Wednesday 8 December 2010

Not Waxing Lyrical

It's been a long time since there has been the perennial winter problem of diesel waxing and bringing big vehicles to a grinding halt. The formation of wax crystals in the fuel freeze and block the fuel pipes and fuel filters. The solution used to be to light a fire under the fuel tank and melt the crystals, but I suspect Health and Safety frowns on this these days.

The problem is back and there is one bus company in the North East which has suffered badly from these problems. Maybe it is due to their geographical location and being down in the bottom of the valley in a frost bowl, or maybe it is the vintage nature of their buses. Either way it is an annoyance.

Standing in the -10 degrees this morning on the roadside with my child, waiting for the school bus made us move from side and stamping feet for fear that if we stopped moving we would be frozen to the spot. The Big Banana was late. The Big Banana did not turn up as it had broken down again. Another bus did come, driven, impressively, by the bus company owner who scowled when I told him what I thought he should do with the Big Banana. The suggestion was to light fires not only under the fuel tank, but inside the bus, so that all the parents would be spared the sight of this horrible and unreliable bus coming along the road to pick up their children.

I suspect the suggestion will be ignored.

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