Dunce cap fits :(

[Crossroads]

So, here I sit waiting for a tow in Plummer Idaho after grabbing the wrong nozzle at the gas station. On the bright side, I realized what I was doing at about the 14 gallon mark. Unfortunately, 6 of that was in my auxiliary tank. So, it seems that's going to be about a $1400 lapse in brain function at $700 per tank.

[sawguy21]

Ouch, that smarts! Don't feel bad, you are not the first and won't be the last.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I feel your pain.

  My secretary borrowed my project van in Kristiansand Norway then filled it up with diesel across the road from our office before returning it. When I and my riders got in that evening to leave it cranked rough then died. I went up to my office and checked the receipt as I'd reimbursed out of petty cash and saw the problem. It was a gas powered engine. Avis came and took it to have the fuel drained and replaced and we got it back the next day. I had another teammate do the same thing a few months later on a site visit. As I remember the diesel nozzle will fit in the gas tanks but the gas nozzle will not fit in a diesel vehicle.

[Ljohnsaw]

So, it seems that's going to be about a $1400 lapse in brain function at $700 per tank.

?
If you put gas in the diesel tank or diesel in the gas tank, isn't just a matter of draining them dry, rinse with the proper liquid and drain a couple of times?  That's assuming you didn't try and start it pumping the wrong fluid into the system.  I'm I missing something?

[WV Sawmiller]

   I'm no mechanic but I think that is basically the cure. You do have to change the fuel filter too as I remember.

[Crossroads]

Yeah, it's a diesel pickup. I started it just long enough to get it out of the way. I found another place that says they can do it for about $400 shop time, but it sounds like I'll be responsible for getting rid of the contaminated fuel.

[Wudman]

One of the Sheetz stations that I patronize has E-85, E-15, E-10, Premium, Mid-Grade, and diesel all on the same island......No chance for a mess up there.  Even if you know what you are doing, you still have to do a double take.

I went to a safety presentation a while back.  One of the topics was a fuel delivery put gasoline in a loggers diesel tank.  The logger and a truck driver were talking while fueling the truck.  Something ignited the gas fumes resulting in two fatalities.  There is some danger involved.  Had a fire call here a while back where a gentleman was putting a fuel pump on his pickup.  He was parked over a grease pit.  He dropped his trouble light which broke and ignited vapors in the pit along with some liquid gas that had spilled.  He was able to escape with singeing and minor burns, but his vehicle and shed were a complete loss.  Be careful.

Wudman

[Southside]

Any local farmers around? With a big enough bulk tank they would be happy to take that fuel off your hands. 

[Crossroads]

It has roughly 20/80 mixture, I wonder if someone could use it in an oil furnace? 

[Ianab]

It has roughly 20/80 mixture, I wonder if someone could use it in an oil furnace?

If they dumped it into a 100 gal tank, you wouldn't pick the difference. Just call it "Winter Blend" as it would resist gelling a bit better. 

[armechanic]

If it is put in a clean container, when the vehicle got down to 1\2-3\4  tank I would top off with it.  The old Vietnam era military vehicles would run on gasoline mixed with motor oil. Then JP8 without anything added.

[Crossroads]

Everything I've read so far says 1% gas to diesel is enough to reduce the lubrication effect of the diesel enough to whipe out the injector pump which over 2k. So, though it may work, I'm 500 miles from home and am convinced that I need to play it safe. I've found someone who will use it in a fuel oil heater. So, at this point, I'm happy to just give the contaminated fuel away instead of paying $600 to get rid of it. If I was home, I'm might be a little more adventurous lol , but I've had about as much adventure as I can handle for this week 😉

[YellowHammer]

I put gas in my diesel once, a full load.  Diesel engines these days are not comfigured to run on gas, and some of the seal and components that are optimized for diesel degrade very quickly with gas.  Within one day of me putting gas in my diesel pickup, after having it towed, being told there was real potential of ruining the injectors at $800 each, as well as the high pressure fuel pump, as well as other things, incluing seal and lines, I had my doubts if it was really that bad.  I learned pretty quick, the mechanics weren't pulling my leg.  Once you start the truck, the low pressure pump will send it to the high pressure pump and then throughout the high pressure fuel rail and injectors then loop back to the tank.  The entire fuel system is quickly contaminated and must be purged.  I'll not forget seeing the dashboard alarms light up like a Christmas tree, as well as seeing the fuel filter housing o rings shrink due to the gas, and start spontaneously leaking within a day, even though the truck was at the shop.  It was like the gasoline might have well been battery acid, and my truck did not like it at all, and told me all about it.  A thousand bucks later all was well.  Luckily I didn't drive it long enough to cause major damage, although it took a full day in the shop and several flushings of the fuel system to make my error codes stop popping up.  I even bought a code reader so I could clear the intermittent codes that kept popping up for the next few days, mostly due to fuel system vacuum and pressure leaks.  Interestingly enough, once the seals were re exposed to pure diesel, they swelled back up and started sealing again.  I asked my insurance agent about it, he said it happens all the time, people drive it til it dies, and cost about $9,000 to repair and replace.  Since it is the definition of an accident "I accidentally put gas in my diesel" it would have been covered under insurance.  

[terrifictimbersllc]

 Once when my truck was brand new I was at a truck stop and I put in 1.5 gallons of gasoline  into an almost empty tank before I realized what happened. I immediately went over to the shop that was open there and found some truckers and mechanics talking . They asked how big the tank was I said 38 gallons and they said just go ahead and fill it up with diesel you'll be fine, You might want to do that in the coldest part of winter any way.

[Crossroads]

I just picked up my pickup and all is well and running smooth. I got lucky and the bill was reasonable at $386. Then stopped at the nearest station and poored 80 gallons of diesel in so I can head home in the morning 

[samandothers]

Glad it worked out for you to not be outrageously expensive.

[ljmathias]

I did the reverse once, putting diesel in a gas engine. Family was with me on a long trip home for Christmas, pulled into a station and filled it up with gas. Problem was, the tanker had just been there and put diesel in the gas storage tank. Cranked it up and got just about one mile on the interstate when it just quit. I looked around- half a dozen other cars all with the same problem on a mile or so stretch. Tow truck business made a day of it.

Here's the good news. Car was an old model Mazda that back then actually had a drain plug in the gas tank. You'll not see one of those nowadays. Long story short: I (quite illegally) unscrewed the plug (with the a wrench from the tool kit I always used to carry on long trips) and drained it all out onto the side of the interstate. Tow truck hauled the car back to the station, I filled it up and couple of cranks: back in business! Got the family home just in time for dinner. Total cost to me: nothing since the station paid for the tows.

LJ

[Crossroads]

Yay, made it back today. Truck ran fine, so I guess all is well. 

[hturner12]

I was headed home  from the land awhile back just about to cross I 75 saw a late 90's F250 broke  down on the entrance ramp. I stopped to see if I could help. Used my truck to get thgem off the ramp stayed with the till wrecker hot there. In talk to the  guy  found out they were moving  from FL. He had stop at the Pilot to get fuel. He grabbed  the" green" handle,   problem was that set of pumps did not have  diesel. I'm thinking  ok easy mistake. Then he says this is the SECOND time he has done it at the same  station  at the same pump ??? ???

[samandothers]

Bummer! Not good especially since it was his second round.  

I recently stopped at a BP, I usually use Shell or Marathon for diesel.  I was in my car and noticed the green handle was gas.  I thought to my self this could cause a problem.

[Runningalucas]

Reading this thread, I'm glad I've got an old 7.3 idi; it'll run on just about anything, and keep on going.  It's not the fastest thing on the road, but so far, for my $3,500 purchase, I'm able to do anything the next guy with an $75k truck can do.  It works, and my repair bill for a complete new fuel system is less than $1,500.

[hturner12]

I have added a Banks  turbo, hydroboost brakes, electric fans to mine. To9 bad it parked because the E4OD died.

[Crossroads]

With any luck at all, this episode has raised my awareness level enough to prevent me from doing it again. Time will tell 🙈