Stories when fillig up at the "Gas station". - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jeremy5848 · #46 12-01-2007, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj67coll

Why do folks leave diesels idling when they fill up? Is this a preferred method and if so why?

- Peter.

A lot of it is probably bravado, (I can so I will). Truckers often let their engines run all of the time and some diesel car drivers probably ape them. Some prefer to let the engine idle unless it's really necessary to shut it off. Many people will park the car, lock it up, and just let it idle while they go shopping. In cold climates that definitely make sense.

It certainly isn't necessary and I almost always shut mine off. Efficient or not, idling still adds to the the crud in the air, even with biodiesel.

OTOH, if I had an electric car, I'd probably always let it idle at the gas station.

Jeremy

Hatterasguy · #47 12-01-2007, 11:57 PM

I'd let mine idle in the winter to keep the heat going. Below zero+diesel engine=no heat for a long, long time.

At least on the 300SD, the newer ones seem to heat up much quicker.

myssrhl · #48 12-02-2007, 12:02 AM

Hey thar,

I fueled up my Corvette and as I whipped out of the station I saw something in my side mirror.

It was the fuel hose, nozzle still firmly in the trunk top filler and the hose with the "Amoco" filter flying behind.

Sad part is it was my Gas Station.

Chadahar · #49 12-02-2007, 12:15 AM

I don't have a MB diesel, but I do have a dumb diesel story. Brand new 1966 Mustang convertibles do not run worth crap on diesel. I ran my new Mustang out of gas about 3 blocks from home. I knew we had a couple or three gas cans in the garage, so I hot footed it home, Grabbed a gas can, took the cap off and smelled it as I knew we had one can of diesel(not marked). Smelled like old gas to me, but gas is gas and I poured it into my tank.
Had just enough gas in the line to start it up and move 1/2 blk. Then it started running really bad and it sounded like pouring marbles down a rain spout. But I limped it home. I told my Dad about it and he just laughed and told me I had taken the diesel can. LSS I had to go get a large gas can full of gas to put in the Mustang to get it started. I had to bounce it up and down to "mix" the fuel. Used starting fluid and drove straight to the gas station. Filled up and took her out on the road.
That was an experience. Ran great for a while, then ran rough, then good, then rough and finally after about ten miles I had ran all the diesel out of the tank. We marked the cans after that. I never thought a Mustang would run on diesel, but it did.

bustedbenz · #50 12-02-2007, 12:31 AM

Leaving the diesel running while fueling goes back to logic that's used on our farm equipment which doesn't apply 100% to the benz, but does sort of.

Here's the thinking: diesel engines have high compression and heavy flywheels. Cranking them from a dead stop is a hard task to perform.

NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that our engines are relatively easy to start and have strong, sturdy starters... I still just feel like since diesels burn so little fuel at an idle, that I am saving fractions of pennies by exchanging fuel for NOT running the starter one more time.

I figure that even if it's not a fixed number, there is a finite number of starts my starter will give. I figure that whether it's one million or one million and two... it will still crank a last time at some point. So I figure that every chance I have to economically let it idle rather than shut it off and restart it, I'm adding one more start to the other end of its life.

Saving money? probably not. Feeling good? You bet.

zeke · #51 12-02-2007, 12:44 AM

how much fuel does a 61x engine burn at idle?

bustedbenz · #52 12-02-2007, 12:59 AM

Less than a gas engine of the same displacement, is about all I can tell you. I think it's a lot less but I'm not sure.

Either way... it just seems like less wear and tear... and for ten minutes at a time at the gas pump, it probably doesn't use half a cup of fuel.

bustedbenz · #53 12-02-2007, 01:10 AM

I'm comparing apples to oranges here... but just to whom it may concern, a 7.3l Ford PowerJoke is roughly guesstimated (By members of a Ford Truck forum) to consume somewhere between 2 and 4 quarts of diesel per hour at idle. That's at MOST a gallon an hour, in an engine that has two more cylinders and over twice the displacement as a 617/603. So at absolute worst, if they used a gallon an hour idling, and you could fuel in six minutes, then you'd burn 0.1 gallons while fueling. 0.1 gallons at $3.50 a gallon is 35 cents worth of fuel. In exchange for... one more crank? Peace of mind? Amusement factor? Either way it's drink machine change on the idling-just-during-re-fueling argument.

Hit Man X · #54 12-02-2007, 04:35 AM

I usually get the perplexed looks when I am checking my fluids at the fill up.

"aren't those expensive to maintain?" "is that Diesel?"

Kpmurphy · #55 12-10-2007, 03:10 PM

I have a 1970 220D and while getting diesel, sometimes, people ask about how many miles I get per gallon I tell them, and I always love to tell them that it has the original engine in it.

omne207 · #56 12-10-2007, 03:57 PM

i usually get in the argument that diesel is 50 cent higher here but then i tell everyone i fill my tank half up or like 20 dollars a week and the shut up.
i really only drive it around town and not very often i guess
i really enjoy the slowness of the car it makes me stop and not rush around like all the other idiots in a hurry when you could have alotted 5 more minutes

oldnavy · #57 12-10-2007, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeke

how much fuel does a 61x engine burn at idle?

My 1.9L VW TDI ran just a shade over a liter per hour according to VAG-COM (software that would interface with car like dealers) and I doubt the 61X will at max burn 1.5 to 1.75 liters per hour. My Dodge 2.7L I was told would use 1.5 to 2 gallons per hour depending if measurement was taken on cold or warm start engine, but I'm not sure how accurate that statement was by the Dodge engineering rep. I was told by a diesel tech friend that if gas & diesel engines of same size were compared the gas engine would use about 3 or 4 time the fuel while at idle as the diesel.

patbob · #58 12-10-2007, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bustedbenz

Everybody talks about filling up with 16 gallons, 18 gallons, etc... am I the only one that calls a typical fill-up 21 and has managed to throw 24 in at once before?

Having grown up in the midwest, I consider anything less than 1/4 tank during winter to be flirting with death. I don't live in the midwest anymore, but the habit has just stuck.

P.E.Haiges · #59 12-10-2007, 07:10 PM

Not at a filling station but: I was out in the woods cutting wood with my son and Diesel Kubota tractor and I ran out of fuel. So I said to my son, "go to the house and get some Diesel fuel".

He didn't want to walk that far so he said "why not use that"? He was referring to the 2 cycle mix fuel can for the chain saw engine. I said "why not" and poured a small amount of the 2 cycle mix into the Kubota fuel tank. After some and cranking and bleeding the fuel system, it started up and ran fine, with just a little more blue smoke than usual.

When I got back to the house I filled it with Diesel fuel so I can't report on any long term effects.

That was in the old days before I started using Amsoil synthetic one hundred to one 2 cycle oil.

P E H

t walgamuth · #60 12-10-2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeke

how much fuel does a 61x engine burn at idle?

They burn a lot less than a gallon an hour. If left all night idling they will burn no more than two or three gallons. A modern diesel will burn less.

Still with the price of fuel I am shutting off my dodge quite a bit more than I used to.

Tom W