DVLA have decided to renew my licence. I have to take an eyesight test every
3 years nowadays, and I was rather concerned that I'd fluffed the one I took
last week - I did find it difficult, so I was expecting my licence to be
withdrawn.

Mixed feelings: it would affect SWMBO more than me - she would have to
overcome her fear of taxis. She's rather relieved, though I have put her on
notice that this might be the last licence I apply for.

I've been driving for about 55 years but never really enjoyed it (except for
driving across Spain, which we used to do a couple of times a year), so an
excuse to give up wouldn't have been a disaster from my POV.

--
Peter
-----

On 2022-04-23, Peter <myshed@prune.org.uk> wrote:
> DVLA have decided to renew my licence. I have to take an eyesight test every
> 3 years nowadays, and I was rather concerned that I'd fluffed the one I took
> last week - I did find it difficult, so I was expecting my licence to be
> withdrawn.
>
> Mixed feelings: it would affect SWMBO more than me - she would have to
> overcome her fear of taxis. She's rather relieved, though I have put her on
> notice that this might be the last licence I apply for.
>
> I've been driving for about 55 years but never really enjoyed it (except for
> driving across Spain, which we used to do a couple of times a year), so an
> excuse to give up wouldn't have been a disaster from my POV.
>

Persist. I am soon facing the same problem and even at the moment have
to get my daughter to drive me, which depends on her humor.

``La Donna e mobile", I think

When She was driving the other day, I was amazed at the traffic. There
are imaginary and real problems in the world, but would it not be a good
idea to limit car usage a little?..

Re: Hire cars, yes they are a good idea, but be careful in case the car
scratches. An English relative came driving one a few years ago, hired
in Dublin, but could not rest easy in case it was scratched before the
inspection after she left it back.

--
greymausg@mail.com
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

maus <maus@dmaus.org> wrote in news:slrnt67ij2.4uj.maus@dmaus.org:

> Re: Hire cars, yes they are a good idea, but be careful in case the
> car scratches. An English relative came driving one a few years ago,
> hired in Dublin, but could not rest easy in case it was scratched
> before the inspection after she left it back.

I have hired many cars (mainly in Spain). Some have come pre-scratched, and
others I have scratched (though the majority have been unblemished). The
car-hire company has never bothered, either way.

--
Peter
-----

Peter said:
> maus <maus@dmaus.org> wrote in news:slrnt67ij2.4uj.maus@dmaus.org:
>
>> Re: Hire cars, yes they are a good idea, but be careful in case the
>> car scratches. An English relative came driving one a few years ago,
>> hired in Dublin, but could not rest easy in case it was scratched
>> before the inspection after she left it back.
>
> I have hired many cars (mainly in Spain). Some have come
> pre-scratched, and others I have scratched (though the majority have
> been unblemished). The car-hire company has never bothered, either
> way.

The extra insurance-waiver is a tradeoff to be thought about.

My appreciation of Avis's attitude came when I stupidly "mis-fuelled"
one of theirs. I stopped for a cuppa at the cafe at the top of the A68,
Carter Bar, and found myself stranded when it wouldn't restart, in the
backend of a bank holiday sunday afternoon.

So I had a number to ring. And no mobile, of course, but the cafe nicely
let me use their landline. Chitchat with a "centre" in Kent, some lad
who didn't appear very clear where The North was. Having sorted that
out, he told me to wait where I was, and an hour later a towtruck turned
up and pulled me ~40? miles down the road to N/c airport, the nearest
open office. Where - this is the bit that impresed me - having trashed
one of their cars, they gave me another to get home in, whereupon the
problem was no longer mine, apart from wishing I'd paid the extra for
the insurance waiver ... but even then, I think it would have cost
considerably more to sort it out myself, even with the AA/RAC 'recovery'
plans of the day.

--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem

My email address is at http://qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html

On 2022-04-23, Richard Robinson <richardR@privacy.net> wrote:
> Peter said:
>> maus <maus@dmaus.org> wrote in news:slrnt67ij2.4uj.maus@dmaus.org:
>>
>>> Re: Hire cars, yes they are a good idea, but be careful in case the
>>> car scratches. An English relative came driving one a few years ago,
>>> hired in Dublin, but could not rest easy in case it was scratched
>>> before the inspection after she left it back.
>>
>> I have hired many cars (mainly in Spain). Some have come
>> pre-scratched, and others I have scratched (though the majority have
>> been unblemished). The car-hire company has never bothered, either
>> way.
>
> The extra insurance-waiver is a tradeoff to be thought about.
>
> My appreciation of Avis's attitude came when I stupidly "mis-fuelled"
> one of theirs. I stopped for a cuppa at the cafe at the top of the A68,
> Carter Bar, and found myself stranded when it wouldn't restart, in the
> backend of a bank holiday sunday afternoon.
>
> So I had a number to ring. And no mobile, of course, but the cafe nicely
> let me use their landline. Chitchat with a "centre" in Kent, some lad
> who didn't appear very clear where The North was. Having sorted that
> out, he told me to wait where I was, and an hour later a towtruck turned
> up and pulled me ~40? miles down the road to N/c airport, the nearest
> open office. Where - this is the bit that impresed me - having trashed
> one of their cars, they gave me another to get home in, whereupon the
> problem was no longer mine, apart from wishing I'd paid the extra for
> the insurance waiver ... but even then, I think it would have cost
> considerably more to sort it out myself, even with the AA/RAC 'recovery'
> plans of the day.
>

I thought that most fuel pumps now prevented you from putting dsl into a
ptrl car?.. Or was your mistake the opposite?

The mistake, which used to be common, is expensive, the complete fuel
supply has to be changed, filters, all, which means that the old fuel
has to be brought somewhere to be disposed of, which is why it is
usually done in a garage. As I wrote, nasty and expensive.

--
greymausg@mail.com
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

maus <maus@dmaus.org> wrote:
> On 2022-04-23, Richard Robinson <richardR@privacy.net> wrote:
>> Peter said:
>>> maus <maus@dmaus.org> wrote in news:slrnt67ij2.4uj.maus@dmaus.org:
>>>
>>>> Re: Hire cars, yes they are a good idea, but be careful in case the
>>>> car scratches. An English relative came driving one a few years ago,
>>>> hired in Dublin, but could not rest easy in case it was scratched
>>>> before the inspection after she left it back.
>>>
>>> I have hired many cars (mainly in Spain). Some have come
>>> pre-scratched, and others I have scratched (though the majority have
>>> been unblemished). The car-hire company has never bothered, either
>>> way.
>>
>> The extra insurance-waiver is a tradeoff to be thought about.
>>
>> My appreciation of Avis's attitude came when I stupidly "mis-fuelled"
>> one of theirs. I stopped for a cuppa at the cafe at the top of the A68,
>> Carter Bar, and found myself stranded when it wouldn't restart, in the
>> backend of a bank holiday sunday afternoon.
>>
>> So I had a number to ring. And no mobile, of course, but the cafe nicely
>> let me use their landline. Chitchat with a "centre" in Kent, some lad
>> who didn't appear very clear where The North was. Having sorted that
>> out, he told me to wait where I was, and an hour later a towtruck turned
>> up and pulled me ~40? miles down the road to N/c airport, the nearest
>> open office. Where - this is the bit that impresed me - having trashed
>> one of their cars, they gave me another to get home in, whereupon the
>> problem was no longer mine, apart from wishing I'd paid the extra for
>> the insurance waiver ... but even then, I think it would have cost
>> considerably more to sort it out myself, even with the AA/RAC 'recovery'
>> plans of the day.
>>
>
> I thought that most fuel pumps now prevented you from putting dsl into a
> ptrl car?.. Or was your mistake the opposite?
>
> The mistake, which used to be common, is expensive, the complete fuel
> supply has to be changed, filters, all, which means that the old fuel
> has to be brought somewhere to be disposed of, which is why it is
> usually done in a garage. As I wrote, nasty and expensive.
>
>

Depends who’s paying I guess. If it’s covered by your insurance, then yes,
you do want new filters, pumps, maybe even injectors.

If you’re paying out of your own pocket you might just get the tank pumped
out and trade the car in sooner than planned…

Tim

--
Please don't feed the trolls

On 23-Apr-22 14:10, maus wrote:
> I thought that most fuel pumps now prevented you from putting dsl into a
> ptrl car?.. Or was your mistake the opposite?

Diseasle pumps have a wider nozzle, which doesn't (easily) fit a petrol
car.
It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
the mis-fueling error which does more damage.

--
Sam Plusnet

On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.

It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write off. If
OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On 2022-04-23, Ahem A Rivet's Shot <steveo@eircom.net> wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>
>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>
> It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write off. If
> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>

It used to be a away of getting a LR defender past the smoke test at
annual inspection.

--
greymausg@mail.com
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>
>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>
> It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write off. If
> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>

Serpently helps to stop diesel waxing in very cold contions, but that
would be about a gallon of petrol in a truck's 65 gallon tank of DERV.

Tone

On 23/04/2022 22:56, Tone wrote:
> On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
>> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>>
>>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
>>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>>
>>     It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
>> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write
>> off. If
>> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
>> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
>> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
>> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>>
>
> Serpently helps to stop diesel waxing in very cold contions, but that
> would be about a gallon of petrol in a truck's 65 gallon tank of DERV.

DERV refers to the vehicle, (properly), not the fuel. Diesel Engined
Road Vehicle.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 24/04/2022 00:04, RustyHinge wrote:
> On 23/04/2022 22:56, Tone wrote:
>> On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
>>> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
>>>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>>>
>>>     It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
>>> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write
>>> off. If
>>> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
>>> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
>>> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
>>> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>>>
>>
>> Serpently helps to stop diesel waxing in very cold contions, but that
>> would be about a gallon of petrol in a truck's 65 gallon tank of DERV.
>
> DERV refers to the vehicle, (properly), not the fuel. Diesel Engined
> Road Vehicle.
>

True, but in lorry driver terms 'DERV' was short for 'DERV fuel'.

derv
British
noun: derv; noun: DERV

diesel oil for road vehicles.

Tone

On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write off. If
> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
> it should be OK(ish).

A friend of our family filled up his VW Golf diesel, then drove about 35
miles home, visiting us later that evening. He commented that he'd
filled up on the way home from jbex, and that it was running rather
roughly. I suggested that he looked at his receipt, and it was for petrol.

He drove home (about a mile and a half) and pumped the tank dry into
several jerrycans which he had handy. He took another can down to the
local garage and filled it with diesel, then put that fresh fuel in his
tank and bled the fuel system. After that, it never ran quite as
smoothly, and used about ten per cent more fuel, than before.

> I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.

One thing I do know is that rinsing out a dirty paper air filter and
trying to re-use it without letting it dry makes a diesel engine knock
like hootery.

--
Regards,
Andrew.

On Sun, 24 Apr 2022 00:04:03 +0100
RustyHinge <rusty.hinge@foobar.girolle.co.uk> wrote:

> DERV refers to the vehicle, (properly), not the fuel. Diesel Engined
> Road Vehicle.

I have learned a thing today - eye fang cue.

Pity I didn't know it at fpubby when some fiends were talking about
the SFP moped fuel that got while jbexing at Marshall's Airport pouring
pitch into runway cracks. The fuel - they described it as 50:50 Avgas and
DERV. Not road legal (dip a moped tank - nah) and probably not great for
the injun either but it did jbex.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>
>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>
> It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write off. If
> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>
The fun bit is that a lot of modern cars wake the engine up before you
get in, to reduce the wait before you can drive off. They do this by
using RFID on the key in your pocket. This means the petrol is already
in the works before you are in the driver's seat.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

Andrew Marshall wrote:

> A friend of our family filled up his VW Golf diesel, then drove about 35 miles
> home, visiting us later that evening. He commented that he'd filled up on the
> way home from jbex, and that it was running rather roughly. I suggested that he
> looked at his receipt, and it was for petrol.

Given that many filling stations use number plate recognition to authorise the
pumps, you'd think it could look-up the reg from DVLA to see if the car's fuel
type matches the fuel filler selected and molish some sort of AROOGAH! warning

It might get confused if you need to fill a can for your petrol lawnmower while
driving your diseasel car, or if the flfgrz cached the fuel type for too long
and you transferred your cherished number plate to a different fuel type car.

On Sun, 24 Apr 2022 09:18:26 +0100
John Williamson <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> wrote:

> The fun bit is that a lot of modern cars wake the engine up before you
> get in, to reduce the wait before you can drive off. They do this by
> using RFID on the key in your pocket. This means the petrol is already
> in the works before you are in the driver's seat.

That adds more weight to the pile, the first modern car I ohl will
be eclectic.

--
Steve O'Hara-Smith
Odds and Ends at http://www.sohara.org/

On Sun, 24 Apr 2022 00:04:03 +0100, RustyHinge
<rusty.hinge@foobar.girolle.co.uk> wrote:

>On 23/04/2022 22:56, Tone wrote:
>> On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
>>> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and that's
>>>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>>>
>>>     It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
>>> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write
>>> off. If
>>> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
>>> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol then
>>> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little petroliol in
>>> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>>>
>>
>> Serpently helps to stop diesel waxing in very cold contions, but that
>> would be about a gallon of petrol in a truck's 65 gallon tank of DERV.
>
>DERV refers to the vehicle, (properly), not the fuel. Diesel Engined
>Road Vehicle.

It's not us you need to be telling, Squire. It's thems as go around
painting petrol pumps and putting the little stickers on fuel filler
caps.

Nick

On 24/04/2022 00:19, Tone wrote:
> On 24/04/2022 00:04, RustyHinge wrote:
>> On 23/04/2022 22:56, Tone wrote:
>>> On 23/04/2022 21:31, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>>>> On Sat, 23 Apr 2022 20:59:37 +0100
>>>> Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> It is easy to get a narrow petrol nozzle into a diesel car - and
>>>>> that's
>>>>> the mis-fueling error which does more damage.
>>>>
>>>>     It deep ends, if you fill the tanque and start the injun then you
>>>> can expect to hear the sucking of teeth and mutterings about write
>>>> off. If
>>>> OTOH you catch it early (at least before starting) and arrange that the
>>>> tanque contains mostly diseasel and no more than about 5% petroliol
>>>> then
>>>> it should be OK(ish). I even heard it claimed that a little
>>>> petroliol in
>>>> the diseasel from time to time is beneficial.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Serpently helps to stop diesel waxing in very cold contions, but that
>>> would be about a gallon of petrol in a truck's 65 gallon tank of DERV.
>>
>> DERV refers to the vehicle, (properly), not the fuel. Diesel Engined
>> Road Vehicle.
>>
>
> True, but in lorry driver terms 'DERV' was short for 'DERV fuel'.
>
> derv
> British
> noun: derv; noun: DERV
>
>     diesel oil for road vehicles.

'D'

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 24/04/2022 08:17, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
> On Sun, 24 Apr 2022 00:04:03 +0100
> RustyHinge <rusty.hinge@foobar.girolle.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> DERV refers to the vehicle, (properly), not the fuel. Diesel Engined
>> Road Vehicle.
>
> I have learned a thing today - eye fang cue.
>
> Pity I didn't know it at fpubby when some fiends were talking about
> the SFP moped fuel that got while jbexing at Marshall's Airport pouring
> pitch into runway cracks. The fuel - they described it as 50:50 Avgas and
> DERV. Not road legal (dip a moped tank - nah) and probably not great for
> the injun either but it did jbex.
>

A fiend of mine had a grass-cutting contract at an old RAF base in
Bedfordshire.

He found a drum of AVGAS, and filled up his van with it.

"It went like the clappers aroud the peritrack," he said, "But as I went
out past the gatehouse the engine exploded!"

He lost the contract.

Tone

On 2022-04-24, Tone <tone@email.com> wrote:
> On 24/04/2022 08:17, Ahem A Rivet's Shot wrote:
>> On Sun, 24 Apr 2022 00:04:03 +0100
>> RustyHinge <rusty.hinge@foobar.girolle.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>
> He lost the contract.
>
> Tone

I remember yonks ago, somewhere in the UK, I had been advised that if
anyone asked if I could do something, say you could, and bluff through.

"Can you dive a DERV?"

"Yes, Boss.", to a friend aside, "Whats a DERV?"

"A lorry"

Years later, windswept hillside, German overseer.

"Who can drive a D* Bulldoser."

One guy put up his hand,

"Start this one", in a deep German accent, so my friend did what he had
seen and applied a burning newspaper to the air intake, and the doser
started, my friend hopped on and applied the steering handles to turn te
dozer away from the open hillside and towards a steep cliff and then
called back,

"How do you stop it?."

Very sweaty German did stop it, and my friend was left to walk home,

--
greymausg@mail.com
He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

On 24/04/2022 09:28, Tease'n'Seize wrote:
> Andrew Marshall wrote:
>
>> A friend of our family filled up his VW Golf diesel, then drove about
>> 35 miles home, visiting us later that evening. He commented that he'd
>> filled up on the way home from jbex, and that it was running rather
>> roughly. I suggested that he looked at his receipt, and it was for
>> petrol.
>
> Given that many filling stations use number plate recognition to
> authorise the pumps, you'd think it could look-up the reg from DVLA to
> see if the car's fuel type matches the fuel filler selected and molish
> some sort of AROOGAH! warning
>
> It might get confused if you need to fill a can for your petrol
> lawnmower while driving your diseasel car, or if the flfgrz cached the
> fuel type for too long and you transferred your cherished number plate
> to a different fuel type car.

Hmmm - would certainly help, but would probably fall foul of privacy
laws, apart from pbfgvat the filling station per lookup...

--
Regards,
Andrew.

Andrew Marshall wrote:

> Tease'n'Seize wrote:
>
>> Given that many filling stations use number plate recognition to authorise the
>> pumps, you'd think it could look-up the reg from DVLA to see if the car's fuel
>> type matches the fuel filler selected and molish some sort of AROOGAH! warning
>>
>> It might get confused if you need to fill a can for your petrol lawnmower
>> while driving your diseasel car, or if the flfgrz cached the fuel type for too
>> long and you transferred your cherished number plate to a different fuel type
>> car.
>
> Hmmm - would certainly help, but would probably fall foul of privacy laws, apart
> from pbfgvat the filling station per lookup...

That's why I suggested caching it for "a while", besides amazon and car parts
wibbles don't seem reluctant to do number plate lookups at the drop of a hat to
tell you what fits your car ...

On 24-Apr-22 13:54, Tone wrote:

> A fiend of mine had a grass-cutting contract at an old RAF base in
> Bedfordshire.

My dad spent some time during WWII at a RNAS[1] in Trinidad.

There the grass was cut by gangs of women, with scissors - presumably
because more suitable equipment was expensive, & labour was cheap.

[1] Royal Naval Air Station.

--
Sam Plusnet

On 24-Apr-22 9:28, Tease'n'Seize wrote:

> It might get confused if you need to fill a can for your petrol
> lawnmower while driving your diseasel car, or if the flfgrz cached the
> fuel type for too long and you transferred your cherished number plate
> to a different fuel type car.

I now have such a problem.
We have a diseasel car, but need petrol for a couple of garden tools.
I have a green 5 litre plastic can, but don't petrol pumps have a
minimum serving larger than that?
I was going to get a neighbour to buy the petrol on my behalf, but she's
now switched to a diseasel car as well.

--
Sam Plusnet