plastic fuel tanks
 

hi there,
this probably seems like a silly question but what is the legal position on
plastic fuel cans ?
i have a 20ltr quicksilver purpose built plastic removeable fuel tank (2 of
them actually) for my outboard, but the jobsworths at the local station
don't let me fill it up because legally petrol can only be stored in max
5ltr cans (no more than 2 of them!) when they are plastic
i looked on the trading standards site and it seems to confirm this -
is this true ? there must be thousands of these 20ltr tanks in the UK, are
they really all illegal?
thanks,
andy

plastic fuel tanks
 

"Andy C" wrote in message
...
hi there,
this probably seems like a silly question but what is the legal position
on
plastic fuel cans ?
i have a 20ltr quicksilver purpose built plastic removeable fuel tank (2
of
them actually) for my outboard, but the jobsworths at the local station
don't let me fill it up because legally petrol can only be stored in max
5ltr cans (no more than 2 of them!) when they are plastic
i looked on the trading standards site and it seems to confirm this -
is this true ? there must be thousands of these 20ltr tanks in the UK, are
they really all illegal?
thanks,
andy

I leave mine in the back of the car when filling, that way they don't see. I
also fill up at a very busy supermarket filling station, they don't have
time there to trot around checking.

plastic fuel tanks
 

"Andy C" wrote in message ...
hi there,
this probably seems like a silly question but what is the legal position on
plastic fuel cans ?
i have a 20ltr quicksilver purpose built plastic removeable fuel tank (2 of
them actually) for my outboard, but the jobsworths at the local station
don't let me fill it up because legally petrol can only be stored in max
5ltr cans (no more than 2 of them!) when they are plastic
i looked on the trading standards site and it seems to confirm this -
is this true ? there must be thousands of these 20ltr tanks in the UK, are
they really all illegal?
thanks,
andy


As I understand it, the regulations concern the dispensing of petrol,
not its storage. It may be dispensed into containers of max 5 litres
(plastic) or 10 litres (metal), suitably marked. There are also
regulations on storage at home, but these don't apply to fuel in
vehicle tanks, so I assume they won't apply to your boat tanks either.
Legally, all you can do is buy the fuel in quantities of 5 (or 10)
litres and transfer to the boat tank. In practice, I use 20 litre
metal jerry cans. I have a big 4x4, and always fill the cans up on
the other side of the car. No-one sees, no-one minds. Never had a
problem. Use a different station for a while, and fill up at the same
time as you fill the car.

IANAL, etc.

Ixion

plastic fuel tanks
 

I use a 20lt Jerry Can, occasionally 2 of them and have never had any
trouble with the local filling station or at the nearby supermarket. Try a
different petrol station.


"Andy C" wrote in message
...
hi there,
this probably seems like a silly question but what is the legal position
on
plastic fuel cans ?
i have a 20ltr quicksilver purpose built plastic removeable fuel tank (2
of
them actually) for my outboard, but the jobsworths at the local station
don't let me fill it up because legally petrol can only be stored in max
5ltr cans (no more than 2 of them!) when they are plastic
i looked on the trading standards site and it seems to confirm this -
is this true ? there must be thousands of these 20ltr tanks in the UK, are
they really all illegal?
thanks,
andy

plastic fuel tanks
 

In article , Andy C
writes
hi there,
this probably seems like a silly question but what is the legal position on
plastic fuel cans ?
i have a 20ltr quicksilver purpose built plastic removeable fuel tank (2 of
them actually) for my outboard, but the jobsworths at the local station
don't let me fill it up because legally petrol can only be stored in max
5ltr cans (no more than 2 of them!) when they are plastic
i looked on the trading standards site and it seems to confirm this -
is this true ? there must be thousands of these 20ltr tanks in the UK, are
they really all illegal?

If they were fixed in the boat like my permanently mounted 80lt tank
then there is no problem. The law applies to portable tanks where the
max (for plastic) is 5lt. Just fill it in your boot and no-one will
mind...

Nick
--
Nick @ noslow . org . uk

plastic fuel tanks
 

In article , roddytoo
wrote:
I leave mine in the back of the car when filling, that way they don't
see.

Some years ago our local garage decide to stop selling petrol. At the
time I had a Subaru Sumo van and to help out the old folk who rarely took
their cars to the mainland I offered to bring some cans of petrol back.
The young lady on the checkout was a bit concerned when I put 45 gallons
of fuel into the petrol tank:-)

--
A T (Sandy) Morton
on the Bicycle Island
In the Global Village
http://www.sandymillport.fsnet.co.uk

plastic fuel tanks
 

I use a 20lt Jerry Can, occasionally 2 of them and have never had any
trouble with the local filling station or at the nearby supermarket. Try a
different petrol station.

thanks all, it's just one lady who makes a fuss about it - i'll have to ask
her what shifts she works - lol
it's not a problem, i was just really surprised that it was illegal to use
these purpose built tanks and was curious if it was true...
thanks !
andy

plastic fuel tanks
 

Sandy Morton wrote in message ...
In article , roddytoo
wrote:
I leave mine in the back of the car when filling, that way they don't
see.

Some years ago our local garage decide to stop selling petrol. At the
time I had a Subaru Sumo van and to help out the old folk who rarely took
their cars to the mainland I offered to bring some cans of petrol back.
The young lady on the checkout was a bit concerned when I put 45 gallons
of fuel into the petrol tank:-)

I ran into trouble doing this. I filled the car (21 gallon tank, 95
litres, almost empty) and then carried on with the jerry can. I got
about 7 litres in the jerry can and the pump stopped. Turns out
Safeway have a 100 litre limit on all transactions. That's about 22
gallons, so you did well there.

Ixion