From: GT on
"Harry Bloomfield" <harry.m1byt(a)NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message
news:mn.ba317da5373233c3.106911(a)NOSPAM.tiscali.co.uk...
> Ret. expressed precisely :
>> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280536/Has-motoring-writer-solved-riddle-plagued-drivers-decades.html
>>
>> What is the concern about which side the filler cap is on?
>>
>> On my car (Rover 75 tourer), the fuel filler cap is on the driver's side.
>> If I'm queueing for fuel, however, and a pump becomes free which means me
>> pulling up with my nearside to the pump - then I do just that because
>> there is sufficient length on the pump hose to reach across.
>>
>> There is absolutely no need whatsoever to insist on having your filler
>> cap next to the pump. It just does not matter!
>>
>> On numerous occasions I've 'jumped a queue' because of idiots waiting
>> patiently in order to pull up on the 'right' side of a pump. Still, it
>> benefits me, so why should I be concerned...
>
> The hose cannot be relied upon to reach either of mine if on the 'wrong'
> side, even if my tyres are rubbing against the island.
>
> Neither of mine indicates which side the filler is on, but to save me
> confusion I have label stuck to the visor of each will an arrow marked on
> it to remind me where the filler is.
>
> If a 'wrong side' pump becomes available, I simply reverse in.

Which tends to cause chaos and requires people to move out of your way and
leaves your car facing the wrong way on the forecourt and requiring more
reversing to get out the exit direction, rather than the 'no entry' that you
are now facing. Just have a little patience and go to the right side!


From: Silk on
On 23/05/2010 08:26, Ret. wrote:
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280536/Has-motoring-writer-solved-riddle-plagued-drivers-decades.html
>
>
> What is the concern about which side the filler cap is on?

We're talking Motoring Journalists here.
From: Nick Finnigan on
GT wrote:
>
> The hose length is controlled by law - it cannot touch the ground when the
> nozzel is 'parked'.

That does not control the length.
From: Mortimer on
"Nick Finnigan" <nix(a)genie.co.uk> wrote in message
news:htauo5$nev$2(a)news.eternal-september.org...
> GT wrote:
>>
>> The hose length is controlled by law - it cannot touch the ground when
>> the nozzel is 'parked'.
>
> That does not control the length.

No, many hoses on modern pumps are on a retractable reel (like the mains
lead of a vacuum cleaner or the belt of an inertia reel seat belt) so they
can be any length within reason.

If I am called upon to drive a strange car, there is a standard check list
of things I learn: which side is the fuel filler, where is reverse gear and
how do you "unlock" it, where is the horn etc.

I find that many fuel pump hoses are barely long enough to reach the far
side of the car, so I try to get a pump that's on the correct side; if there
isn't one free (or going to be within a minute or so) I have to remember to
pull further forward than normal so the hose won't have to stretch over the
back end of the car, because then it certainly won't be long enough.

It would have been so much easier if all manufacturers had agreed to put the
fuel filler on the same side. Things were easier with cars that had the
filler cap above the rear bumper behind a spring-loaded number plate (Ford
Corsair, Ford Zephyr IV) or on top of the rear wing (Rover 2000, Morris
Oxford / Austin Cambridge).

From: Silk on
On 23/05/2010 09:56, GT wrote:

> The hose length is controlled by law - it cannot touch the ground when the
> nozzel is 'parked'.

I think you may have made that up. I've seen plenty that drag on the
ground. That's why they have rubber rings around the hose that settle at
the point where the hose scrapes on the floor, to stop it chaffing.