Contaminated Fuel

[BottomScratcher]

Well that's BS to start with.
Tanks are, or at least were when I worked for BP tested by dipping a long pole into the tank from the filler hole. Again, when I worked for BP records were supposed to be kept so it may be worth asking to see them. The bottom area of the pole was covered with a paste that reacted to the water so when you pulled the pole out you could tell how deep the water was by measuring the discolouration of the paste. As long as the discolouration was below xx inches (in those days) there would be no problems. If it got close to the upper limit the tank would have to be completely pumped out to remove everything in it.
For nervous flyers underground tanks with Jet Fuel have a floating pick up so they suck from the very top of the tank to absolutely minimise the chances of water contamination. The fuel is also lab checked for each refuel as well rather than using the paste method. A floating pick up is way too expensive to be installed in every underground tank at every Service Station.
In this case I believe it very important the you get a decent sample of fuel from the bottom of your fuel tank into a sealed glass container in case you need to get your own analysis done.

I don't know what they use in servos. I've only ever seen the tanker driver with a glass sample jar, so thought they just did a visual check. It's easy to see fuel in water. Even very small amounts. Unsuspended sits in the bottom of the sample jar, and suspended water makes the fuel cloudy. The widely used paste was designed exclusively for Jet (Aviation Turbine) Fuel, but was used for AVGAS, and just about everything else. Don't see it much now unless flying to the bush. The paste however only detects suspended water in a fuel sample. If water was present in the bottom of a storage tank, eating away at the tank surface, the only way to detect it is, as you say, to dip the very bottom of the tank with a pole with paste on it. Better to suck a sample right from the bottom of a tank to see what's down there.

That's why aside from floating suctions aviation tanks also have a "thief pump" to draw a sample from the bottom of the tank. The sample is tested by using a Shell Water Detector, which gives a fast go/no go check for the fuel being in spec, or contaminated. SWD's were until recently exclusive to Shell (the patent expired a few months ago), but are used by all fuel storage facilities. The SWD's are used on a storage tank prior to filling, and the tanker about to discharge into the tank. Each tanker load of fuel has a copy of a terminal Release Note stating that the fuel is in spec when it leaves the terminal, and it has the batch number of the fuel and the reference number of the lab test for the refinery batch. Aircraft refuelling trucks filled from the tank are checked before and after filling of the truck. On airport "In to plane" fuelling sees each refuelling vehicle checked prior to service each day, and a further "at plane" sample check done prior to the first refuelling of the day. There simply aren't enough labs to lab check each sample for every refuel. Not to mention that it's handy to know the state of the fuel before it goes into the aircraft tanks. CASA regs then require pilots to do a fuel drain and visual check of that drain sample from each tank prior to start up.

[MYSKODA]

It also depends on where the actual fuel is coming from. I know jet fuel that comes from malaysia, tends to have more water in it due to the changes in climate. In saying that, fuel tanks/tankers do build up condensation. Water of course is heavier than avgas and jet, which like the above person mention sits on the bottom of the tank, hence doing your qc's via the thief pump. I dare say servo's would have much the same setup as aviation tanks, to avoid sucking up water and particles from the bottom. Also there are filters inplace. Couldn't imagine cars having low point/sample drains like an aircraft, can you imagine drivers walking around testing fuel like pilots.

[BottomScratcher]

...... Also there are filters inplace. Couldn't imagine cars having low point/sample drains like an aircraft, can you imagine drivers walking around testing fuel like pilots.

Not your average filter either. Coalescing filters catch heavier water but allow fuel to pass through. They cost megabucks. Wont ever see them at servos.

As for drivers doing QCs. I saw a guy only yesterday while I was filling up finish fuelling, go inside and pay, come back and get into his top down convertible then light a cigarette while still parked at the bowsers. I think it fair to say that the concept behind drivers doing QC checks would be something some of them may struggle to grasp.

I'm glad the OP got a result. Oil companies are very protective of their brand names, and their profits. BP was making $70M a day after tax profit for the first quarter after the Deepwater Horizon spill. What is to us the substanial cost of getting fuel contamination repaired is miniscule to BP. It wouldn't cover a low level management meeting's caterers costs. They might've tried to say the servo was at fault. Maybe so, but it's their massive logo hanging up out on the streetfront. Big oil is very, very slowly learning that they need to step up when there's a stuff up,

[Mysticality]

Moral to the story, always ask for a receipt when you fill up. I had a tank full of crud from the small service station at the bottom of Mac. Pass, Albion Park in my Triumph. Everything had to be pulled to peices and cleaned, but I had no receipt, so I had no proof. Bad Luck.

I've used that servo a few times with no issues!

[Antiplastix]

I ve used that servo plenty of times with no issues ! But not the last time. I guess you never know when the trucks been or a thousand other reasons, its just pot luck.