At self service gas stations, when you prepay, why does the pump slow down to a dribble before your total is reached? Some stations have it set to drip in at the last 25 cents and some almost a dollar. When I pay at the pump, it will keep pumping at a steady pace until I decide to stop it.
Do these stations expect me to walk away and let them keep my money as a tip out of impatience or is there an actual reason for this?
I’ve always assumed that the automatically shut off at the prepaid amount is more accurate if the rate of flow is slower. Say you have a measuring cup and need to fill it to exactly the 1 cup measurement. You’re likely to be more accurate if you’re filling it with a slow stream than with the faucet running full-blast.
I think your supposition is hilarious though, and may be at least partially (at least de facto) correct.
Considering that a cent worth of gas is about 1/3rd of an ounce these days, I think it’s understandable that they have to slow down a bit to hit that on the nose.
Don’t you do exactly the same thing when you are pumping to a certain amount manually? I certainly do - with the price of gas what it is nowadays, it is very difficult to get to exactly $20.00 - It almost always goes to $20.01 or .02.
This is how I understood it to be. Seems to be a common sense interpretation of the situation.
The slower rate is to avoid fuel sloshing out of the nozzle when it shuts off (i.e., what’s been described). Its onset is adjustable: 25 cents is sufficient, a dollar is jerkish.
Anecdote: Years ago I was driving cross-country in January, and it was COLD. Pulled up to a self-serve pump and it was going R-E-A-L-L-Y S-L-O-W. I went to the office and the guy came out with a key of some sort and adjusted the rate to normal. That told me the slow rate was intentional, set for laughs or to punish people choosing the cheaper self-serve instead of full-serve. When I ran into the same thing later at another station, I stopped pumping, held a quarter up so they could see it, and then laid it on the pump. I drove across the street and filled up at a station where they didn’t play those asinine games.
I am not seeing it.
If I am pumping my own gas I stop it around ten or twenty cents or so before it is at the total I want to pay and do the little click thing to get a bit more until I get to the total. I find it hard to believe a machine can’t do the same thing. I don’t recall EVER stopping fifty cents before let alone an entire dollar. Furthermore, on full serve, the attendants don’t stop until it is nearly to the total either.
If this were indeed the case, there would be a constant based on the price of gas but this doesn’t appear to happen. It is random by station, even the same brand has different “rules” to this. I think Gary T’s experience isn’t all that far fetched. Slowing down the last few cents is understandable, dripping in the last 50 plus? Not so much.
Do we have any owners of gas stations out there that can explain the variation of the amounts set on the pumps?
hard clicking to increment is wear and tear on the pump. slowing down is less wear and easier to machine control.
Oil companies don’t manufacture fuel dispensers themselves. They’re made by third parties (Dresser Wayne, for example). Some are more advanced than others; some incorporate vapor recovery systems, most incorporate automatic shut-off valves, and so on.
Do you often pay with cash though? I’d have thought that the vast majority of (non-prepaid) purchases these days are paid with a card, in which case what does it matter if the total comes to $20.02 or $19.97 or even $21.16? I can’t remember the last time I paid for a tank of petrol with cash - who carries £80 or £90 in cash on them on a regular basis these days?
Although, for some reason, even when I know I’m going to pay by card, I still always aim for a round number, unless I’m filling right up.
Anyway, as others have said, for pre-paid purchases, the slowdown is presumably to prevent accidentally going over the intended amount.
I can’t remember the last time I paid with cash, but I also always fill up completely. Plus, even though I lived in Europe, it still amazes me how expensive petrol is and why I only briefly owned a car out there. Here in Chicago, with some of the most expensive gas prices in the country, an average fill-up is about $50 (£32). I’m talking for a Mazda 3 or Ford Focus or similar compact car, where the fuel light comes on at about 11.5 to 12.5 gallons. (about 45 liters.)
Not everyone can afford to buy a full tank of gas at a single pop, and lots of people still use cash.
it is a suggested gratuity by the gas pump. it’s out there in all kinds of weather, maybe fortunate enough to have a canopy if its owner wants to treat it well, often working 24/7/365.
I’m a cash guy. Two reasons. 1. Pumps have been skimmed before and card information stolen. 2. I’ve never cared for the authorization hold they have to place on your account. I understand why the hold is necessary as the pump can’t know ahead of time how much fuel you intend to pump but that hold will often be in place for 1-5 days or so. It’s just annoying.
I didn’t get the sense that Colophon was suggesting most people buy a full tank. In fact, it seems like he doesn’t.
I have a question–for those people who are doing it down to the cent manually, do you do this because you don’t prepay? Or is it just the psychological appeal of nice, round numbers?
Full tank or not, Americans mostly still carry cash (though I don’t). Hell, half of us are still using paper check/ques.
About half and half. If I’m going on a long journey, yes. If I’m running a bit low and it’s nearly the end of the month, no. Of course, in the UK, just topping up to half-full can easily set you back the equivalent of $50, and I’m not in the habit of keeping more than about £20 or £30 in cash on me, so paying in cash would likely clean me out even just for putting two or three gallons in.
It’s been a while since I have done anything but fill my tank but IIRC some gas stations slow down with about .10 left and others where up to .50 (I don’t ever remember seeing 1.00). The .10 seemed understandable, but the .50 seemed unreasonable and annoying. Is there a reason some gas stations think the .10 isn’t enough?
F.Y.I. for those who would prefer to pay by card - there is no hold if you use your card to pay inside prior to pumping your gas. Also, some places will allow you to leave your card at the register prior to pumping and then run the charge after you’ve pumped your gas.
The reason for the hold is that the card company has no way of knowing beforehand how much you’ll be charging when they okay the purchase (which they have to do in order for you to begin pumping gas). This creates the potential for you to overdraw your checking account if you’re using a debit card, or go over your limit if you’re using a credit card, so the card companies put a hold on your account for more than a full tank is likely to cost in order to make sure you don’t charge more than than you’re authorized to spend. The reason the hold can be in effect for several days is that the card companies won’t know how much you’ve spent until they get the charge from the store where you bought your gas, and that can take several days. Paying an exact amount either before or after pumping allows the card company to know exactly what the charge will be before they okay it.
The pump will still crawl at the end though. 
I thought I said that I understand why the hold is necessary. Oh yeah, I did. 
I’m still a cash guy.