MALAYSIA: Yet another Singaporean uncle hoping to pump in more petrol shakes his car at a Johor Bahru (JB) petrol station. This incident, captured in a video posted on the Facebook group Singapore Incidents, has stirred up quite a conversation online.
In the video, the elderly man is seen vigorously shaking his car as its tank is being filled. The caption humorously states, “Singaporean drivers’ daily exercise at Johor.”
The person recording the video can be heard laughing while saying, “Uncle, is it necessary? Ouch, it really is. Petrol is expensive in Singapore.” He continued explaining how the man shook his car until the gas station attendant finished filling the tank.
“In the end, uncle still hit RM 56.90 (S$16.79),” he quipped.
The video quickly caught the attention of netizens, prompting many to question the effectiveness of the elderly man’s efforts. One commenter asked, “What kind of theory by shaking will increase the volume?”
Another puzzled viewer added, “How much more can his tank take?” Others were equally sceptical, with one asking, “How could the shaking increase the volume of the tank, or rather shake to ‘compress’ the petrol?”
However, some “uncles” in the comments defended the elderly man in the video. One said, “It’s not so much volume but you get air bubbles from the flow rate. It just helps settle the fuel. We did it in the 70s.”
Another added, “He’s not exercising, he’s trying to get the fuel moved and settled. We did this back in the 70s.”
While these explanations might seem plausible, the reality is different. Many believe that shaking the car frees up air pockets in the fuel tank, allowing it to hold more petrol. However, this practice does not increase the tank’s capacity.
In fact, trying to overfill a car’s petrol tank can be dangerous. Overfilling can damage the car’s fuel injection system and, in extreme cases, potentially cause a fire or explosion.
Last April, another Singaporean man, hoping to store more petrol in his car tank, used a brick to temporarily raise his car while it’s being filled with fuel at a JB petrol station.
According to The New Paper: “The space in the tank will not increase, nor will a pocket of air be magically exposed by raising the corner where the fuel filler is located.” This means that no amount of shaking or tilting will create more space for additional fuel. /TISG