Percolator

Message

spiderwheels · #1 Post by **spiderwheels** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 12:40 pm

After filling it up with petrol and parking out in the sun I just returned to the bike to find petrol dripping out of the over flow and the fuel tank doing an audible impression of a coffee percolator. I tucked it back in the shade before it tried to serve me an espresso... bloody Italians and their coffee.

What is the boiling point of petrol?

fatboy · #2 Post by **fatboy** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 6:55 pm

Try cleaning out the water drain in the tank filler neck, prob acts as a breather as well

Firestarter · #3 Post by **Firestarter** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 7:44 pm

tis not that the petrol is boiling, just that the liquid petrol is expanding in the heat, causing it to overflow.

But, fairly sure it shouldn't be able to escape the tank due to expansion, as fatboy says it suggests something else is amiss, maybe check any seal around the filler cap (can't remember what's there)

D-Rider · #4 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Jun 22, 2014 10:27 pm

I filled my car up with petrol on Thursday evening

Would have been great - except the car's a diesel and I needed to leave at 5am the next morning to get my son to Manchester airport.

Still mustn't grumble - had far more important things go wrong last week than that!

spiderwheels · #5 Post by **spiderwheels** » Mon Jun 23, 2014 9:19 am

Firestarter wrote:tis not that the petrol is boiling, just that the liquid petrol is expanding in the heat, causing it to overflow.

But, fairly sure it shouldn't be able to escape the tank due to expansion, as fatboy says it suggests something else is amiss, maybe check any seal around the filler cap (can't remember what's there)

Surely if the petrol expands too much it should be allowed to escape out of the overflow otherwise it would build up pressure?

I don't know what the boiling sound was.. I guess there could have been a bit of water in the tank that had started to simmer..

I hope you got to the airport D :)