Contaminated fuel @Sheetz

lee-r.

New Member
I bought a tank of gas at SHEETZ (Great Mills Rd and Rte 5) earlier this month. My car almost immediately began to run rough. I took it to the mechanic and he tested the fuel... It was contaminated with water. Engines HATE water!!!

I called and talked to Sheets Corporate Office who sent me a form, told me to have the car repaired, and that they would reimburse me the repair costs. Actually, I had to have an ASE certified mechanic fill out the form, include that with the itemized repair bill and original gas receipt and then they would cut me a check.

I did as they asked and they denied my claim... Said that their product did not cause the failure... I disagree, and so do the service writer, mechanic, and service manager at the dealership.

Anyone else recently purchase contaminated fuel from Sheetz?
 

Dead Eye

T.P.F.er
All fuel has a bit of water in it. Condensation causes it. It is measured in PPM at the lab. I have transported fuel in bulk for many years. If you have to high of a ppm level it will settle and clog a filter. To test for a high water content in gasoline ( without a lab ) put the gasoline into a clear glass bottle and hold it up and look through it . It should be VERY clear without any water dropplets at bottom of bottle. If clear without dropplets this gas is fine to run in engine. NOW take same bottle of fuel and put it into a cooler of ice with a thermometer in the fuel, chill the fuel to 40F, take it out and again hold it up and look thru it. 7 out of 10 times it will be cloudy on this look see. This cloudy look is caused by water. Unless the fuel is VERY clean will it pass the ice / water test.
 

MMDad

Lem Putt
I bought a tank of gas at SHEETZ (Great Mills Rd and Rte 5) earlier this month. My car almost immediately began to run rough. I took it to the mechanic and he tested the fuel... It was contaminated with water. Engines HATE water!!!

I called and talked to Sheets Corporate Office who sent me a form, told me to have the car repaired, and that they would reimburse me the repair costs. Actually, I had to have an ASE certified mechanic fill out the form, include that with the itemized repair bill and original gas receipt and then they would cut me a check.

I did as they asked and they denied my claim... Said that their product did not cause the failure... I disagree, and so do the service writer, mechanic, and service manager at the dealership.

Anyone else recently purchase contaminated fuel from Sheetz?
What was the failure? If it wasn't something like the filter, pump, injectors, ets. I could see them denying the claim.
 

Elle

Happy Camper!
All fuel has a bit of water in it. Condensation causes it. It is measured in PPM at the lab. I have transported fuel in bulk for many years. If you have to high of a ppm level it will settle and clog a filter. To test for a high water content in gasoline ( without a lab ) put the gasoline into a clear glass bottle and hold it up and look through it . It should be VERY clear without any water dropplets at bottom of bottle. If clear without dropplets this gas is fine to run in engine. NOW take same bottle of fuel and put it into a cooler of ice with a thermometer in the fuel, chill the fuel to 40F, take it out and again hold it up and look thru it. 7 out of 10 times it will be cloudy on this look see. This cloudy look is caused by water. Unless the fuel is VERY clean will it pass the ice / water test.

I'm picturing the lines of happy customers waiting at the pump behind me waiting for me to complete the fuel test before pumping.
 

BS Gal

Voted Nicest in 08
Who the hell keeps receipts for gas for a month? I usually figure out my mileage, then toss them.
 

Dead Eye

T.P.F.er
I learned the ice test doing Sunoco work. There ultra 94 getts tested at every transfer point to assure quality at the pump. Only one I know of that gets tested at every point.
 
R

Rienell

Guest
So their gas gave your car the SHEETZ, huh. Thanks for the tip.

For some reason Shell gas goes a lot longer in my car than Safeway or Coastal gas. Depends on the car, I guess?
 
I bought a tank of gas at SHEETZ (Great Mills Rd and Rte 5) earlier this month. My car almost immediately began to run rough. I took it to the mechanic and he tested the fuel... It was contaminated with water. Engines HATE water!!!

I called and talked to Sheets Corporate Office who sent me a form, told me to have the car repaired, and that they would reimburse me the repair costs. Actually, I had to have an ASE certified mechanic fill out the form, include that with the itemized repair bill and original gas receipt and then they would cut me a check.

I did as they asked and they denied my claim... Said that their product did not cause the failure... I disagree, and so do the service writer, mechanic, and service manager at the dealership.

Anyone else recently purchase contaminated fuel from Sheetz?

Never had a problem.
 

Agee

Well-Known Member
Speaking of gas... I noticed while buying gas at Wa-Wa, that their fuel now contains "Eythanol". I'm assuming it's only a small percentage and is in there to keep costs down? Anyone know the effects on vehicle performance?
 

MMDad

Lem Putt
Speaking of gas... I noticed while buying gas at Wa-Wa, that their fuel now contains "Eythanol". I'm assuming it's only a small percentage and is in there to keep costs down? Anyone know the effects on vehicle performance?

10%, federally mandated as an oxidizer, reduces performance.

It doesn't keep their costs down. The cheapest thing for gas stations to sell would be plain gas. Every additive increases the cost because you have to buy the additive and have facilities to mix the additives.

You can thank the fed for reducing the efficiency, which causes you to burn more, which (in the feds opinion) reduces pollution.
 
Speaking of gas... I noticed while buying gas at Wa-Wa, that their fuel now contains "Eythanol". I'm assuming it's only a small percentage and is in there to keep costs down? Anyone know the effects on vehicle performance?

I believe they are limited to 10%. After that, cars that are not designed for it, unlike the newer 85% Flex Fuel vehicles, will have component breakdown. Aside from that, alcohol has a lower BTU rating, so fuel mileage is less with alcohol blended fuel.
 
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