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Filling car LPG tank on hot days ?

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:18 pm
by Deleted User
On these stinkers we get, I cant fill the LPG tank even though its almost empty.
I was at a servo yesterday arvo and tried to fill the tank and it only took about 2 litres. A person using the same browser ( different hose :roll: ) filled there car without a problem. I tried that hose when they finished, but only got another 4 litres in.
I then went onto another servo and tried again. This time I got another 4 litres in. The person behind the counter said a lot of people have had trouble filling today due to the hot weather.
Later that night ( 10 o clock ) I went to the servo and it filled without a problem :armsup: . The bloke behind the counter said that they had had about 15 cars try to fill today without results because of the hot day.

I was told that with the hot weather, when the car tank is almost empty what is left in it expands and when you attach the filler hose to it and try to fill it the nozel switches off because the tank has registered as full ??

But why can some people fill up and others cant ?

Very frustrating --- Any answers, or remedy's ????

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:28 pm
by pubic
when an lpg tank is in the heat, it will get vapour lock, meaning that it wont let fuel out or in.. happen alot with forklifts in the heat/sun.

i had trouble staring an lpg commonwhore today for this reason.

just try to keep it in the shade i guess. but then again, some people might tell you that you can buy better lpg systems etc

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:35 pm
by redv8lux
It may depend on the position of your tank
I'm running 2 tanks under the hilux
1 opposite the petrol tank an the other across the back under the tray
The back 1 often wont fill properly during hot weather but is also a lot more exposed than the front 1

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:35 pm
by pcman
find a servo with above ground tank will normally work then

Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:47 pm
by cpt-mud
I think the problem might be that all tanks have an 80% fill valve. During hot weather, the gas in the tank may expand by up to 250% . Therefore the valve is sensinging that the tank is full , when it isnt.

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 7:13 am
by date
I have had this problem a couple of times in my Pajero (tank underneath). The first time, a servo attendant came out and ran a water hose over the top of the tank (and the filler box) for about 1 minute. Away it went no problems. I think it is the remaining few litres actually boiling inside the tank, building up pressure and not allowing the filler valve to open. Once the gas flow starts, it causes a sudden reduction in temperature inside the gas tank and it eases the problem.

If the gas pump is getting a bit weak, the problem is worse. I was at Erldunda a while back when they had just put in a new gas system. The pump pressure was so high that the fill valve froze and I took on a huge overfill of gas. This didn't matter so much then because I was going to use it immediately (not stand all day with the car in the sun). Same thing applies if you fill whilst a gas tanker is filling the station - you get a lot more gas in.

Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 9:36 pm
by turps
cpt-mud wrote:I think the problem might be that all tanks have an 80% fill valve. During hot weather, the gas in the tank may expand by up to 250% . Therefore the valve is sensinging that the tank is full , when it isnt.
Its a float valve in most tanks. And the liquid dosent expand that much.
Mine I think use to hold pressure in the fill hose. for some reason and wouldnt fill. But drive to the next servo and it worked.

Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:13 pm
by Eddy
Sit a bag of ice on the tank ... takes about 20 minutes to cool enough though.