a month. I never did get to use my quota. []'s

[DerbyDad03]

Huh? Let's run with a $20 minimum. A gallon of gas in 1974 was about $0.55. To spend $20, you'd need a 36 gallon tank. $30 means a 54 gallon tank. What the heck were you driving back then?

[bob haller]

back in the late 70s early 80s I serviced DITTO machines for a living and carried a gallon can of ditto fluid in my car for cleaning machines. It had a little acetone mixed in. was mostly methyl alcohol

One day I ran out of gas:( added a small amount of cleaner to my gas tank, went a mile and filled up my 25 gallon tank with gasoline. Had no problems at all but made the mistake of telling my boss about it.:(

He ran out of gas adeded a couple gallons of that methyl alcohol and had to get towed in and have his carb rebuilt and a lot of other work he blamed me and told others.

every year at christmas they would give me a bill for one gallon of fluid 6 bucks.... a gag gift

within a few years WG Johnston company in pittsburgh closed. it was a good place to work:)

[Stormin Mormon]

I've heard that many small engines (lawn mowers, etc) don't tolerate ethanol very well. I can imagine that a couple gals of methanol could really make a mess out of auto.

You did good to tank up and dilute it as soon as possible.

I've heard of using paint thinner for fuel in emergency.

[micky]

I adjusted the minimums for now.

[clare]

The bolts of the bumper mount would puncture the tank in a rear ender. A roughly $3.00 plastic sheild between the tank and the bumper reduced the risk several-fold.

[DerbyDad03]

From

"Engineers found that the majority of the ruptures were caused by two factors: 1) the filler neck breaking off and allowing fuel to pour out, where it could be exposed to an ignition source; and 2) the tank being penetrated by contact with the differential mounting bolts and right shock absorber.

This is where a third successful fix had been devised -- a rather simple plastic insulator fitted on the differential that would keep the bolts from ever making contact with the fuel tank. Cost of this item was less than $1. "

[gregz]

I'm wondering what year. It was around 1978 I drove my datsun cross country from ca. To near DC. I was going to a NASA school. A month later I was returning. Everything was good to go. I'm nearing las Vegas wondering if I should stop. It was uncertain if I old make another 130 miles to Barstow. I pull in and waste a couple hours looking for gas. There was a gas shortage in Vegas. I don't remember if I found any. After that day the gas shortage spread everywhere. That really limited my end year in ca.. I could go to vegas and back, plus driving around Vegas, on one tank. The Z had a 17 gallon tank.

Oh. That's the car I ran out of gas in Pittsburgh, 200 feet from my home.

Greg

[21blackswan]

thanks all,

I was concerned about the fumes in an empty can...

But, I can just buy a brand new [$5?] unused can, and no worry about fumes. I won't be used anyway - hopefully.

marc

[DerbyDad03]

If there are fumes in the can, then it's not empty.

How much dirt is in a hole 12? x 12" x 12"?