Are you being cheated at the pump?

[john peck]

I worked a convenience store 20 odd years back & made a disturbing discovery about the gas pumps.
The pumps at the store would read $5 if you paid $5, but the reality was that you only received $4.93.
Okay, that wasn´t really to awful on $5, but multiply it by 52 weekly fillups & it adds up to a substantial
chunk of change. My 2-strokes require a very precise mix, so I´m carefui to fill the gas can to the exact
amount. Cpl. weeks back at the very same location I discovered a 25 cent discrepency one gallon.
I pumped exactly 1 gal. but the price was 25 cents more than the price listed on the pump. That was
for high test, Whoa! I still buy my gas there cuz it;s still the best gas available nearby. & I only drive
about 60 niles a month anyway. Safeway & QFC give points off gas price for purchases but their gas
seems to only get 80% of the mileage i get at the convenience store. It´s a lose lose situation.

 

[JRA]

Gas is one of those mandatory bend over prices that you pay in lieu of having to make it yourself. I like the idea of electric vehicles and thus my interest in eBikes but as far as cars go I don't drive enough to make economic sense of getting rid of my gas car and going to an electric. Going forward I do see the need to back off on oil on a global scale but the pricing and how it can be manipulated by the producers will remain iffy.

 

[dodgeman]

In Illinois they actually have someone, a state agency, that checks the pumps. They even put a sticker on the pumps to show it was checked. I’m sure they could still cheat but I don’t think it’s common.

We had a recent trip and coming back in Nebraskan filled my truck up. It holds 36 gallons and had about 10 gallons left in it. I filled it up for about $1.20. I went in and told the guy behind the counter the pump was screwed up but he had no way to figure out how much I put in. So I got over $50 in fuel free.

 

[john peck]

In Illinois they actually have someone, a state agency, that checks the pumps. They even put a sticker on the pumps to show it was checked. I’m sure they could still cheat but I don’t think it’s common.

We had a recent trip and coming back in Nebraskan filled my truck up. It holds 36 gallons and had about 10 gallons left in it. I filled it up for about $1.20. I went in and told the guy behind the counter the pump was screwed up but he had no way to figure out how much I put in. So I got over $50 in fuel free.

My state uses the sticker deal too, but no way to tell when the last it was checked. When I worked convenience
there was some guy came round about every other month & fiddled with the pump, but he didn´t drive a gov.
vehicle, I haven´t the slightest idea what he was doing. Errors in customer favor seem to make less that
5% of total errors. In my store we had a quirky computer that magically disappeared $100 from time to time.
but that might have been the manager. It was also prone to going down completely from time to time.

 

[sc00ter]

Our states Weight and Scales calibration certification seems to be voluntary. I try my best to avoid the ones that are known to not have the certification.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I am not cheated at the pumps because I ride a e bike.

 

[6zfshdb]

My state uses stickers which are updated at least once per quarter. The inspections are done randomly by a state employee in an unmarked car. Violations result in hefty fines which in most cases wipe out any illegal short sale profit.

The newer pumps used today are programmable. They can be rigged to pump the first 5 gallons correctly before shorting the quantity. Inspectors are wise to this and start taking measurements at varying points. It's a game that isn't played much anymore due to the fines

 

[ActionJackson]

In the early 70s I worked at an Amoco gas station on US 90 that runs along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. The owners bought official Amoco gasoline but also had headless (no pump) storage tanks that they would fill with black market gasoline brought in from Galveston by gypsies. After closing we’d spend an hour or so by hand pump transferring the gypsy gas to the live tanks and the owner would roll back the totalizer by the same amount. Consumers (95% tourists) got something like raw 84 octane with no additives when they should have gotten 92 octane with all kinds of additives. Amoco only took commissions on maybe 50% of the real volume. I was 14 at the time - I did an oil and filter change on a VW beetle but didn’t replace the oil seal gasket. The guy broke down 50 miles later and had the car towed back - the boss refuted everything and blamed it on a cheap import hippy car. The day after the boss brought me into his office and asked me not to use so much oil on an oil change in the future .

 

[DavidRvR]

Not exactly sure how the pump measures but Ours have a sticker that says volume can be different depending on temps outside ..

 

[sc00ter]

When I mix gas for my jobs 2-cycle engines we weight the gas. 380ml to 30lbs of fuel, if I recall correctly. We have hang tags affixed and make sure the scale stays calibrated. But weather temps does affect volume of fuel.

 

[john peck]

Well, whatever measures are taken, you can be sure the petrol industry will gouge for every
penny tthe market will bear. Be it a spill, a distant war, or an election year when they need to
fill their war chest, they will use any excuse to raise prices.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Not exactly sure how the pump measures but Ours have a sticker that says volume can be different depending on temps outside ..

This.

 

[Handlebars]

You would be cheating yourself if you tried to fill the tank too much because it goes back into the pump. So they say.

 

[Nomad]

Remember when you filled ur moped with super and still used change to pay for it

 

[sc00ter]

When I purchased my Piaggio Liberty scooter I could fill the tank for $2. Now its $3,25, and the scooter just turned 3 years old. But I've been riding the ebike more so I don't sweat the has prices.

But yes Nomad, 50cents would go forever! I had a Baretta 38. Loved that little moped. It introduced me to powered 2 wheels, crashing rocket bikes, getting locked-up and paying crazy high insurance rates. I'd still do it all over again because I'm stupid. I'm currently considering getting another moped as I type this.

 

[john peck]

Remember when you filled ur moped with super and still used change to pay for it

No, I had a Whizzer

 

[Mike_V]

Not a thing can be done. J. B.

 

[DavidRvR]

When I mix gas for my jobs 2-cycle engines we weight the gas. 380ml to 30lbs of fuel, if I recall correctly. We have hang tags affixed and make sure the scale stays calibrated. But weather temps does affect volume of fuel.

At 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the fuel's volume stays constant. Here's what happens if it's hot or cold outside. If it's warm outside and over 60 degrees when the fuel is delivered, it will have expanded because of the heat. After the fuel cools down to normal, the volume will shrink.

Fuel Expansion | Fuel Contraction | Ricochet Fuel Distributors

When you buy fuel, whether it's gasoline or diesel, you probably never give a thought to what it does in different temperatures.

www.ricochetfuel.com

 

[Cowlitz]

Not a thing can be done. J. B.View attachment 116394

What would you suggest? Anything productive to add besides a meme? See, now you've got this going political. I like having a president who doesn't make up lies all the time, although blaming Russia for all of it is a bit too simple. However, I've decided that much of the US is simple minded.

 

[DavidRvR]

Let the Americans drill!
Allow leases to be renewed extended and allow new ones but also approve permits. We do not need anyone else’s oil or natural gas.. most electric cars are being charged from the original place everyone else in America is getting there electric (coal and natural gas plants). Batteries are only storage devices not power generators.
Get America back to energy independence.

Get back to exporting more than we import.

For starters!

Bad policy is all this amounts too and it’s on purpose.. force green onto everyone… hope gas goes to 15$ per gal … and a gal of milk goes to $20
And when your groceries go to another $1000-1500 more a month then you will really start to understand the actual cost of going green. They don’t want you moving around at all. They want you sitting at home and if they can control your movements which they will with these prices then they have reached there goal.

Put your money where your green new deal mouth is… I say we hit it hard and see what washes out…