Extra cash at HD automated checkup

[Rico]

Plus, you aren't surrounded by people too dumb to pump their own gas :)

[Rico]

That would be invigorating 8-O

[Trent©]

Where did my request reference any of your post?...you illiterate dick.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[George E. Cawthon]

[Trent©]

The automatic shutoffs often do not work. I've personally gotten a gasoline bath at least a half dozen times...while holding the handle down.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Trent©]

Nope.

So...they have 1 or 2 people pumping gas.

So...they have 12, 16, or 20 people pumping gas.

20 people pumping gas will pump more gas per hour than 2 people pumping gas.

Most of the time, this is not true. Most self-serve stations allow you to pay at the pump. And most folks take advantage of this convenience.

It would actually be the other way around. Full-service folk need to take the payment inside to process it. That takes extra time.

And what if the customer pays by credit/debit card...and its refused. Then he has a collection problem.

Self-serve pre-pay requires pre-approval...which can save a lot of time.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Mark & Juanita]

Then you must pump gas from some pretty poorly maintained places. In the past 25 years since self-serve became the vogue, I can remember only one time when the cutoff didn't work, and that was only after it had activated once and I was trying to get the numbers to come out to a currency round number.

I suspect that the local fire marshal would shut down a place rather quickly were it found that its automated cutoffs were inoperative; that's a hazard whether you are forcing people to get cramps in their hands in the freezing cold while being forced to act like metal stops or whether you have metal stops holding the nozzle open.

[Mike Iglesias]

I've never had this happen. I've been using self-serve in Calif since they became popular, however long that's been. I started driving in

1970, got my first car in 1972.

[Trent©]

These were in 6 different locations...over a period of at least 20+ years. And the stations were modern and clean. I have no idea if they were poorly maintained...but it certainly didn't look like they were.

So then, I guess I fail to see your point. You are just one person...and I am just one person. Yet you and I have BOTH seen the auto shutoffs fail. Now...multiply that by hundreds of thousands of pumps...and millions of people using the pumps each day.

The newer pumps won't let you do that. After the auto shutoff kicks in, you can't pull the handle again. You must restart the pump as a new customer. This has proven to be a big time saver...and moves the other cars along much more quickly.

Its always aggravating when a guy wants to get another 22¢ into his tank...at stop-and-go and slow speed.

BTW...was that stationed poorly maintained?

I'm sure they would. But that can't happen, of course, until the FIRST one doesn't work. So...how many FIRST ones do you think there are in this country each day?

In reality, fire marshall's are rarely called out for this kind of problem. In most cases, the pump operator/customer will report it to the inside office...and they have their maintenance folks fix the problem. Many stations...but not all, I'm sure...will even cover that nozzle and mark it out of service until the problem is fixed.

In my area, you see fewer and fewer hold-open nozzles. I have no doubt that they'll be outlawed in the near future...which they should be, of course.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Trent©]

You saw the video of the woman burning, Ed?

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Silvan]

This is something else I don't get. I've *never* waited in line for gas. On a rare day when every pump is in use, there's no one at the place up the street that's one cent more expensive.

I've rarely waited in line for diesel for that matter. I try to plan my fuel stops so that I have the option to bail and get fuel later if there's a wait. I hate waiting.

[Mark & Juanita]

I'm not sure what world the copylefted Trent lives in. In my world, I have yet to see an automatic cutoff not work on initial fill (only time I've seen it happen was when continuing to fill after the pump cutoff), nor have I encountered any gas pumps anywhere that don't allow one to continue filling after the initial cutoff -- there are times when this is not just to round out the sale but because the cutoff works prematurely and there are many more gallons before the tank is actually full. Also, I've never seen anyone take that much time pumping a few cents extra to round out the sale -- I see much more time with fumbling with credit cards, adjusting the hair before moving the car, etc.

Me too. However, in my area (Tucson) the difference is on the order of a dime, except at Arco that doesn't take credit cards, thus one either has to mess with their cash eater or have to pre-pay to pump. Only thing I hate worse than waiting is having to pre-pay to pump gas.

[Xane "MegaWolf" T.]

Discovery Channel's 'Mythbusters' just recently ran a show testing to see if a cel phone could blow up a gas station [I've seen gas stations that even have official looking signs 'turn phones off']. After several failed attempts with both cel phones /and/ static sparks, they found that it takes a REALLY exact mixture of oxygen and gas fumes to spark a fire. And cel phones CANNOT start one, even under perfect laboratory conditions.

They also found out that women are 8x more likely then men to get back into the car while fueling, then spark a fire with static. But they concluded that it would be a very rare occurence, because of the precise mixture required to ignite from a static spark. They had to use a high power leyden jar to set off their earlier tests.

Ironically, this came up on Oprah a few days later, where they made it into an incredibly big deal. Some idiot 'expert' also said that it was possible for cel phones to spark a fire. Guess which show more people watch? This is just as bad as all the urban legends that wind up in Dear Abby as 'true'...

Make sure you spread the word - cel phones will NOT blow up a gas station.

Other random things: Tanning salons cannot microwave you, microwaves won't 'explode' if metal is put into them, microwaves /can/ make 'explosive' water, but only if you use distilled, a penny dropped off the Empire State Building won't kill anyone,

[Trent©]

Hell, when I was much younger, I used to have them run out of gas right in the station...just before I started filling! lol

And, in case anybody doesn't know...

That weaving back and forth trick...to get a few extra blocks when yer runnin' out of gas...DOESN'T WORK!!! lol

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[Trent©]

Just to make you feel better...

There's a lot of things in life *I* haven't seen yet either. lol

Have a nice week...

Trent

Certified breast self-exam subcontractor.

[dicko]

Just to set the record straight, like all legends, there is (was) a grain of truth to this.

In the old days (we're talking before the invention transistors here),

2-way radios were built in two parts, a control head that mounted under the dashboard, and a radio unit, that mounted in the trunk. These radios were big clunky tube things that used many hundreds of volts to generate their RF, and were often mounted near the gas tank filler tube of the car.

Switching from receive to transmit did two things. First it switched the high voltage to the transmitter with an open (un-enclosed) relay contact that often times arced horribly (think massive spark). Second, it switched the antenna wire from the receiver to transmitter (again with a massive spark).

So now you have all the conditions for a good explosion:

1. enclosed space (the trunk)
2. ignition source (the sparking relay)
3. proximity to fuel (leaking filler tube)

And as I recall, all the 2-way radio user manuals of the time cautioned about filling up and transmitting at the same time.

However, nowadays, with today's modern solid state, low voltage electronics, all switching is either done by hermetically enclosed reed switches or by solid state switches so there is no possibility of getting an arc to ignite gas fumes.

Not to mention the fact that a cellphone doesnt have an antenna switch since it's full duplex.

I think the first 2-way radio with hermetically sealed relays first shipped in 1970 (Motorola Micor) but many poorly funded police departments and cab companies continued using the old equipment well into the '80s so it wasnt all that long ago that a car could still blow up.

So yes, it's an urban myth today and deserves to be roundly debunked, but at one time it really was possible to blow up a car simply by talking on your radio. But this is way way off topic now...

dickm

[Renata]

Just the other day I had the cutoff initiate immediately; seems I have to back the nozzle out just a bit or the backflow initiates the cutoff. Not very practical to have the pump shut down immediately upon cutoff.

Not to mention, situating the kids back in their car seats - why do they need to get out while you take five minutes to fill up the tank.

Lines are a hassle I put up with when the price is 20¢ less a gallon - that's the difference around here between BJ's (or its ilk) gas and the regular stations. Up in PA, the difference isn't so staggering (~5¢), but the lines are shorter so it balances out.

I avoid prepay like the plague. You gotta run in and give the cashier some money, run out fill the tank, run in and get change - and have to wait in line each time. The credit card (debit, etc.) at the tank are great.

Renata smart, not dumb for email

[admin]

*AND* the vacuum tubes usually got the required 'high voltage', from a device called a 'dynamotor'. Think of a 12-VDC *BRUSH*TYPE* motor driving a generator that produced several hundred volts. Usually there was near-continuous arcing going on at the dynamotor brushes, *regardless* of whether you were in transmit or receive.

YUP. These were also relatively _high_power_ transmitters -- 50 watt,

100 watt, or even more. there was a non-trivial risk of a 'random' piece of metal(anywhere _near_ the transmitting antenna) acting as a -receiving- antenna with enough efficiency to generate enough voltage to jump a relatively small distance to 'ground'. That big bumper-mount antenna was only a foot or so away from where the gas fumes were pouring out of the gas tank.

Not a _probable occurrence, but the 'downside risk' was "bad enough" to justify 'unreasonable precautions' to avoid it.

The -other- risks, of stray RF pickup/rectification, and jumping to ground do remain. *Virtually* non-existent, however due to the much, *MUCH* lower power levels used -- modern cell-phones transmit with 0.6 watts _maximum_, and as much *less* than that as will suffice to maintain communications. (the cell tower actually 'tells' the phone to reduce power, till its at the 'minimum' effective level. :)

It is *still* a concern, for vehicles running 'higher power" business-band (or other, e.g. "ham") 2-way radio systems, . It is only cell-phone technology where it is a true non-issue.

as noted, getting _way_ off-topic.

[Lawrence Wasserman]

In article , Rico wrote: :

Yeah, how come Florida isn't included?

[Larry Jaques]

On Mon, 20 Oct 2003 14:43:48 GMT, [e-mail] (Lawrence Wasserman) pixelated:

FL notwithstanding, competence isn't the issue. We don't have to soil our hands with gasoline in Oregon, either. And the guys at Albertson's Express Gas don't accept tips. I like it.

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- Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it? -

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