Alaskossie Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 When I assembled my 2007 Caterham, one of the recommended upgrades was to remove the spring-loaded flap in the fuel filler pipe. I did that, with a pair of needle-nose vise-grips, before installing the pipe. But I still find the gas station's nozzle kicks off every 1/10 gallon or so. I bought an aero cap from Caterham (Newton brand) that supposedly had a re-designed opening to allow more of the pump nozzle to fit into the filler pipe. Turns out that the "improved" aero cap opening is just the same as the one I already had on my car. But looking at the Caterham filler pipe gave me an idea. Where the spring-loaded flap used to be, there is an inverted cone-shaped metal insert that narrows the diameter of the filler pipe, to restrict it to an unleaded-gas pump nozzle. It is held in place by three spot-welds. I took my trusty Dremel and a grinding disc, and cut the spot welds, and grasped the small end of the cone with vise-grips, and wiggled it free; then I ground down the remaining spot welds. A test-fit at the gas pump showed that the entire pump nozzle now fits into the filler neck. After I get the filler neck re-powder-coated and installed, I'll see if this leads to an uninterrupted flow from the pump; or if there is some other limiting design factor. Stand by..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I think it is the actual pump at the stations, I have an open non-restricted aircraft style fill cap, plus I added a 2nd tank vent in the opposite corner, and I still have problems at some pumps at the same station. Try turn the pump handle at 90*, still it is PITA. Dave W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusaNostra Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 i can stand up there forever -- i don't mind filling up my 7 bit by bit -- people watching & appreciating the car. what i can't stand is filling up my SUV with price of a gallon approaching $4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi7ot Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 My Birkin has the same issue with fueling. It has no restrictor. I discovered that if the filler nozzle was inserted so that less than 4" into the pipe, fueling was less likely to be interrupted by the pump auto shut off. Still, one has to be careful with the shallow insertion. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancylad Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 i can stand up there forever -- i don't mind filling up my 7 bit by bit -- people watching & appreciating the car. what i can't stand is filling up my SUV with price of a gallon approaching $4. Try $5 + a gallon! talk about getting ripped off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 My experience is similar: I have a Newton aero style cap without any restrictors in my birkin. I've found orienting the gas nozzle more vertically is the only thing that consistently helps. I suspect the relatively horizontal orientation of our cars filler pipes trigers the auto-shutoff. Most gas pump nozzles out there have the modern rubber "boot" around the nozzle which only makes filling up harder. One station near me doesn't have these modern gas nozzle amenities. Consequently i am able to insert the nozzle far enough into my filler pipe to have a more vertical orientation which greatly helps. (and the aforementioned 90° rotation) Needless to say i only fill up there. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Try $5 + a gallon! talk about getting ripped off. $5/gallon in Canada ? Isn't Canada the country that has so much oil it needs a pipeline into the US to get rid of it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnr Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I find that holding the vapour recovery hood compressed with my free hand usually allows me to fill up with no problems. I have a fuel cell though so I directly fill into the ~3 inch dia tank opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancylad Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 $5/gallon in Canada ? Isn't Canada the country that has so much oil it needs a pipeline into the US to get rid of it ? Go figure!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Stig Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Bit of a pain every time I fill up in NJ where it is illegal do do it yourself but really the only way some gas ends up in the tank and not down the back of the car and on the ground! I just have to use the Gas stations that 'allow' me to fill up myself. Do i need a licence to pump gas or what? Seriously, the aero filler I have and large pipe still makes no difference, I suspect a large vent somewhere would help through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wemtd Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Ha! When I came home in the seven this spring no station's pump attendants wanted to pump my gas. Plenty of interest in the car and no problem letting me Pump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I just have to use the Gas stations that 'allow' me to fill up myself. Do i need a licence to pump gas or what? Legal or not, I just do it myself in NJ and tell the guys that it is such a pain to fill that they may want to leave me to it otherwise they will get other customers yelling at them. Most are smart enough to realize that I am trying to help them out and they give way gracefully. Only once have I had a problem attendant and even then he learned pretty quickly that there is an art to doing it.....so he ended up giving it over to me and sulked off to his little hut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scannon Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 My Caterham with the standard locking cap takes gas well if I put the nozzle part way in and set it on the slowest speed. Doesn't take all that long since it only holds 10 gallons. I use the time to reset the Caterham Butt Extractor so I'm ready to go when the fill up is complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 My fill up experience is the same as scannon. Nozzle part way in and on the slowest speed, works fine. None of those hooded gas nozzles here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 I use a long skinny funnel to keep the flapper open and just pump slowly. It actually works better when using a gas can vs. the gas pump, but then again I don't drive my 7 on the road as much as you guys. I think that if the tank had a vent on the opposite side of the tank like those on boats, the fill would be quicker. A straighter filler pipe going directly into the tank would be the real cure but wouldn't be flush with the back of the car. Luckily these cars don't burn fuel all that quicly on the track, considerably slower on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBowker Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Try $5 + a gallon! talk about getting ripped off. What I find amazing is people complain about the price of gas but leave behind $1.50 small bottles of water with only one sip taken. Equates to about $10 or $12 a gallon. I have to hold the gas nozzle at about 10 o'clock or even 10:30 to get it to more or less work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboeric Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Try $5 + a gallon! talk about getting ripped off. I spent most of July in the UK. $8.90 per US gallon. Canadian gas is cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klasik-69 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 $8.90 a gallon............that's why Lotus/Caterham made filling up so slow and difficult. That way, the owner can savor the moment :jester: I wonder if they have any Ford F-150 trucks pulling an enclosed 24' trailer in Britain.............at roughly 8 mpg, the cost is over $1/mile. Is that the cost of free health care ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Stig Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Just about to head off to UK and Portugal for a couple of weeks. UK exchange rate is now 1.60 again instead of 1.55 it was a short while back. I can see it will be an expensive trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskossie Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Getting back to the original issue on this thread, I got my newly re-powder coated "unobstructed" fuel filler pipe back from the powder coater. In looking at the pipe, I see that if the pump nozzle does not fit very far down the filler pipe (as it couldn't, with the flap and the inverted "unleaded" cone in there), the vent for the fuel tank may actually be venting the displaced air from the tank directly back at the pump nozzle. With the pump nozzle now fitting considerably further down the filler pipe, perhaps this potential "auto-shutoff" factor won't happen..... We'll see after I install the filler pipe. On a related subject, Caterham's carelessness in supplying fuel-related hoses that are not rated for contact with fuel is becoming better known. My length of large-diameter hose between the filler pipe and the tank has split along its entire length.. after 8k miles of use. So much for CCV's use of petroleum-rated components where petroleum is involved... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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