Fuel pumps - Trigger locks

chewed

Why do the trigger locks on fuel pumps not work any more in filling stations around Ireland? I used to find this very handy to continuously fill the car.

Clareman

I noticed that as well, used to be very handy, I assumed that they were disable for safety reasons, if you took the pump out and clicked it open you could flood the place with fuel cause it wouldn't cut off like it would for a full tank.

Atlantic Dawn

Some law or regulation here apparently, was discussed in a thread here before.

Chemical Byrne

And rightly so. They are a dangerous feature in fairness.

alias no.9

They've been disabled for the most part since stations have gone self service. The trigger latches on a pin and once the pin is removed, it won't work.

*Kol*

It was very handy but normally ended in fuel spilling out onto the ground. You used to notice it on diesel cars especially with a dirty big fuel stain on the paintwork under the filler.

chewed

OK. I was thinking it must have been a safety decision

I must bring my own pin with me in the car next time I fill up!

tommycahir

Or you could do what I used to do when doing a fill a few years back and stick the fuel cap under the handle to hold it open

Toyotafanboi

or just deal with it for the two minutes or less and stand there holding it?

mullingar

I heard a tin of lynx is the perfect diameter.

Kevin!

mullingar wrote: »

I heard a tin of lynx is the perfect diameter.

And the bic lighters

biko

That's yonks ago they did away with the latch pin.
But yeah, safety.

demanufactured

Yep safety.
They were only on diesel pumps when I was a fuel injection engineer.
I remember the cutoff failing on a pump one time and flooding the place with petrol... And an auld lad puffing a fag not 10 feet from me... I never moved as quick.... The look on his face with me roaring at him... He says to me.. "what's the problem?"

_Kaiser_

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

or just deal with it for the two minutes or less and stand there holding it?

You raise a far more important issue there actually The variance in filling speeds!

Some of them fill a tank to the brim in no time.. others (generally smaller older outlets that may have been taken over by a multiple but not upgraded) take an AGE to do the job. I must have been standing a good 5 mins at one of the latter types recently. Not fun with an 80L tank and a wet rainy day!

biko wrote: »

That's yonks ago they did away with the latch pin.
But yeah, safety.

Anyone else thinking of that dude trying to change the battery on the Halfords ads on Dave that come up around Top Gear?

CiniO

That's very annoying thing on Irish fuel stations.
Especially in winter when it's freezing I have my hand frozen after holing a fuel gun for few minutes to fill up my car. Very annoying.
Can't understand why in Ireland it's a safety issue, while on the Continent it isn't.

joujoujou

CiniO wrote: »

[...]
Can't understand why in Ireland it's a safety issue, while on the Continent it isn't.

It's not a problem anywhere in the world, apart from Ireland.

And obviously it is annoying indeed.

keithclancy

joujoujou wrote: »

It's not a problem anywhere in the world, apart from Ireland.

And obviously it is annoying indeed.

It's the same in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium as well.

I just put up with it, no point in jamming something in there just because of a few minutes of discomfort filling my car.

I've seen it in maybe 1 or 2 stations in Germany, but the norm is no pin clip at the pump at all (except on the truck filling pumps)

Interslice

CiniO wrote: »

That's very annoying thing on Irish fuel stations.
Especially in winter when it's freezing I have my hand frozen after holing a fuel gun for few minutes to fill up my car. Very annoying.
Can't understand why in Ireland it's a safety issue, while on the Continent it isn't.

Because in Ireland we'd leave the engine running, with kids in the car and the trigger lock on while we nip in for d'milk and paper.

I wish they were there as 90% of the time I fill the tank. Must try find something to fit the trigger!

seamus

CiniO wrote: »

Can't understand why in Ireland it's a safety issue, while on the Continent it isn't.

It's a safety issue everywhere. I'm not sure there was any great thinking behind it, but time has shown that it presents a not insignificant hazard.

There's a reason why there are hundreds of videos of gas station fires in the US and I've never once heard of a fire at a petrol station in Ireland.

When you consider how flammable petrol is and the fact that a petrol station has thousands of litres stored below it, allowing pumps to flow unattended is insanity.

Voodoomelon

My local station has the clips and that alone makes me use them more than any of the competitors. Even squeezing a heavily sprung handle is pain over 85 litres.

Interslice

LIGHTNING wrote: »

The clip off fire extinguishers fits quite nicely, of course don't go tampering with fire safety equipment!

Was only thinking of them earlier. Used to have one knocking about. I've a load of aul allen keys and drill bits in the shed. I'll stick them in the car and see what fits next time. I'll leave the fire extinguishers alone!

keithclancy

CiniO wrote: »

That's very annoying thing on Irish fuel stations.
Especially in winter when it's freezing I have my hand frozen after holing a fuel gun for few minutes to fill up my car. Very annoying.
Can't understand why in Ireland it's a safety issue, while on the Continent it isn't.

It's the same on the Continent and UK as well, unless your using the Truck filling pumps, I think they still have them at least one station did when I was filling the camper anyway.

cletus

It's the same in Australia too, but Japan still has the locking pins

CiniO

keithclancy wrote: »

It's the same on the Continent and UK as well, unless your using the Truck filling pumps, I think they still have them at least one station did when I was filling the camper anyway.

I'm pretty sure I was able to lock it few times I was filling up in Germany.
Surely station I usually use in France has that option two.
I don't remember filling up in Belgium or Netherland as fuel is too expensive there.
In Poland every single petrol station has those locks, which is very convenient.
Same in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary....

dashcamdanny

I have to fill to the neck after each shift at work. Myself and all the other drivers keep a bic pen ink tube in the passenger side glove box on each truck or van.

Simply put the pen plastic thingy into the 3rd hole start the pump and get back into the van to keep warm. It shuts off automatically.

Alun

keithclancy wrote: »

I've seen it in maybe 1 or 2 stations in Germany, but the norm is no pin clip at the pump at all (except on the truck filling pumps)

They must have changed then because when I lived there, admittedly a long time ago, it was the norm to be able to lock them.

colm_mcm

Jam the petrol cap into the trigger. Simples.

Worked on every car I've had up till my current car, the cord is too short.

keithclancy

CiniO wrote: »

I'm pretty sure I was able to lock it few times I was filling up in Germany.
Surely station I usually use in France has that option two.
I don't remember filling up in Belgium or Netherland as fuel is too expensive there.
In Poland every single petrol station has those locks, which is very convenient.
Same in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary....

Alun wrote: »

They must have changed then because when I lived there, admittedly a long time ago, it was the norm to be able to lock them.

I think i've seen one, in Roermond that still has it but in the Winter its bloody noticeable:D

H3llR4iser

joujoujou wrote: »

It's not a problem anywhere in the world, apart from Ireland.

And obviously it is annoying indeed.

It's actually the same almost anywhere in the EU. In some places where there still is a choice of either pumping the petrol yourself or having an operator doing it, he/she will cheat slightly and carry the pin in their pocket