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I don't want to believe that this is true...

Steve Maskery

Steve Maskery

Old Oak
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Location
87290 Laplagne, France
For the last couple of weeks I've been parking my car on the hard standing in front of my neighbours' house, becasue of the mud outside my workshop, where it usually lives.. They live in Paris, so they won't mind for a while, while the ground dries out a bit.
Today I came to my car and the petrol cap was not closed properly. I didn't think anything of it until, on the way home from Limoges today I got a Low Fuel warnng. Now the last time I checked I had half a tank. I've been to Bellac once (75min round trip), Chateuponsace a few times (10 min each way) and Bessines once (actually not quite as far as Bessines itself, 20 min each way). I've been without a right eye since Christmas so driving has been kept to the essential minimum.
I don't see how that adds up to half a tank.
Is it possible that somebody, out here, in the middle of nowhere, has actuually syphoned off my tank?
Whichever way I look at it, it doesn't make sense.
S
 
Most likely Steve, maybe get a lockable cap.
That is about 3 hours driving , starting at half a tank, so possibly no one siphoned your fuel.
 
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They do usually have an anti syphon system but it doesn't stop anyone determined as there are ways around it. I managed when I needed some petrol for the mower as we are nowhere near a filling station.

I'd suspect that it's quite possible some has been stolen but another possibility if the cap wasn't on properly is evaporation. In the UK if a cap has a perished seal it fails the MOT

On the other hand paranoia increases with age, just saying. ;)
 
My understanding, from a local scallywag, is that the pump action syphons used for getting home made cider out of the bins and into demis, can readily bypass the thing in the tank. Very cheap and quick. My dad apparently used to keep a notebook of his journeys and petrol usage in the 50s and 60s as money was tight and crime rife.
 
Have you checked under the bonnet for petrol leaks also under the car they are not always obvious if they are small.
 
AJB Temple said:
My dad apparently used to keep a notebook of his journeys and petrol usage in the 50s and 60s as money was tight and crime rife.
Click to expand...
I do that now. Always fill the tank log how much fuel has gone in and take note of the mileage (kilometreage) since last fill.
I’ve been doing that for all my cars. Strange that over here fuel economy is measured as volume over distance (litres per 100km) rather than distance over volume ( miles per gallon).
 
I use an app on my iPhone to track my vehicle fuel and maintenance expenses, as well as remind me of the service intervals.
 
Mike, can you recommend an app for tracking fuel….looked at a few and they seem over complicated
 
AndyP said:
I do that now. Always fill the tank log how much fuel has gone in and take note of the mileage (kilometreage) since last fill.
I’ve been doing that for all my cars. Strange that over here fuel economy is measured as volume over distance (litres per 100km) rather than distance over volume ( miles per gallon).
Click to expand...

I don't think it really makes much difference whether you think of it as "how much fuel did it take to go this far" vs "how far did this much fuel get me". What's really daft is selling fuel in litres and reporting fuel economy in miles per gallon...

Jonathan said:
Mike, can you recommend an app for tracking fuel….looked at a few and they seem over complicated
Click to expand...
It's rather low tech, but I just use Google Drive (the spreadsheet bit). One column with date, one with mileage, one with litres of fuel added. New entries are added (via the app) each time I fill up. There's also a column with a simple equation to calculate mpg from the other columns.
 
Jonathan said:
Mike, can you recommend an app for tracking fuel….looked at a few and they seem over complicated
Click to expand...
This is the app I have been using for the past 10 or 11 years. It works great on every iPhone I owned from the 4s to the 12 with the current iOS.

apps.apple.com

Car Care fuel & service log App - App Store

Download Car Care fuel & service log by KB Productions on the App Store. See screenshots, ratings and reviews, user tips, and more apps like Car Care fuel &…
apps.apple.com apps.apple.com
 
AJB Temple said:
Blimey. You guys are proper record keepers.
Click to expand...

Yes, and? :D

I use an Excel sheet for both vehicles and log all fill-ups.
Calculate distance for trip and cumulative
Calculate consumption for trip and cumulative both in L/100KM and then just for fun convert to KM/L
Also record all other costs, service, tyres, repairs, licence.
It was also used as a log book, for tax, when I did consulting work.
 
Malc2098 said:
You nerdy boys! Doesn't my trip computer do that? :)
Click to expand...
I don't think there's anything negative about being a nerd. Does your trip computer provide the ability to download data for trend analysis or tax purposes as @Phil wrote? In Germany, we can claim the mileage (kilometerage?) driven each tax year for work. A written or printed record is required to support the deduction.
 
Looked at the log today, wife filled up with petrol, price goes up again tomorrow.

Her car is a VW Polo Sedan 1.6 Tiptronic automatic, 6 speed, not that great.
Certainly not that economical around town with average L/100km at 8.35

When we went to the Kruger last year I filled up as we were leaving. Two of us with lots of luggage and food.
We left there and the trip computer said 500km left on the tank. So we drove straight home only stopping for lunch.
Around the corner (3km) is a filling station, so I stopped there to fill up.
The trip was 841Km at 6.84L/100km and still 170km left in the tank.
That is not shabby at all when considering the long uphill climbs and my very heavy foot trying to get to a lower gear. :)

The log also tells me she skipped the service last year despite the little spanner light on the dash flashing. Service next week before we go away at the end of the month.
 
AndyP said:
I do that now. Always fill the tank log how much fuel has gone in and take note of the mileage (kilometreage) since last fill.
Click to expand...
I would do that, but SWMBO doesn't and as we share cars it is impossible to keep an accurate record. Instead I just use the car computer for individual trips to see how well I can do. I also do the occasional economy driving competition so I tend to look for the most economical way to drive each car. The best technique does vary a bit from car to car.
Jonathan said:
Mike, can you recommend an app for tracking fuel….looked at a few and they seem over complicated
Click to expand...
Not an app, but a web site I used to use is fuelly.com which could be worth a look. No charge - or at least there wasn't when I used it.
Dr.Al said:
I don't think it really makes much difference whether you think of it as "how much fuel did it take to go this far" vs "how far did this much fuel get me".
Click to expand...
Tongue in cheek, I think it reflects national character to some extent. Here in Finland the measurement is litres per 100 km, so the attitude is "I need to do something (ie drive X km) so what do I need to achieve that?". In the UK the measurement is miles per gallon so the attitude is "This is what I have got (X gallons) so what can I do with it?". The difference between getting the job done and doing the best you can with what you have. Or perhaps it is just my upbringing in the UK, when we had to stretch what resources we had as far as possible.
 
Just4fun said:
In the UK the measurement is miles per gallon so the attitude is "This is what I have got (X gallons) so what can I do with it?". The difference between getting the job done and doing the best you can with what you have. Or perhaps it is just my upbringing in the UK, when we had to stretch what resources we had as far as possible.
Click to expand...
Back in the 60s when I got my first motorbike and was still at school doing A levels, so only had money from Saturday and holiday jobs, I found I had half-a-crown in my pocket and a free Friday evening. So I very roughly worked out how far 2/6d would get me on my BSA C11G, halved it, rode that far, stopped for a cigarette, turned round and rode home. Living one the edge of the Historic County of Middlesex, I ended up in some nice Home County spots. I never ran out of petrol, more by luck than mathematics.
 
Just4fun said:
I would do that, but SWMBO doesn't and as we share cars it is impossible to keep an accurate record.
Click to expand...
I think "impossible" might be stretching it a little. We use a spreadsheet in Google Drive (with tabs/sheets/whatever they're called) for each vehicle. Being a shared document, either of us can edit it whenever we fill up any vehicle. Of course you've got to persuade SWMBO to do it, but whether that's impossible or not depends on your powers of persuasion!
 
Dr.Al said:
I think "impossible" might be stretching it a little. We use a spreadsheet in Google Drive (with tabs/sheets/whatever they're called) for each vehicle. Being a shared document, either of us can edit it whenever we fill up any vehicle. Of course you've got to persuade SWMBO to do it, but whether that's impossible or not depends on your powers of persuasion!
Click to expand...
Well you’re a better man than me Gungadin! I think your wife must be a great deal more malleable than mine. The notion of trying to persuade my wife to fill in a spreadsheet each fill up or vehicle…… well it wouldn’t happen lol. Can’t say I could be bothered either to be honest.
 
It might be easier to persuade her to just keep the receipts from when she fills up and dump them on you at a convenient time, when you can transcribe it into the computer. Of course it's still a question of whether that's really the thing you want to spend your brownie points on.
 
Persuade her to fill in a spreadsheet? I can't even get her to write down when she buys fuel, leave alone how much fuel she bought.
 
I get a notification almost instantly on my 'phone whenever a payment comes out on our debit cards, so I know where and how much just not the cost per litre. Not much help if you use a credit card though unless that facility is available as well.

That said I don't keep a record. :ROFLMAO:
 
The further out in the sticks you are in France, the more likely this is to happen, siphoning fuel is a huge problem in rural areas. As is stealing agricultural machinery, stealing crops, and stealing heavy plant equipment, and workshop gear. The Gendarmes are spread very thinly in some departements, especially at night.The scrotes know that they are far less likely to be disturbed out in the sticks.
 
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