petrol pumps

flanzer

unklerosco wrote:

Strange... All the truck pumps have em, i just click it n get back into the truck till its done.

I'd like to see pumps with preset payments. Put the pump in n press €5,10,15,20,30,40 n it does it automatically.... I've seen pumps in spain that do it..

I did a bit of night driving across the States and they have a prepay mechanism where you pay your amount first, head to the pump and the pump automatically stops when you get to that amount. Obviously stop people over-fillign and driving off......Typical of this country. We're way behind in technology :mad:

Saruman

It might be becase they can be dagerous. If you leave it to fill then get back into your car and get back out to take out the pump... if you are also wearing synthetic clothing like say nylon tracksuit then chances are you have a buildup of static and you run the risk of causing a fire.
This is were the mobile phone causing a fire myth came from. Its why you do not have it happen here but in the US its very common for fires to occur this way.

The only way to be safe is once you get back out of the car to touch any metal part of the car well away from the fuel pump.

michaelanthony

This is a bit off topic. Why do petrol stations turn off pumps and put reserve tank signs on them. In some petrol stations, there is a big queue and half the pumps are closed. It's very annoying.

prospect

flanzer wrote:

I did a bit of night driving across the States and they have a prepay mechanism where you pay your amount first, head to the pump and the pump automatically stops when you get to that amount. Obviously stop people over-fillign and driving off......Typical of this country. We're way behind in technology :mad:

I used that system in the states also, and I hated it. I am so glad we don't have to resort to this sort of dumbing down, idiot proofing system the Yanks need. See, there's more than one way to look at everything.

Beady

Saruman wrote:

It might be becase they can be dagerous. If you leave it to fill then get back into your car and get back out to take out the pump... if you are also wearing synthetic clothing like say nylon tracksuit then chances are you have a buildup of static and you run the risk of causing a fire.
This is were the mobile phone causing a fire myth came from. Its why you do not have it happen here but in the US its very common for fires to occur this way.

The only way to be safe is once you get back out of the car to touch any metal part of the car well away from the fuel pump.

Correct! See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKhURamX6VU

It's only in the last few years that the hold switches have been disabled here. They're still on most diesel pumps as diesel doesn't give off the volatile vapours that petrol does.

vorbis

I much prefer the "Yanks" system for petrol stations. You can swipe your debit / credit card at the pump, then fill up your tank and thats it! no need to head into the shop.

Stephen

michaelanthony wrote:

This is a bit off topic. Why do petrol stations turn off pumps and put reserve tank signs on them. In some petrol stations, there is a big queue and half the pumps are closed. It's very annoying.

A petrol station normally has a number of underground tanks which feed certain pumps. When the level of fuel in a tank gets below a certain level they disable the pumps drawing from this tank, as the system will get airlocked if the tank is emptied, so will be a pain in the ass to get going again when its filled.

Phibsboro

Just to confirm that the previously mentioned trick of sticking the petrol cap into handle works for a mini too. Most garages in the States have working clips and will also accept credit cards at the till. An interesting side effect of the credit card thing is that they have very undeveloped garage shops cos almost no-one ever goes into them - yanks are amazed at the centra type shops we have at our filling stations. When Tesco first opened stations in Dublin they took credit cards at the pump but this only lasted for a few months - I reckon cos of the amount of fraud rather than to get people into the shop. With the full introduction of pin and chip hopefully they'll bring em back.

C

seamus

Having been filling cars with petrol in some capacity over the last ten years, I can safely say I've never ever seen one of these in Ireland. Maybe they had them a long time back (or country stations would tend to use them due to larger volumes of commercial traffic?).

As Saruman points out they present a significant fire hazard, particularly in cars. In theory they'd be nice, but it's rare enough that I encounter one of those painfully slow-filling pumps.

I've never understood the logic of only filling your car with €5 or €10. You're going to use it, why not fill it up to the brim?

testicle

As an aside on this, why isn't C&P standard world wide? I can't use my C&P visa for buying in france, I have to sign for it, because their C&P is different. Gets annoying buying fuel at night, when the manual pumps are closed.

event

we own a garage and only one of you petrol pumps has a working one. The others have broken over the years

the cut off doesnt always work, sometimes depending on which way its held or put into the tank it gets around it and can end up going everywhere.

putting the petrol cap in to jam it isnt recommended, ive seen tehm getting jammed and causing a lot of hassle to get out.

can ye not just hold it?

littlejukka

event wrote:

can ye not just hold it?

too much hassle, apparently.

crosstownk

crosstownk wrote:

I contacted Statoil about this some time ago. Aparently it is illegal for Irish filling stations to have this locking mechanism. I never investigated further, and tbh, I'd actually like to know why, as every other EU country I've been to has them working. I must try and dig out the Statoil email and post the contents. It's on my computer at home so I'll post it later..................

From: statoil@statoil.com
Subject: Re: "Customer Service / Comments"
Date: 26 Bealtaine 2006 17:03:16 ASÉ

Thank you for your e-mail.
My apologies for only getting back to now.
Your query appears to be about nozzle clips. There is a latching clip on
the handle of dispensing nozzles that can be fitted to latch the handle in
the open position.
It is common to see these in parts of Europe and the US where they are
permitted.
It is however, illegal in Ireland to have these installed on dispensers of
class I petroleum product (Unleaded).
This is as per S.I. No. 311, Dangerous Substances Regulations, 1979, Part
II, Paragraph 43.

Therefore it is company policy to remove these from all pumps, across all
products, on Statoil Ireland forecourts.
This is performed as a safety measure to reduce the likelihood of
accidental spillages during use.

Thank you again for your query and hopefully this answer is to your
satisfaction.

Kind regards,

Triin



That's a response I got from Statoil last year.

Pete67

Usually the clip is still in place, but the pin it latches onto has been removed. You will see the hole where the pin used to be.

Should be a simple matter to find a pin of the right diameter and stick it on your keyring......

Our man in Havana

crosstownk wrote:

From: statoil@statoil.com
Subject: Re: "Customer Service / Comments"
Date: 26 Bealtaine 2006 17:03:16 ASÉ

Thank you for your e-mail.
My apologies for only getting back to now.
Your query appears to be about nozzle clips. There is a latching clip on
the handle of dispensing nozzles that can be fitted to latch the handle in
the open position.
It is common to see these in parts of Europe and the US where they are
permitted.
It is however, illegal in Ireland to have these installed on dispensers of
class I petroleum product (Unleaded).
This is as per S.I. No. 311, Dangerous Substances Regulations, 1979, Part
II, Paragraph 43.

Therefore it is company policy to remove these from all pumps, across all
products, on Statoil Ireland forecourts.
This is performed as a safety measure to reduce the likelihood of
accidental spillages during use.

Thank you again for your query and hopefully this answer is to your
satisfaction.

Kind regards,

Triin



That's a response I got from Statoil last year.

The relevant piece of SI 311 of 1979

44. Subject to any conditions attached to a licence, every hose through which petroleum Class I is dispensed by a self-service pump to the fuel tank of a vehicle shall be equipped with a nozzle so designed, constructed or arranged that—


( a ) no stop or catch on the nozzle is capable of keeping the nozzle valve open to permit delivery of petroleum and to eliminate manual control,


( b ) the nozzle valve cannot be kept open to permit delivery of petroleum other than by manual pressure and closes automatically to prevent delivery of petroleum immediately manual pressure is released,


( c ) it is provided with an effective automatic shut-off device to prevent spillage caused by splash-back or obstruction in or overfilling of the fuel tank of a vehicle or container,


( d ) the maximum flow-rate to operate the automatic shut-off device to prevent delivery of petroleum shall not exceed 45 litres per minute,


( e ) after the shut-off device of the nozzle has been activated, it is not possible to re-commence delivery to the fuel tank without first returning the nozzle control lever to the "off" position.

I guess my local petrol station is being naughty.

crosstownk

Only if it works on a petrol pump - no problem with the "nozzle clip" working on a diesel pump. But Statoil (and others, probably), remove the device from all pumps.

unkel

Beady wrote:

It's only in the last few years that the hold switches have been disabled here

Thanks Beady! Thought I was losing my sanity there. I was getting very confused with all the posters that weren't aware of the hold switches ever working here in Ireland. Until about 2-3 years ago, most petrol stations had it. I might be off a few years timewise, but I am sure about the lock

My current car has an 85l tank, my previous car had an 80l
tank. I rarely refill till the light comes on. It takes several minutes to refill those big tanks. It was way easier back then...

Edit: only seeing those regulations now. I'm convinced those "nozzle clips" were widely available until a few years ago

crosstownk

unkel wrote:

Until about 2-3 years ago, most petrol stations had it. I might be off a few years timewise, but I am sure about the lock

I remember these locks not working in the late 1990s (the regulations have been around since 1979). Specifically because the service station next door to the garage had one 'sly' pump that an operational lock

Capt'n Midnight

unklerosco wrote:

Strange... All the truck pumps have em, i just click it n get back into the truck till its done.

I'd like to see pumps with preset payments. Put the pump in n press €5,10,15,20,30,40 n it does it automatically.... I've seen pumps in spain that do it..

and Italy - very handy when they do it 24 Hour out in the sticks.
Stick the notes into the machine and it stops pumping automatically.