Dilemma: Petrol Station Etiquette

[Dadawinsk]

After 9 months of Tesla ownership and no need to visit the pumps, the sun has shone, the grass is growing and I have reached the stage of needing to fill up the petrol can to fuel my lawnmower.

I have considered the following options and would appreciate the Tesla community giving me some advice on the best(or least worst) way to handle this situation.

Do I..
a) Pull up to the pump and fill up the can like you would have done whilst filling an ICE car. Obviously this carries a high risk of being caught on camera with a petrol pump in your hand standing next to a Tesla. You know that picture would end up on twitter faster than Ludicrous mode goes 0-60!

b) Use one of those parking bays designed for people who only ever buy milk at the petrol station. This still incurs the embarrassment of being on a petrol forecourt in a Tesla, and what if there is a queue at the pump? Do I stand between two ICE cars politely queuing for the pump? People will still see me putting a petrol can in the frunk (the shame of it would be unbearable!).

c) Park the Tesla 1/2 mile down the road and walk to the petrol station pretending to be one of those ICE drivers who can't read the fuel gauge in their car (yet won't switch to electric due to "range anxiety"). This still has some of the problems of option 2, but at least i can park in a hidden place when putting that petrol can in the frunk.

I know some of you may suggest that i ditch the petrol lawnmower and should switch to electric. However, the electric mowers I have tested are just not up to scratch. Now if Elon was to start selling a Tesla lawnmower......

Your comments and opinion please

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I did this a few weeks ago, getting some petrol for the strimmer. I just parked away from the pumps and carried the can over, as I thought I'd look a bit daft stopping a Tesla at the pumps (someone would be bound to pull their phone out and publish it on social media).

FWIW we have a Makita electric mower that does a pretty good job, and a cordless strimmer, but I've yet to find a big electric strimmer that has the power needed to clear really long grass and nettles that grow around the verge, alongside the hedges.

 

[rEV gadget]

I know you said that electric mowers you've tested aren't up to scratch but I'm very happy with my Gtech one with a rechargeable battery. I have quite a large sloping lawn, approx 10m x 4m, + a few smaller bits. Usually only takes 1/2 battery, although I bought mine with a deal with 2 batteries. Gtech strimmer is pretty good although does go through quite a few plastic blades. Oh and I can charge the battery on Agile's cheaper rates.

 

[NastyNick83]

I think there's a secret 4th option to consider here... Push your lawnmower to the petrol station and fill it up directly from the pump. And have a bumper sticker on the lawmower that says 'my other vehicle is a Tesla'

 

[Pilotpem]

After 9 months of Tesla ownership and no need to visit the pumps, the sun has shone, the grass is growing and I have reached the stage of needing to fill up the petrol can to fuel my lawnmower.

I'd not even considered this socially complicated aspect of EV Life
I'd probably just park in the 'shopping' spaces and time my trips to go when there wasn't a queue, otherwise yeah, I'd stand in line with the ICE cars waiting to pump.

Might now need to look into replacing my petrol gardening equipment, but I figure it's more environmentally sound to continue to use what I've got until it dies rather than replace early. Hmm, I wonder - can you buy an adapter to recharge your electric strimmer and mower from a Supercharger?!

I think there's a secret 4th option to consider here... Push your lawnmower to the petrol station and fill it up directly from the pump. And have a bumper sticker on the lawmower that says 'my other vehicle is a Tesla'

Probably works best with a 'sit-on' mower

 

[Rooster6655]

After 9 months of Tesla ownership and no need to visit the pumps, the sun has shone, the grass is growing and I have reached the stage of needing to fill up the petrol can to fuel my lawnmower.

I have considered the following options and would appreciate the Tesla community giving me some advice on the best(or least worst) way to handle this situation.

Do I..
a) Pull up to the pump and fill up the can like you would have done whilst filling an ICE car. Obviously this carries a high risk of being caught on camera with a petrol pump in your hand standing next to a Tesla. You know that picture would end up on twitter faster than Ludicrous mode goes 0-60!

b) Use one of those parking bays designed for people who only ever buy milk at the petrol station. This still incurs the embarrassment of being on a petrol forecourt in a Tesla, and what if there is a queue at the pump? Do I stand between two ICE cars politely queuing for the pump? People will still see me putting a petrol can in the frunk (the shame of it would be unbearable!).

c) Park the Tesla 1/2 mile down the road and walk to the petrol station pretending to be one of those ICE drivers who can't read the fuel gauge in their car (yet won't switch to electric due to "range anxiety"). This still has some of the problems of option 2, but at least i can park in a hidden place when putting that petrol can in the frunk.

I know some of you may suggest that i ditch the petrol lawnmower and should switch to electric. However, the electric mowers I have tested are just not up to scratch. Now if Elon was to start selling a Tesla lawnmower......

Your comments and opinion please

Whilst you are there, get someone to film you whilst at the pump and pretend to fill up the car, then you can go viral for the first UK video of a Tesla trying to be refilled at Tesco

 

[OneTinyFish]

FWIW we have a Makita electric mower that does a pretty good job, and a cordless strimmer, but I've yet to find a big electric strimmer that has the power needed to clear really long grass and nettles that grow around the verge, alongside the hedges.

The Makita electric strimmers are fantastic but struggle with brambles.

Not sure why I'm having this discussion on a day when I'm meant to be working...

 

[pgkevet]

I was getting through a lot of petrol on my 38" ride-on + strimmer, chainsaw etc.. pulled up to the pumps blatently and filled 2 jerry-cans a time. My soluton was to upgrade to a 6ft cut Kubota zero turn mower and run it on red delivered by the oil-drum load.. way fewer trips to the pump..and lawn-mowing time down to 2hrs.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

The Makita electric strimmers are fantastic but struggle with brambles.

Not sure why I'm having this discussion on a day when I'm meant to be working...

That's the problem we have. The only petrol powered thing we have left is a big Stihl strimmer, just because I've not yet been able to find an electric one that has anything like the same power to handle the undergrowth around the hedges. Don't really need the endurance of a petrol engined model, just need the sheer grunt of the thing to cut down the really heavy stuff once or twice a year. I don't want to cut it more than that, as the hedge is a mixed hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, wild cherry etc "native mix", and has birds nesting in it for part of the year.

 

[Rustybkts]

I have been converting Stiga ride on mowers with Lynch pancake motors. You can't go half electric, you have to go the full way!

 

[Js1977]

Just rip it all up and put in some fake grass... thank me later

 

[OneTinyFish]

That's the problem we have. The only petrol powered thing we have left is a big Stihl strimmer, just because I've not yet been able to find an electric one that has anything like the same power to handle the undergrowth around the hedges. Don't really need the endurance of a petrol engined model, just need the sheer grunt of the thing to cut down the really heavy stuff once or twice a year. I don't want to cut it more than that, as the hedge is a mixed hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, wild cherry etc "native mix", and has birds nesting in it for part of the year.

There's no way around it - but you can try an electric hedge trimmer (Bosch make some good ones) and some croppers to cut the brambles as far back as you can go.

We're rural too and are surrounded on all four sides by hedgerow which is fabulous but I need to control the brambles from scratching my new shiny car!

 

[GreenT]

I agree with many here ... get an electric lawn mower.
BUT with a money back guarantee.
I recently "upgraded" a household wired "Hoover" with a cordless Amazon one ... what a POS.
Some electric things are great, some not so.

Do NOT encourage EM to add lawnmowers to his repertoire! He cannot service what he's already delivered.

 

[j1mgg]

You have to park at the pump

 

[Alistairuk]

2am trip to one of the unattended stations at ASDA no chance of being spotted!

 

[Dilly]

Park at the pump, open the frunk and take out the cans. Fill up and put them back in the frunk.
Annoying that I can only buy two cans. I need one 2-stroke for the strimmers, one for for small mower and two for two ride-ons.
For extra fun, open the charge port

 

[Glan gluaisne]

I have been converting Stiga ride on mowers with Lynch pancake motors. You can't go half electric, you have to go the full way!

That's given me an idea. I have a couple of fairly hefty BLDC motors going spare, around 5 kW IIRC.

They are 80mm diameter, 100mm long, with a 12mm shaft and a Kv of 130, IIRC. That should give an RPM of around 4,500 with a 36 V battery pack, which is probably about right for directly driving a strimmer head. I used a couple of these motors on an electric motorcycle, running from a 60 V pack, and they were pretty powerful, so my guess is they'd run a big strimmer head OK. They are a bit on the heavy side, at 1.7kg, but might be OK if counterbalanced by the weight of the battery pack. I could probably re-use the 36 V lithium battery packs I use on my electric bike, I think.

Time for a bit of workshop experimentation, perhaps.

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Buy a goat

 

[Drew57]

A few weeks after getting the Tesla, my son-in-law ran out of fuel & I had to take him a can full.
Filling up at the pump at my local Sainsburys a neighbour pulled up opposite, laughed at me & said in his best imitation cockney....

"Can I say something that will hold you in good stead for the future.........you don't live here no more"

https://twitter.com/i/status/951931416648044544

 

[M3noob]

Whilst you are there, get someone to film you whilst at the pump and pretend to fill up the car, then you can go viral for the first UK video of a Tesla trying to be refilled at Tesco

OMG! You are forbidden to use a mobile phone near petrol pumps! Report the thoughtless cur!