Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 22:03:01 -0700
Reply-To: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Don't top off gas tanks
In-Reply-To: <CAOBs5F771E-TAThwZ-aLj4gi8RhQKGP=EOZ7sw6vp6zOQC5DCw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
That happens to me sometimes as well, and I have a new tank and all the plumbing.
It's all about pump flow speed. Gas pumps send rapid pulses of air down the fill pipe and can detect the frequency change of the pulses bouncing back, which gets faster as the fuel rises in the fill pipe. Kind of like air radar. Sometimes fuel just rises in the neck too fast for the system to work properly. I also think the camel hump tank Vanagons have contributes to this (not in the Syncro tank though, which is designed to hold fuel and not to have an obsolete heater duct pass through).
That's why position in the neck and fill speed can have a dramatic effect, and it's really about slowing down flow for the last gallon or so.
Stuart
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of PB
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 7:07 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Don't top off gas tanks
Great thread! I've been meaning to ask about this. When I put gas in my
90 Westy automatic, the pump doesn't stop, and the gas spills out exactly as if I had attempted to top it off. It wasn't always this way, but it seems to be getting worse each time. What needs to be fixed? I guess in the meantime I guess I should aim for a 3/4 tank "fillup," and not wait for the pump to stop. After the spilled gas dries, there are no fumes. I live in Cali, where the pumps are all self-service.
Patti
90 Westy automatic
On Fri, Aug 15, 2014 at 5:30 PM, OlRivrRat <olrivrrat@comcast.net> wrote:
> James
>
> Actually the Vanagon Evap'System is designed to deal with
> LiquidGasoline ~ Each ExpansionTank has a ReturnHose from its low
>
> point back to the GasTank & in a lot of cases it is ThoseHosesAlone
> that are the Cause of The GasFumeSmell on FillUp even if you don't
>
> TopItOff as their ConnectionPoint to the GasTank is FairlyLow ~
>
>
>
>
>
> ORR ~ DeanB
>
> On 15 Aug , 2014, at 4:17 PM, James wrote:
>
> > Dean,
> >
> > Frank Condelli found one of the two plastic vapor canisters above
> > the
> front wheels was cracked this spring and he patched it, as those
> beasties are NLA. Haven't had the other one down to look at it.
> >
> > But this is not first vehicle I've had that gives gas fumes after
> refuelling if the tank is filled too high - have had that with other
> VWs, Toyotas, a Dodge, and my mother's Pontiac. Filling a gas tank to
> the brim just overwhelms the evaporative emissions system, which is
> designed to control a certain amount of vapor, not liquid.
> >
> > James
> > Ottawa, ON
> >
> >
> >
> > > Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 13:41:17 -0600
> > > From: OlRivrRat@COMCAST.NET
> > > Subject: Re: Don't top off gas tanks
> > > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > >
> > > James
> > >
> > > If all of your GasTank & ExpansionTank
> > > Seals&Grommets&ConnectingHoses
> are In GoodShape & DoingTheirJob Properly you ShouldNot
> > >
> > > get any GasFumeSmells even if you FillItToTheBrim ~ You should
> > > look
> into what might be leaking & get it replaced or Just Do a Complete G'T'
> > >
> > > Reseal ~
> > >
> > > ORR ~ DeanB
> > >
> > > On 13 Aug , 2014, at 1:09 PM, James wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi Roy,
> > > >
> > > > If you read your owner's manual, you are NOT supposed to 'top off'
> the tank in a Vanagon - you are to stop fueling when the pump kicks
> out the first time, according to VW. There's very little vertical
> height between the top of the gas tank in our beloved vans and the
> evaporation control tanks and gear - I asssume that's why the warning.
> Certainly on our '91 if I top off the tank (only did it once) I get
> strong gas fumes, but if I stop when the pump kicks out, then the
> fumes don't happen (except on really hot days, if I park soon after fueling).
> > > >
> > > > James
> > > > Ottawa, ON
> > > >
> > > >> Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2014 02:34:18 -0300
> > > >> From: RNicholl@NBNET.NB.CA
> > > >> Subject: Fresh water tank leaking via vent.
> > > >> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > > >>
> > > >> All,
> > > >>
> > > >> I seem to recall very topic being posted to the list not that
> > > >> long
> ago, but seem unable to find it searching my Vanagon folder ... I
> apologise in advance for the redundancy.
> > > >>
> > > >> The 3.5 year old and I have been on the road for almost a week
> > > >> in
> our new-to-us '88 Westfalia ... which my son has aptly and
> affectionately named "The Hyena" {Sorry Don.}. Things are well
> mechanically thus far - the only issue is the lines to the overflow
> tanks need to be replaced. I bought some line in Calgary and will
> attend to it, the first chance I get. In the interim, you stop filling when the pump kicks out.
>
--
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