This could just as easily have gone into the Pit, but as I can see no logical reason for the phenomenon, I have chosen to forgo the pleasure of ranting in favor of (hopefully) an explanation.
In Massachusetts (at least most of the eastern side), gas stations have taken to removing the catch on the gas pump handles. So now, one is forced to hold the pump handle the entire time one pumps gas. Minor inconvenience, I know, but it seems to be one of those “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” deals in my mind.
Why? The only real reason I could come up with is people filling their tanks to overflow, or putting more gas in the tank than they planned on, and not having enough money to pay. But this doesn’t make sense. These pumps have auto-shut off features, so they can’t overflow if unattended. Further, I see this even at stations where you have to pay in advance. The cashier usually sets the pump to shut off at the dollar amount you have paid for, so even if you manually try to pump more, you can’t.
Is this unsettling trend more widespread than MA?
How do I get those last few drops off without dripping all over the floor?
Why? Dunno.
They have begun to do this in Maryland, too. I can relate, however, that Mrs. Spritle used to have a Honda Accord that had a filler pipe at such a shallow angle it would spill over as the auto-shut off valve was triggered.
I just bypass this “feature” by shoving my gas cap under the handle until it shuts off. Then I just pull it out. I have an “older” car ('93) where the cap is not tethered to the car, however. YMMV
They still have the catches here in NC, though I rarely use them. When I do use them, I’ll still stand by it while it fills up, because there’s always the chance the nozzle could fall out and spill gas everywhere (hell, it’s happened to me before :o, that’s why I don’t plan on screwing it up again:D). I see people go off and check their oil, clean their windshield, or whatever while the tank is filling up, and if the nozzle happened to fall out then, it’d make a pretty good mess. I imagine that’s why the catches have been removed.
Well, like Spritle, if I encounter a gas-pump without the latch, I just jam the gas cap under it. Even though it’s tethered, it’s fortunately long enough to do the jamming.
Around here (Michigan) it seems some of the gas stations are missing the latches, and some aren’t.
Once in Ontario along one of the 401 oases, I engaged the latch, and went to wash the windshield. Before I knew it, gas was spilling all over the ground. The auto-shutoff didn’t work in that case. I let the attendant know, and he said the auto-shutoff doesn’t work upside down. They do seem to work upside down at every U.S. gas station I’ve needed to do it upside down. FYI, upside down meaning I was on the wrong side of the pump with the hose draped over the decklid (no sense in waiting, that’s WHY the hoses are so long).
One thing that I hope is not becoming a trend: recently while “paying at the pump” the darned-tooting (trying not to swear now) pump charged my credit card and printed my receipt as soon as the pump automatically turned off. It didn’t give me a chance to top off! I got the number and left a message on the owner-manager voice-mail saying I would never purchase gasoline there again. I’m only a single customer, so I imagine it won’t make a difference, and they never called me back, the turds.
Shell Canada recently did this. I usually try to get my gas there (because of air miles)… about 2 - 3 months ago they latches were all removed. The cashier told me that it was a Shell Canada decision and not that particular station. I sent Shell a very angry email about it and here’s what I got in return.
I’ve NEVER had a problem using those clips and I’m really upset about them being removed… it’s damn cold in the winter, I don’t wanna stand there holding the pump… I could be doing something useful like cleaning my windows!
Some other stations still have the clips… I hope they don’t make the same mistake as shell!
In NY state most stations don’t have them, but I think they’re still legal because a few still do. Which is odd because there are also signs here saying that it is illegal to jam your gas cap into the handle to hold it on. I always do it anyway, while dialing my cell phone! People are such babies about gasoline.
The static electricity I never heard of, but the other reason is it: people have a habit of locking the nozzle on and then walkig off to do whatever, and then they get pissed when it doesn’t shut off and dumps ten dollars of gas all over the ground. When a nozzle is brand-new the auto-shutoff mechanism works perfect, but as the nozzle gets old it automatically shuts off less and less, until the auto-shut-off doesn’t work at all.
Where I used to work, they told us that we couldn’t ever modify the dispensing equipment in any way at all, including removing that little lever. If that was a law or a corporate decision I dunno, but where I used to work, if that little lever came halfway off, we had to put on a new nozzle and toss out the old one, we weren’t allowed to just pull out the lever pin and remove the auto-shut-off lever. - MC
Gasoline is dangerous sh*t. I used to work in a gas station. I had enough problems cleaning up after people who used their gas caps to jam the nozzle. We went through more kitty litter than you’d care to imagine. And disposing of it was tricky too; you can’t just put it in the dumpster, someone might throw in their butts and start a fire, which is not something you want to happen 50 feet from a gas pump.
Gasoline is not lighter fluid. Try dousing your charcoal briquets in a little gasoline some time and throwing in a match. Throw the match from at least 10 feet away if you don’t want to be incinerated. Gasoline is concentrated energy, and if you behave cavalierly around it long enough, you will wind up in a burn ward.
I for one am happy every time a station removes their clips. I won’t buy gas at a station that does have them. Those clips result in gasoline spilled, which becomes gasoline polluting my planet. No thank you.
I don’t care if it’s -40; either suck it up and wait, or go to a full-serve station.
i’ve seen some stations here in Houston that “coincidentally” only have the “convenience clip” on the premium gasoline (i.e. the most expensive of the 3 varieties). Coincidence? I think not. They’re just trying to make you say “oh which gasoline shall I use today? Regular? Premium? Oh lookie, if i use the premium i won’t have to hold the handle the entire time, i’ll pay an extra 40 cents a gallon for that added convenience.”
One could make the case that since the regular and ‘middle’ gasoline are used more often than the premium (if that is indeed true, i don’t know) the added wear and tear knocked the clips off of those before the clip on the premium nozzle. But come on. We know what’s going on.
Ever since i’ve been having to hold the damn thing for a few minutes each time i fill up my car, my wrist has been hurting. I think i have CTS. Time to sue.
As with everything, at all boils down to money.
They are trying to prevent drive aways.
The little clips make it easier for people to just get in the car while the pump is still going and take off.
What do you think the gas station operator is going to worry about, the driver that just made off with $20 worth of gas or the combustable liquid spewing all over the pavement?
We get 1 gram of gasoline yielding 43X 0.2388=10.3 kcal
Therefore, fat yields almost as much energy per gram as gasoline.
Warning label The makers of Ben and Jerry’s ask you to please refrain from smoking or similar cavalier behaviors while using our product or you will wind up in a burn ward
One thing nobody has mentioned is the problem of drivers absent-mindedly driving off with the pump still inserted into the tank. Yes, this happens, and more often than you might expect. Customer pays at the pump with a credit card, inserts the nozzle, and sets it running, then goes & sits in the car talking on his cell phone or whatever. Hangs up, forgets where he was in the process or what he was doing at all, starts up the car & takes off.
The Sam’s Club where I buy my gasoline has the clips on the pumps… but I’ve noticed that if you hold the handle, the gas pumps just a LEEEEEETLE bit faster. If I’m in a hurry, I’ll hold the handle on the sound theory that every picosecond counts.
choosybeggar, I almost liked your response, until you got carried away in your analogy.
From the Ben & Jerry’s website, the highest-calorie product they make is Cookie Dough Pop, at 410 calories per 1/2 cup. The highest-calorie ice cream/yogurt product they make is Peanut Butter Cup ice cream at 380 calories per 1/2 cup. Assuming that ice cream is half the density of water (it’s more than that, but I’m erring on the side of caution), 1/2 a cup would have about 70 g of mass, yielding 5-6 calories per gram of Ben & Jerry’s, or half that of gasoline.
The other thing is, energy content is only half the story. Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t burn. In the name of thoroughness, I just tried putting a match on a scoop of the stuff. I got a small dribble of liquefied ice cream, a wet match, and a scoop of ice cream I had to throw out. Gasoline, on the other hand, is made to ignite. The octane rating measures just how eager it is to ignite (the higher the rating, the less eager). I’m not going to repeat my match experiment with a scoop of gasoline though. I’ll leave that to you. Call me from the hospital and tell me how it went.
Hold-open latches just came back to Pennsylvania a couple of years ago after being illegal for something like 20 years. IIRC the state legislature banned them during the last oil crunch because they were afraid that Joe and Jane Motorist, unused to self-serve gasoline, would spill gas all over the ground and incinerate their sorry selves while trying to figure out the mysteries of the gas pump.
I use the hold-open whenever I can but I stand next to the pump while I’m filling up. Having worked in a full-service gas station in high school and college I know just how nasty gasoline can be and I don’t mess around with it.
I have to question whether it really is safer to remove the catches on the pump handles. Regardless of laws or company policy to the contrary, people are going to jam gas caps in there instead. The automatic shut-offs are designed to work with the catches, presumably, and may not work as reliably with gas caps of various sizes. This may actually increase the chance of spillage over that where the catch is still installed.
But if someone drives off with the the handle still in the tank, then there would be a good chance of the hose coming off entirely and following the vehicle wherever it might go. In this case, if the only shutoff valve on a gas tank were at the handle instead of the tank, then gasoline would be spewing out of the tank regardless of whether or not the handle were auto-pumping or not, right?
<hijack> So, where IS the shutoff on a gas tank? If it’s at the handle, then the hose would always be full of gas, waiting to be allowed to flow by the opening of the handle’s valve.</hijack>
It seems that if it were such a safety issue, then 1.“The Man” would step in and outlaw them, or 2.Stations would just buy the handles without this feature. And it’s not just an issue of conversion costs- I’ve seen several new stations in my area have their new tanks installed WITH these auto-pumps, only to manually remove them themselves.
