B737-200 EXTERNAL FUELING PANEL HAD NO ELECTRICAL PWR SO FUEL GAUGES AND THE FUELING VALVE CTL WERE INOP. GND CREW USED THE MANUAL OVERRIDE BUTTON TO PUMP FUEL INTO TANKS. THE MEL INDICATED THAT OVERWING FUELING WAS REQUIRED.

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WHILE PREPARING TO DEPART SEATTLE FOR KTN; FLT ON JUL/THU/97; IT WAS BROUGHT TO OUR (CREW) ATTN THAT THE EXTERNAL FUELING PANEL WAS NOT POWERED ELECTRICALLY. UNABLE TO FIX THE PROB WITH THE LIMITED TIME AVAILABLE; THE MECH OPTED TO USE THE MEL TO RELEASE THE ACFT. IN THE MEANTIME THE FUELER FUELED THE ACFT BY DEPRESSING THE MANUAL VALVE OVERRIDE BUTTONS. HAD WE READ THE OP PROC IN OUR MEL WE WOULD HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS WAS NOT AN AUTH MEANS OF FUELING THE ACFT WITH THE EXTERNAL PANEL FUEL GAUGES AND FUELING VALVES INOP. FURTHERMORE WE WOULD HAVE DISCOVERED THAT OVERWING FUELING IS THE ONLY APPROVED FUELING PROC UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS ERROR WAS REPEATED AT SUBSEQUENT STOPS DURING THE COURSE OF THE FLT; IE; KTN AND POSSIBLY JNU. OBVIOUSLY THIS MISTAKE WAS CAUSED BY OUR FAILURE TO CHK THE MEL TO ENSURE THAT ALL THE CONDITIONS LISTED THEREIN WERE COMPLIED WITH. I FEEL IT WAS A COMBINATION OF TIME CONSTRAINTS TO GET THE FLT OUT ON TIME; AND THE FACT THAT USING THE OVERRIDE BUTTONS WAS AN APPROVED PROC AT ANOTHER AIRLINE WHERE I WAS FORMERLY EMPLOYED.