# Gas pump with one hose?



## n6crv (Jul 19, 2012)

Hello, if buying mid grade gas and the pump only one hose for all the grades how much of the last grade to you get? All the stations around here only uses one hose, so if I want mid grade and the person before me got reg do I end up getting what is in the hose before I get what I wanted? I buy only one gal at once most of the time so do I get part in the reg grade. Or does the hose gets pumped back when it is shut off. If don't I feel like i'm getting what I pay for. Has this ever been checked?
Thanks!


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## JeffRey30747 (Jul 19, 2012)

I've always wondered about this too but I have never seen anything stating whether or how much fuel is left in the hose.


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## DanCorcoran (Jul 19, 2012)

. (this dot is a molehill)

O (this circle is a mountain)

Just make sure you're following someone who fills up with premium and you're a winner!


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## Backwoods Savage (Jul 19, 2012)

Right, that hose can hold quite a bit of gas and it is the gas that was pumped last. Usually doesn't matter but when getting only a gallon...


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## Halligan (Jul 19, 2012)

I always pump a couple gallons into my truck first then fill the gas can. That way I know I'm getting the 89 octane.


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## Realstone (Jul 19, 2012)

I always check the price/litre (price/gallon for the rest of us) on the pump against the price for reg. mid grade & premium. If the last guy pumped premium, then I'll use that pump.


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## Ashful (Jul 19, 2012)

Simple solution:  pump a gallon or two of that premium into your truck, before filling your chainsaw tank.  Putting a few gallons of premium in your truck may go against your principles, but it's a cheap way to ensure you're running hi-test in your saws.  Your truck needs gas anyway, and the price difference between 93 and 89 octain won't kill you on two gallons.


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## amateur cutter (Jul 19, 2012)

Go to a marina & buy 91 octane ethanol free, or the local airport for 100 octane LL AV gas, problem solved. A C


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## Prof (Jul 19, 2012)

amateur cutter said:


> Go to a marina & buy 91 octane ethanol free, or the local airport for 100 octane LL AV gas, problem solved. A C


 +1


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## MasterMech (Jul 20, 2012)

n6crv said:


> Hello, if buying mid grade gas and the pump only one hose for all the grades how much of the last grade to you get? All the stations around here only uses one hose, so if I want mid grade and the person before me got reg do I end up getting what is in the hose before I get what I wanted? I buy only one gal at once most of the time so do I get part in the reg grade. Or does the hose gets pumped back when it is shut off. If don't I feel like i'm getting what I pay for. Has this ever been checked?
> Thanks!


 
Had this problem quite a bit with motorcycles that _required_ premium gas to run correctly.  Most of the time the bike would only take 3 gallons or less unless I had run it dry.  I like the suggestion to pump at least a gallon into your car/truck tank, then fill your can.  One or two gallons of premium in your 30+ gallon truck tank ain't gonna amount to ....


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## rkshed (Jul 20, 2012)

amateur cutter said:


> Go to a marina & buy 91 octane ethanol free, or the local airport for 100 octane LL AV gas, problem solved. A C


 
This is the way to go!
AV gas smells great too. Use Klotz as the premix and it'll smell good as beef stew cooking on the woodstove! You'll think you're at a spa.
When racing 2 strokes back in the late 80s I found AV gas left the top end cleaner on my CR500 too.


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## Realstone (Jul 20, 2012)

rkshed said:


> This is the way to go!
> AV gas smells great too. Use Klotz as the premix and it'll smell good as beef stew cooking on the woodstove! You'll think you're at a spa.
> When racing 2 strokes back in the late 80s I found AV gas left the top end cleaner on my CR500 too.


What's wrong with corn gas?


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## bluedogz (Jul 20, 2012)

rkshed said:


> This is the way to go!
> AV gas smells great too. Use Klotz as the premix and it'll smell good as beef stew cooking on the woodstove! You'll think you're at a spa.
> When racing 2 strokes back in the late 80s I found AV gas left the top end cleaner on my CR500 too.


 
Ahh... the smell of race gas on a cold race-day morning.  Wish I could bottle that.


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## RichVT (Jul 20, 2012)

I remember when motorcyclists used to go to gas stations after hours and fill their tanks with what was left in the hoses.


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## nate379 (Jul 20, 2012)

Am I the only one that runs the cheapest gas sold in my saw?  It's a chainsaw, not a race car!


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## Ashful (Jul 20, 2012)

nate379 said:


> Am I the only one that runs the cheapest gas sold in my saw? It's a chainsaw, not a race car!


 
Chainsaws are high compression engines, just like race cars. I'm not sure how the price of _your _saw stacks up to a few pennies saved per gallon, but it's likley best to run some decent octain and avoid pre-ignition.


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## nate379 (Jul 20, 2012)

I should tell that to the old saw I had I guess.  Had run hundreds of cords through it on the factory motor before I sold it.


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## Ashful (Jul 20, 2012)

nate379 said:


> I should tell that to the old saw I had I guess. Had run hundreds of cords through it on the factory motor before I sold it.


 
Same here.  Word I got was it's more an issue with modern saws than older saws.  I had never run anything higher than 87 octain thru any of my 1970's / 1980's saws, before I came here.  Now I have new saws, and am forced to buy this fangled 93 octain stuff.


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## Realstone (Jul 20, 2012)

Joful said:


> Same here. Word I got was it's more an issue with modern saws than older saws. I had never run anything higher than 87 octain thru any of my 1970's / 1980's saws, before I came here. Now I have new saws, and am forced to buy this fangled 93 octain stuff.


And don't you dare forget to add your Stabil...


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## Highbeam (Jul 20, 2012)

The saw manual will tell you what octane of fuel it was designed for. Using lower or higher octane can cause damage. I follow directions written by the men that engineered my equipment and use regular gas.


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## Ashful (Jul 20, 2012)

Realstone said:


> And don't you dare forget to add your Stabil...


 
Haven't used it in years, and never had a problem.  Maybe ignorance is bliss?


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## jackatc1 (Jul 20, 2012)

nate379 said:


> Am I the only one that runs the cheapest gas sold in my saw? It's a chainsaw, not a race car!


You are not alone, I run a12yearold 372 xp and 6 year 350 on 87 octane.
I buy my gas at a very busy sation, no stabil added, 30 days out it go's in truck.
Both saw drop start at three pull's cold. Maybe four.


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## Realstone (Jul 20, 2012)

jackatc1 said:


> I buy my gas at a very busy sation, no stabil added, 30 days out it go's in truck...


Is it ok to run 50:1 in a modern 4 stroke engine?


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## bogydave (Jul 21, 2012)

I've always been told high octane gasoline burns slower & runs cooler in all 2 cycle engines. The main reason high octane is good in 2 cycle engines is for the cooler operating temps , not more power.
Which to me translates: faster burning, *regular gasoline* gives 2 cycles more power but higher exhaust gas temperatures & more of a chance to burn/scorch the piston.
&
the *higher the octane* rating, the slower & cooler burning with less power.
So if the saw manual says 87 octane (like in my manual)  & you burn 91 octane, you get less power out of more expensive gasoline. (but lower exhaust temps)

Lower octane than the saw is rated to operate on is more damaging than higher octane due to the increased exhaust temperatures.
But the potential for me to be wrong is huge. 

Octane is added to gasoline to increases the ignition compression pressure of the fuel gas mixture so it doesn't pre-ignite before it is ignited by the spark plug (ie: knocking in  during the compression stroke.) A problem for high compression, high performance engines running on regular gasoline. Which can occur on 2 cycle engines also & cause engine damage.


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## bogydave (Jul 21, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Is it ok to run 50:1 in a modern 4 stroke engine?


 
Not sure, but  i'd think it may cause the catalytic converter to get hotter than normal since it has to burn the oil that will be in the exhaust.


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## MasterMech (Jul 21, 2012)

Realstone said:


> Is it ok to run 50:1 in a modern 4 stroke engine?


 
Diluted by 20 gallons of straight gas I don't think it would be a problem.  Would I mix up 34 gallons of 50:1 for the truck, prolly not. 

FWIW: I prefer the fuel disposal unit that also mows the grass.


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## rkshed (Jul 21, 2012)

All of the crap gas that comes out of the bikes I work on goes into the tractor.
Green death gas appears to have no affect on my tractor.
Just as long as it keeps hauling wood for me...


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## nate379 (Jul 22, 2012)

I have run some 2 stroke mix in small engines when I ran out of reg gas and it seems to work ok.  Though I also ran diesel in a mower and pressure washer by mistake one weekend too.  Ran ok, though was hard to get started!
All I know is when you label something gas, don't put diesel in without re marking the label!

And no I didn't notice the smell when I poured it in, I work on diesels enough I guess I don't really smell it anymore.


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## Realstone (Jul 22, 2012)

nate379 said:


> Though I also ran diesel in a mower and pressure washer by mistake one weekend too. Ran ok, though was hard to get started!


??? Are you saying they actually ran on diesel, or that they ran ok after swapping out the diesel for gasoline?


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## nate379 (Jul 23, 2012)

They ran on diesel.  The mower I put almost 4 gallons in too so it took a while to use it all.



Realstone said:


> ??? Are you saying they actually ran on diesel, or that they ran ok after swapping out the diesel for gasoline?


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## Realstone (Jul 23, 2012)

nate379 said:


> They ran on diesel. The mower I put almost 4 gallons in too so it took a while to use it all.


Everyday I learn something new here


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## Jags (Jul 23, 2012)

nate379 said:


> They ran on diesel. The mower I put almost 4 gallons in too so it took a while to use it all.


 
I made this mistake years ago (when diesel had the same diameter handle as regular gas).  Pumped about 8 gallons of diesel into an old 1977 Cordoba (360).  Realized the mistake and filled the rest of the tank with premium fuel.  It ran, but ran like crap.  Took forever to run that tank of fuel out.


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## lukem (Jul 23, 2012)

I run regular 87 octane gasohol in everything...haven't had any ill effects yet.

Check local listings, but the 89 octane is probably gasohol too.

Some old farmers I used to work for would run a small amount of diesel in their gas trucks/tractors every so often. I don't remember the ratio, but it was probably 40:1. They claimed it cleaned out the engine. It might be a bunch of crap, but they had 400K miles on an old 454 Chevy that never had an easy day in its life.


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## Cowboy Billy (Jul 23, 2012)

Back in the late 70's early 80's Dad used to run 25% diesel in his cars as diesel cost a lot less back then. And I remember one time with my uncle when he ran out of gas heading to the farm and dumped 4 gal of diesel in his 460 Lincoln to get to the next gas station. It ran on it but he left it running when he filled it with gas. He said if he had shut it off it would not start again.

Billy


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## MasterMech (Jul 23, 2012)

Farm I worked for as a teenager bought a new (2001) Chevy 3500 with what was _supposed_ to be a DuraMax diesel. Since the dealership didn't fill the tanks with fuel (we must have beat 'em up good on that deal  ) that was the first thing the farm manager did when he got back. Turns out we pumped 55 gallons of diesel fuel into a brand-new truck that had a Vortec 8100 (496 cu in big block, hell yeah ) in it. After draining as much as he could out, he filled it up with gas and took off, it sputtered a few times, and ran great ever since. Guy that handed over the keys at the dealership said "Yeah they make 'em run quiet now...."


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## basod (Jul 26, 2012)

My boss bougth one of those 8100's on the farm with a dump body - thirsty beast.
Not much better was the Triton V-10 he leased the previous spring. 
Nowadays you'd probably have to make 3-4 deliveries before you break even on the daily fuel bill


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## BrotherBart (Jul 26, 2012)

When I was 14 I worked in a Texaco station that didn't get a lot of business because of high price. Between cars coming in to fill up I would drain the hoses into my five gallon can on the pump island. Hardly ever had to buy gas for that ole Chevy.


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## mikefrommaine (Jul 26, 2012)

BrotherBart said:


> When I was 14 I worked in a Texaco station that didn't get a lot of business because of high price. Between cars coming in to fill up I would drain the hoses into my five gallon can on the pump island. Hardly ever had to buy gas for that ole Chevy.



So how many times did it take to fill the gas can? 

Sounds like your just the person to answer the original question!


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## BrotherBart (Jul 26, 2012)

mikefrommaine said:


> So how many times did it take to fill the gas can?
> 
> Sounds like your just the person to answer the original question!


 
I'm 64. I can't remember what I had for breakfast, much less how many tips of the hose it took to fill the can 50 years ago.  Looks like time for somebody to take a can to a gas station and empty the hose into the empty can and report back. But I sure wouldn't pay for premium fuel and just pump a gallon. You get the hose full of lower octane and give a hose full that you paid extra for to the next guy.


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## bogydave (Jul 26, 2012)

BrotherBart said:


> When I was 14 I worked in a Texaco station that didn't get a lot of business because of high price. Between cars coming in to fill up I would drain the hoses into my five gallon can on the pump island. Hardly ever had to buy gas for that ole Chevy.


 
Ha Ha. LOL
Did the exact same thing. Except it was for filling up my 51 Ford PU, (3 speed on the column) .


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