Now I feel REAL stupid

[JD Guy]

If it's any consolation to y'all who have put oil/fuel in the wrong tanks, I had a tree guy that I know well that has done tree work for probably 35 plus years who took down a massive sweet gum tree next to one of our outbuildings that did the same thing . It could happen to the best of us!!

[BillyTheKid]

I was running my 372 on a very hot summer day, hour after hour. I refilled the gas tank and noticed the gasoline was BOILING!!!! Oops, wrong tank - gas in the oil tank is a recipe for disaster. Lucky it didn't spontaneously combust in my face. Now that would truly be a stupid way to lose your face.

[Ianab]

I was running my 372 on a very hot summer day, hour after hour. I refilled the gas tank and noticed the gasoline was BOILING!!!! Oops, wrong tank - gas in the oil tank is a recipe for disaster. Lucky it didn't spontaneously combust in my face. Now that would truly be a stupid way to lose your face.

Not as dangerous as you might think. Gasoline boils at maybe 125-150F. A hot chainsaw crankcase could easily be that temp. But it takes over 500F to actually ignite it. Now if the cloul of fumes boiling out of the tank met a cigarette or ignition spark, then things could get exciting REALLY fast. It's the gasoline vapours that actually burn, but it takes something pretty hot to actually ignite them.

Stupid would be gassing up your saw with a cigarette in your mouth, then getting a face full of  gas vapour. :

And yes I've put oil in the wrong tank too. Got distracted 1/2 way though fuelling up and poured chain oil into the gas tank. Luckily I noticed, and could just dump the tank and wash it out with a bit of fuel. Saw smoked a little more for a while, but no other problem.

[Al_Smith]

I've often said if you run them  long enough eventually you will do at least one or more of three .Put a chain on backwards,cut dirt and oil the gas tank .I did one worse,anti freezed the gas tank .Which I only realized when I dumped mix gas in my old Ford pick up truck radiator .--oops ----

[Spike60]

We saw an increase in these mix ups when the "no spill" fuel cans were mandated. Some of them are really frustrating to use on small handheld equipment. Especially those with spring loaded nozzles that required pushing the whole thing down on the saw or pulling back on the nozzle to release fuel. Some of those cans no doubt caused more spills than they prevented. 

So, many people used other containers as gas cans. Bar oil, hydraulic oil, or antifreeze jugs were not uncommon. 

[lxskllr]

I never swapped oil/fuel; til I did... I keep two liquor flasks in my top handle case. One each for oil and fuel. Makes it easy to fill the saw quick without pulling a bunch of stuff out of the truck, and I can put them in my pockets when I climb. The labels wore out, I was using thin oil, and the colors between the oil and fuel were similar. As I'm pouring the "gas" into the tank, I think "That doesn't look right..."  :^S  At least I caught it before I sealed everything up and tried to start it.

Regarding no spill cans... AFAIC NO-SPILL™ brand cans are the best fuel cans of any kind that ever existed. Not the cheapest cans, but absolutely worth what they cost, especially compared to those terribad sliding sleeve/plug designs on cheaper no spill cans.

[beenthere]

I like the No-Spill cans, but no idea what the AFAIC brand is.  ???

But suspect knock-offs from the Chinese have copied them and recently have two that don't function as well as the more original ones. 

[thecfarm]

As Far As I Am Concerned, AFAIC

At the hardware store I use to work at, we sold that brand.
Took us a few brands to find what works.
Yes, it is still kinda of a bother, but they work.
Like anything there is a you tube on them.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Tied google for that brand, nothing specifically came up

[chet]

The mention of all sorts of containers used for fuel brought back an old incident. As a kid I was helping an old neighbor making his winter wood supply. He carried his fuel in a clear gallon cider jug. Once while loading his new pickup we noticed smoke coming out of a window. THE SEAT WAS BURNING    The gas jug on the seat had acted as a prizm and ignited the seat. Luckily the fuel jug had not burst, and we were able to rip the seat apart and save his truck.

[beenthere]

Tied google for that brand, nothing specifically came up

https://nospill.com/

[barbender]

 Yep, those No-Spill brand jugs work great. They are about the only CARB compliant cans that work worth a hoot. The nice thing is, the No-Spill are a great product. They work better than the old style vented cans. You get the nozzle in the tank, and gas doesn't come out until you're ready and push the button. 

 I do like my Husqvarna combo can, it works well. Even though it is the push type, gas stops coming out once the tank is full. I chronically overfill saws with gas and spill, so this feature saves me money on expensive saw gas. 

 I've never understood what unvented caps etc are really addressing. All that vapor pressure builds up, and then blasts out with some liquid gas, if you don't realize that it has built pressure. I've been sprayed in the face, and sprayed my clothes. I've spilled far more gas with the stupid things than I ever did before they were mandated. Not to mention, I feel they are a real safety liability. Who do I sue when I get sprayed in the eyes and lit on fire?

[Al_Smith]

"So, many people used other containers as gas cans. Bar oil, hydraulic oil, or antifreeze jugs were not uncommon." --Yes sir indeed I did as I've mentioned before .Antifreezed a chainsaw and poured mix gas in a Ford F-250 radiator .Kind of felt real stupid about it .--Now then those so called safety cans I've found regular pour spouts for them .Evidently Ralph Nadar thought eveybody was stupid .Two gallon cans makes it simple ,one little bottle of 32 to 1 and add the gasoline .Spare the oil ruin the saw simple as that --old school ---- 8)  

[barbender]

Al running 32:1 is too rich and will make your air/fuel ratio too lean😁

[Al_Smith]

--some are of that opinion --- ;)

[sawguy21]

@barbender Yer gonna get ol' Al going, he loves the oil wars. :D

[Al_Smith]

To keep that fire going every so often you need to toss another log on it . I find it great sport  8)

[barbender]

I will fire another shot in the great oil was at every opportunity 😁😁

[mudfarmer]

I never swapped oil/fuel; til I did... I keep two liquor flasks in my top handle case. One each for oil and fuel. Makes it easy to fill the saw quick without pulling a bunch of stuff out of the truck, and I can put them in my pockets when I climb. The labels wore out, I was using thin oil, and the colors between the oil and fuel were similar. As I'm pouring the "gas" into the tank, I think "That doesn't look right..."  :^S  At least I caught it before I sealed everything up and tried to start it.

Way up north somewhere dumb in Canada one time, too far from a gas station and a buddy was not going to make it. I had two of the MSR fuel bottles, one with gas and one with nice synthetic motor oil, they had duct tape labels but were kinda worn off. I gave him the oil bottle by accident and he put a bunch in the tank, still feel bad about it to this day. No harm but less mosquitos
Yes I have oiled my saw fuel tank but they were in clearly labeled and obvious containers I was just distracted :D

[Al_Smith]

I once had an idiot truck driver dump 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid in the gasoline tank of a Ford F 700 
line truck .That one took a tow truck ,big one .

[Old Greenhorn]

I once had an idiot truck driver dump 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid in the gasoline tank of a Ford F 700
line truck .That one took a tow truck ,big one .

SO Al, are you saying you would run a higher ratio in that F700, like 32:1 or something? :D ;D ;D

[Al_Smith]

I figured it out that mess was most likely about a 50/50 mix .The hydraulic oil was low temp basically Dexron 2 red in color in December luckily inside a refinery not on some country road in the middle of no where .Pouring that stuff via a funnel that guy should have seen there was a problem but it's some times it's  hard to find good help even 40 years ago .I'm just happy to be retired so I don't have to put up with that anymore .