Contaminated fuel!!!! Not wrong fuel put in! Be aware!!!! (1 Viewer)

[Janine]

If only Fortnum and Mason did fuels…..

Or M&S

 

[Jo662]

I’ve heard of many people having problems with supermarket fuel,not only Tesco’s.
my daughter always used to fill up at Tesco’s,despite me telling her not to, because it was cheaper. Until her BMW started misfiring and generally running rough,i said fill up at a shell garage next time,and it took two refills for the engine to run as it did. She always fills at shell or BP stations now.

 

[xYachties]

I use a ESSO card at their stations, small discount so same price as tesco fuel, but hopefully better quality.

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[CazPaul]

I’ve never had any problem with Tesco fuel for the car. The Motorhome always Shell V power.

 

[chatteris]

we had a transit truck in a while back that had died about a hundred yards from filling up at a BP station, we drained several gallons of water out of the diesel tank, i use the same station but always use ultimate diesel and have not had any problems

 

[Lucky]

It is the same standard as any other fuel sold in every other fuel station in UK And you are fully aware of that.

I disagree.

My brother had a career with Shell and he said the base ingredient is essentially the same because it originates from a handful of refineries but differing retailers (eg Shell, Tesco etc) opt for different additives. Antioxidants, cold-flow and conductivity improvers, dehazers, H2S and mercaptan scavengers, octane and cetane improvers, lubricity improvers, metal deactivators, diesel stabilizers and corrosion inhibitors to name but a few. Hence the product dispensed at the forecourt DOES differ from one retailer to another.

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[63720]

I disagree.

My brother had a career with Shell and he said the base ingredient is essentially the same because it originates from a handful of refineries but differing retailers (eg Shell, Tesco etc) opt for different additives. Antioxidants, cold-flow and conductivity improvers, dehazers, H2S and mercaptan scavengers, octane and cetane improvers, lubricity improvers, metal deactivators, diesel stabilizers and corrosion inhibitors to name but a few. Hence the product dispensed at the forecourt DOES differ from one retailer to another.

All fuel retailed has to meet the same British Standard wherever it's sold and the relevant number must be displayed on the pump.

Fuel Specifications - British Standards

iashulf.memberclicks.net

 

[cakey]

On friday I refilled my van with 43 litres of diesel at my local Tesco garage and drove approximately 400 mts to my home, as I arrived home the fuel filter warning light illuminated just before I turned the engine off. Yesterday I had to move the van, when I started the engine the panel warning lit up with the Fuel Filter Warning! I shut down and checked to see what was wrong - handbook said bleed fuel filter, which I did, and was presented with a bottleful of very dirty fuel! Been to the Tesco garage, and although the duty manager initially said that they had had a few complaints, and took my information, later comunication with head office denies evererything!
Today! Through my insurance company I contacted AA breakdown, they sent a man, he took a fuel sample directly from the fuel tank, declared it contaminated which could only have come from my last refuel! He personally took the sample to the Tesco garage to tell them of the problem. Tesco say there is no problem with their system! AA man's comment to me on return 'strange how many diesel pumps are locked off!'
Now my problem is to get this sorted, if I had mistakenly put the wrong fuel in the AA would have sorted it, but because I had put in contaminated diesel they could only transport my van to a garage of my choice! Can't be sorted at the roadside!! So this now leaves me with a van I can't run, a tank full - 95lts of contaminated diesel fuel £140, plus a bill of approximately £400 to sort it!
It all comes down to proof, and as far as Tesco is concerned, it has nothing to do with them!!! They know exactly where, when and how much I put in! Not the first time our local Tesco garage has had this problem!

Not a good day!

On friday I refilled my van with 43 litres of diesel at my local Tesco garage and drove approximately 400 mts to my home, as I arrived home the fuel filter warning light illuminated just before I turned the engine off. Yesterday I had to move the van, when I started the engine the panel warning lit up with the Fuel Filter Warning! I shut down and checked to see what was wrong - handbook said bleed fuel filter, which I did, and was presented with a bottleful of very dirty fuel! Been to the Tesco garage, and although the duty manager initially said that they had had a few complaints, and took my information, later comunication with head office denies evererything!
Today! Through my insurance company I contacted AA breakdown, they sent a man, he took a fuel sample directly from the fuel tank, declared it contaminated which could only have come from my last refuel! He personally took the sample to the Tesco garage to tell them of the problem. Tesco say there is no problem with their system! AA man's comment to me on return 'strange how many diesel pumps are locked off!'
Now my problem is to get this sorted, if I had mistakenly put the wrong fuel in the AA would have sorted it, but because I had put in contaminated diesel they could only transport my van to a garage of my choice! Can't be sorted at the roadside!! So this now leaves me with a van I can't run, a tank full - 95lts of contaminated diesel fuel £140, plus a bill of approximately £400 to sort it!
It all comes down to proof, and as far as Tesco is concerned, it has nothing to do with them!!! They know exactly where, when and how much I put in! Not the first time our local Tesco garage has had this problem!

Not a good day!

Long story short filled up with dirty diesel in France. Although the break down cover was brilliant, got the van, me and the wife back home at no cost none the less the less the bill to sort out was just short of £2500. Less than 2 years later the engine destroyed itself, new engine just short of £10,000. You didn’t mention what make the vehicle was but mine was a Fiat Ducato 130 multijet with 23000 miles on the clock. My message to you is to pay what ever the cost to get every last drop of diesel out of the fuel system . Tank engine the lot.

 

[Lucky]

All fuel retailed has to meet the same British Standard wherever it's sold and the relevant number must be displayed on the pump.

Fuel Specifications - British Standards

iashulf.memberclicks.net

Minimum standards.

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[DuxDeluxe]

I disagree.

My brother had a career with Shell and he said the base ingredient is essentially the same because it originates from a handful of refineries but differing retailers (eg Shell, Tesco etc) opt for different additives. Antioxidants, cold-flow and conductivity improvers, dehazers, H2S and mercaptan scavengers, octane and cetane improvers, lubricity improvers, metal deactivators, diesel stabilizers and corrosion inhibitors to name but a few. Hence the product dispensed at the forecourt DOES differ from one retailer to another.

You have a point but all of those are mostly in similar quantities in all fuels (and most are necessary or mandated*) and are in low parts per million. Ergo, the fuel is the same except for something thought up by the marketing department to promote a fuel..

*Nobody makes an ultra low sulphur fuel without a lubricator improver. Your brother is right but these additives do not change the performance of the fuel. We used to test pump fuel from all over the world in our lab in Speyer and other places directly comparing brand to brand

here is a public domain document about it. Institut fresenius is part of SGS

https://www.institut-fresenius.de/de/download/SGS_OGC_Market_Study_Fuel_Additives.pdf

 

[Augusta08]

My experience is that Shell V-Power costs 15 pence per litre more ie +10% and gives me 4mpg improved fuel economy ie +12% economy.

I will NEVER use Supermarket fuel again.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Minimum standards.

….unless you want to lose a fortune selling the stuff in a highly competitive market with very low margins you always brew and blend to the minimum standard and minimise any giveaway.

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[DuxDeluxe]

My experience is that Shell V-Power costs 15 pence per litre more ie +10% and gives me 4mpg improved fuel economy ie +12% economy.

I will NEVER use Supermarket fuel again.

Lucky you I always found it cost neutral at best And made no difference in the motorhome. I still fill up with it every now and again due to the enhanced detergents in the fuel. It is good stuff like all the so called super fuels but expensive

 

[SpeedyDux]

My experience is that Shell V-Power costs 15 pence per litre more ie +10% and gives me 4mpg improved fuel economy ie +12% economy.

I will NEVER use Supermarket fuel again.

Me too. Either Shell or Esso premium diesel. My annual mileage in the PVC is low so the potential cost savings from using supermarket cheapo diesel are too small to take chances. My experience of supermarket standard unleaded in the car wasn't good, so I regard their generic diesel as no more trustworthy despite what DuxDeluxe keeps telling us.

I never fill up when the tanker is there, because the rate at which tankers unload stirs up all the dirt, water, and other contamination lying at the bottom of the storage tanks. Yes I know the pumps are supposed to have filters but that's another supposition I wouldn't rely on. In the old days they closed the forecourt while the tanker was unloading. Not any longer.

 

[The Wino]

I've filled both diesel cars and the MH from wherever the fuel is cheapest usually Sainsbury's Tesco or Morrisons for as long as I can remember and never had a problem. I tend to think as there always busy it might be fresher.

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[DuxDeluxe]

Me too. Either Shell or Esso premium diesel. My annual mileage in the PVC is low so the potential cost savings from using supermarket cheapo diesel are too small to take chances. My experience of supermarket standard unleaded in the car wasn't good, so I regard their generic diesel as no more trustworthy despite what DuxDeluxe keeps telling us.

I never fill up when the tanker is there, because the rate at which tankers unload stirs up all the dirt, water, and other contamination lying at the bottom of the storage tanks. Yes I know the pumps are supposed to have filters but that's another supposition I wouldn't rely on. In the old days they closed the forecourt while the tanker was unloading. Not any longer.

At the end of the day it is very much the user‘s choice. My only bad fuel was from a BP garage many many years ago and after investigation they paid for all the repairs. Looking at all my recent fuel purchases, it is mostly the local Esso for convenience plus also BP, Shell, Tesco and Gulf. To me it makes no difference (apart from VPower type fuels which are good stuff) and in the grand scheme of things it is not worth going out of my way to save a couple of quid on a fill. If the local garage was Tesco then I would fill there

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I've filled both diesel cars and the MH from wherever the fuel is cheapest usually Sainsbury's Tesco or Morrisons for as long as I can remember and never had a problem. I tend to think as there always busy it might be fresher.

That is a good point as especially gasoline tends to oxidise over time but any garage that sells fuel must turn over a fairly decent volume or they would stop selling it. Still a good point though. Like AdBlue - I always buy through Amazon from a major supplier as this is likely the freshest. Never off a forecourt where it has been standing in the sun for a few weeks

 

[The Wino]

That is a good point as especially gasoline tends to oxidise over time but any garage that sells fuel must turn over a fairly decent volume or they would stop selling it. Still a good point though. Like AdBlue - I always buy through Amazon from a major supplier as this is likely the freshest. Never off a forecourt where it has been standing in the sun for a few weeks

I've only started using adblue last year. I tend to buy it on offer at Aldi and keep it in the garage which is reasonably dark and cool.
I've filled the MH tank ready for not being used much over the winter although I think as a plastic tank it's less prone to condensation anyway.

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[jockaneezer]

I fill up at a fuel supplier on an industrial estate. They only have 4 pumps, but I have the choice of DERV, red diesel or kerosene depending on how flush I am !

 

[Langtoftlad]

Must be millions of fill ups at supermarket fuel stations without any problems.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I've only started using adblue last year. I tend to buy it on offer at Aldi and keep it in the garage which is reasonably dark and cool

Never thought of that. They pile high and sell quickly - so that is probably my next AdBlue purchase place. I wait until the gauge is well below half and then the whole 10 litres goes in. Impossible to fill mine from a pump as the filler is in a stupid location under the bonnet (A Class letter box access)

Thanks for the tip

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[DuxDeluxe]

Must be millions of fill ups at supermarket fuel stations without any problems.

I used to make that point regularly. If supermarket fuel is such crap, then why:

- aren’t there gazillions of vehicles with damaged engines being towed in
- or broken down at the side of the road
- aren’t trading standards crawling all over them
- aren’t the supermarkets facing multiple court cases by angry car owners
- HMRC doing the same.

There is a good reason

Ignoring super cars, the average vehicle engine is designed by the manufacturer to run on the lowest common denominator fuel without problems which is a “standard” way below current EN/BS standards. They spend millions on obtaining real life fuels from everywhere they export their vehicles and extensively test the fuel in order to do modelling on the effects on the engine. Same thing to a certain extent with lubes

 

[Hettie's Crew]

It doesn’t matter which retailer it is I never use it if there is a tanker there.
The filling of the storage tanks churns up any gunge in the bottom.
If the tankers just left and you didn’t see it, that’s very bad luck, I would imagine it takes a few minutes to settle down.
Recently with the shortages, tanks may be much lower levels also.

 

[Podney]

Yes. Most of my life in the fuel and fuel testing business heavily involved with gasoline and diesel quality

I rely on what I’m told by people who service and repair vehicles . Im happy to take their advice,based on their actual experience within the motor industry. They tell me to buy BP and Shell (they don’t sell it). Just like I rely on my dentist to tell me how to look after my teeth,not the toothpaste companies. No intended.

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[Purrfecttune]

Six years ago I bought a Ford Probe that I was very proud of and decided to see if my mpg could be affected by different brands.
Consequently, every time I filled up, I worked out how much fuel had been used against the mileage and wrote it on the receipt along with where it came from and also kept a log (I really enjoy analysing things)!

There was a definite difference, with Esso giving the worst mpg although that was the cheapest at the time. The best was shell, which was amongst some of the most expensive (I also compared the Shell extra or whatever it was at a few pence more per litre and that did not seem to make any difference to the mpg at all).
However, my log showed that the petrol from Sainsbury’s was clearly the same as/as good as Shell.
Hence, I always fill up at Sainsbury’s which is amongst the best prices generally.

Of course, the Probe was petrol, I can only assume that the same logic applies to diesel suppliers.

Not many people have all their bills including every petrol receipt for three years when they sell their car on!!!!

 

[John Barrett]

I have to say that I've never experienced problems with fuel. Aren't fuel filters designed and manufactured to separate water and solids from the fuel before it reaches the injector pump??

 

[DuxDeluxe]

I rely on what I’m told by people who service and repair vehicles . Im happy to take their advice,based on their actual experience within the motor industry. They tell me to buy BP and Shell (they don’t sell it). Just like I rely on my dentist to tell me how to look after my teeth,not the toothpaste companies. No intended.

It is a free choice and they both give a good forecourt experience (they only really make profit out of the convenience shop and concessions). Just wonder what they find wrong with the other oil majors Seriously though, at the end of the day it is very much personal preference and a fill at a BP or Shell station (most of them are franchises) is a pleasant experience. My local Esso station is on the other hand, a bit tatty but just around the corner

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[The Wino]

It doesn’t matter which retailer it is I never use it if there is a tanker there.
The filling of the storage tanks churns up any gunge in the bottom.
If the tankers just left and you didn’t see it, that’s very bad luck, I would imagine it takes a few minutes to settle down.
Recently with the shortages, tanks may be much lower levels also.

I thought that but don't know where on the tank the fuel is taken from I assume either the bottom or very close to it in which case it won't matter.
It's like when there was a fashion for lifting the hose to get out the last bit of fuel seems like a good idea until you realise the valve is the bit you hold the pipe is still full of fuel anyway!

 

[OldWomble]

It is the same standard as any other fuel sold in every other fuel station in UK And you are fully aware of that.

Stop

A tanker driver who delivers to all the supermarkets once told me their fuel should be about 10 - 15p Ltr less than main fuel companies because they do not put any additives in. The main one being the one that stops the diesel forming jelly like lumps if left in your tank for a few months. So, no. They are not all the same.

 

[dash300]

I fill up at a fuel supplier on an industrial estate. They only have 4 pumps, but I have the choice of DERV, red diesel or kerosene depending on how flush I am !

I'd avoid the Kerosene! It's not the same as Diesel. Diesel is 35 second whereas Kerosene is 28 Second which relates to their relative viscosity.
Diesels will run on Kerosene but modern Diesels will not like it. Reds the way to go if you feel daring!

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