Reader James said that a trucker dumped diesel fuel in the wrong tank at a distribution center, and this caused a bit of a problem because (as you might imagine) gasoline cars won’t run on diesel. The gas station in question, Kum ‘N Go, is compensating James for his mechanic’s bills, but he wanted to let other drivers know what to do if this happens to them.
I thought I’d let you guys in on a nasty little surprise I was involved in over the weekend. I filled up my car at my usual gas station in Springfield, MO, started driving across the state to see my family, and noticed about halfway home that my car was acting funny. When I got home, the car died in the driveway. The mechanic who we took the car to told me it was filled with diesel.
Turns out, a local distribution center had a trucker dump diesel into a regular gas tank. That gas then got sent to an unknown amount of local gas stations. At least one other gas station besides the one I used were confirmed to have the contaminated gas. Interestingly, the other gas station got the fuel at 7:30 am and shut the pumps down by 8:30. My gas station, however, was still pumping out diesel at 11:52.
Anywho, the gas station I fueled up at, Kum ‘n’ Go, is paying for repairs. So, if anyone in the Springfield area (or anywhere, in general) happens to end up with a load of diesel by accident, go back to your gas station and demand a compensation. I’m waiting on my check now.
Yikes! It’s nice to know that not only does Kum ‘N Go have the best name of any gas station we’ve ever seen, but that they own up to their mistakes, too.
(Photo: SA_Steve )
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What an unfortunate name. “Blow and Go” would be better.
I singlehandedly kept the Iowa City Kum and Go across from the UI library in business for two years on beer and beef sticks alone. Seriously, they have the best beef sticks ever.
How is this the gas stations fault, the poster said the wrong “gold” was pumped at the “distribution center” not the gas station?
And since they were still pumping the bad stuff at 11:52, what does that make Kum ‘N Go…stop and go? I smell bad gas!
[still giggling about the name of the gas station...]
Kum & Go? Lol.
How bout hump, I mean, pump and leave?
I used to work for a sister corporation of Kum and Go, the owner is a good guy, doesn’t surprise me to see it taken care of without any questions.
Ogod what a name. Giggling like a little girl after hearing a filthy joke here.
Also the jokes holys… Got a good laugh and saved my day.
@Puck: The attendant must have been drunk or sleeping really deep. How else does that go un-noticed?
This chain needs to open stores in Nevada. They have the perfect name!
Puts a whole new meaning to Kwik-E mart!
@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: If you put regular gasoline into a diesel car, it will billow smoke. Happened to my stepfather’s Volvo. (The gas station paid for repairs since it was a full service fill-up done by someone inexperienced.)
Does anyone know what to do if you realize that you have a partial load of diesel?
What would the engine sound like? If caught early enough is it as simple as a fuel purge and injector cleaning?
@friendlynerd:
The hoses and other equipment to drop fuel into the tanks is fairly uniform. I guess you could have a seperate system for diesel, but these types of accidents are rare. Plus, it would just be plain inefficient from a logistical standpoint.
If you had dedicated equipment for Diesel/Unleaded, then you couldn’t for instance ship as much unleaded if the trailer had a Diesel compartment or send the truck who just did a regular gas station to a trucking company.
@failurate:
It’s easier than you think. Most places have what’s called a Veeder Root system which tracks fuel & potential water levels.
When I worked, most of the time we just threw the piece of paper the computer printed after each delivery into the paperwork bin and did not even scrutinize the actual delivery vs. which grade the bill of lading said we ordered.
Plus, if it wasn’t a 24 hour location, the fuel could have been delivered at 3AM and you woldn’t notice the problem until it was too late and people started putting the mixed fuel in their cars.
@PunditGuy: Also known as Squirt & Scram
@kbarrett: @Jesse:
I think friendlynerd meant have incompatible nozzles on the pump and the vehicle. So if I drive up to a diesel pump in my non-diesel car, the nozzle just wouldn’t fit into the gas receptacle in my car. Same for a regular gas pump and a diesel vehicle’s gas receptacle.
Who names a business “Kum and Go?”
Gross!
At least they are paying mechanic bills. Jiffy Lube once did me the “service” off topping off all my car’s fluids. Oopsie! Oil in the radiator. Shhh….let’s hide it from that lady in the waiting room…
@AaronZ: Did you know that Sheetz (based around Altoona, PA, iirc) is actually a family name? I’ve met at least one of the Sheetz family at one point.
If Kum & Go shot a load of diesel into your gas tank….
I live in Iowa (where Kum & Go is headquartered) and I’ve always thought it to be an unfortunate name too. In their defense, they tend to be a lot cleaner than your average Citgo…
Where is this gas station based? Suffragette City?
Wham bam, thank you ma’am
@PunditGuy: If I still had my facebook page, that would soooo be going on it.
@WriterWriter: Someone with internet access, tv, radio, magazines, etc., etc., etc. IN other words very naive.
Do they have a branded credit card I can sign up for????
@TMMadman: What, and spilled everything all over the place?
/cheap double entendre
Oh crap, which one is it? I’m in Springfield right now and I need gas today!!!
Maybe I’ll go to Conoco instead.
I live in the Springfield, MO area and had the about the same problem with Kum and Go in Strafford, MO.
I filled up my tank with reg gas and by the time I got home, about 10 minutes, my car just died. Let it rest on the side of the road all night and it turned back on in the morning. Thankfully mine just had water in it and not anything else.
And yes, I do call them Ejaculate and Evacuate. And have not been to another one since.
@EyeHeartPie: If I remember right, a diesel nozzle won’t fit in the filler neck of a car designed for unleaded gasoline. The restrictor plate meant to keep you from inserting a leaded gasoline nozzle also blocks a diesel nozzle. You can fit a gasoline nozzle into the filler neck of a diesel car, though. I don’t see how you could make them mutually incompatible unless you abandoned round nozzles.
Regarding the Pump-N-Munch, Sheetz, etc, we filled up in Breckenridge, Colorado several years ago. Where? At a place called U-GAS-M. Kind of makes you want to go in and buy a Playboy.
(oh, and let’s not forget the gas stations with creative uses of “Sac” in their name)
@timmus: And go to temple right afterwards, oh vey..
Diesel in a gasoline engine isn’t as bad as Gasoline in a Diesel engine. Gassers might require a bit of labor flushing the lines and fuel rails, otherwise the Diesel won’t do much harm past the fuel filter, FPR, and possibly the pump. Spark Plugs might get pretty fouled too, but those parts aren’t too expensive other than the fuel pump. Just labor intensive.
Now on a Diesel engine you run into either the Injector pump gaulding a piston or fouling up a unit injector (depending on what type of Diesel vehicle you have.) Unit Injectors on my Powerstroke are $250/ea remanufactured. That’s $2000 + Labor + whatever other parts the gasoline ruined.
@friendlynerd: At the consumer pump, Diesel and gas are hard to mix up (unless you accidentally put gas into a Diesel); a Diesel nozzle will not fit into a gasoline filler. Unfortunately, the truck-to-tank fillers are all the same size.
You never want to snuggle {POUT}
I have actually heard about people with Diesel trucks filling up at BP stations and just paying attention to the green pumps and put gas in their tanks. Gota suck.
Dr. Evil, I suppose burning a mix of diesel/gas in a gas-engined car doesn’t do much good for the catalytic converter.
And you’re right about the gas in a diesel – that’s bad, very bad.
@tande04: I’m fairly new to WY, so I can’t make a really educated response besides this: As far as selection and cleanliness goes the Loaf N’ Jugs (what is with all these stupid names?) have K&G beat hands down. That being said! K&G here is almost in my front yard and as far as c-stores go it’s on the dumpy side but it’s not horrible. The one thing they have going for it is that actually sell food from the local Mexican restaurant which is extremely good when I’m in a hurry or shouldn’t be operating machinery or kitchen equipment.
As reported in the main article, this fuel mix-up was due to an error at the fueling terminal (the location trucks go to pickup diesel and gasoline to deliver to convenience stores, among other places). The fuel terminal in question (not owned nor operated by Kum&Go) has in fact admitted fault in this accident and will be compensating KG for repairs paid out to customers. Company drivers for Kum&Go have no way of identifying gasoline that’s been contaminated with diesel products.
This happened in Springfield, Oregon a week or two ago. A Jackson Oil driver spaced out and put the diesel in the gas tank and the gas in the diesel tank. Within a couple days their insurance company approved a specific dealership (pretty much across the street from the gas station) to directly bill the insurance for repairs. I think around 10-15 cars were affected.
Dang! That’s the same name I was going to use for a chain of drive-thru brothels.
Sioux City, IA has a combination gas station and tobacco store: Pump & Pack.