Following on from the 'leaving your seatbelt undone' thread, it seems many of us are 'helpfull' enough to move off the pump, for the next driver, ASAP.
Not in the Shell stations in Luton, anymore - polite warnings on signs, on the pump, telling you not to move, 'till you've paid, at least! Drive off theft prevention, no doubt!
But, & this could be a poll topic, 'What time of day do you re-fuel?' You try & avoid the Q's backing onto the carriageway, from the (few) filling stations left, around here & you'd be verrrrry lucky!!
VB
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Tesco, usually about 8:00am.
What gets my goat is line of two pumps empty, so what does driver in front do? stop at nearest, leaving pump furthest away empty!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Filling station rage anyone?
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Tesco, usually about 8:00am. What gets my goat is line of two pumps empty, so what does driver in front do? stop at nearest, leaving pump furthest away empty! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Filling station rage anyone?
What really gets me is the people who pull up at a pump, get straight out of the car and go into the shop. No intention of buying fuel at all.. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
and then there's the people who park in the air/water layby...
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Check carefully before getting 'pump rage'. I once caused someone behind to have a spat of this. I stopped at the first pump when the second was empty. The driver behind got out and started on me shouting and swearing about the empty pump and why I wasn't using it (plenty of expletives used) calling me all the names under the sun. Once I pointed out that my car was diesel and the far pump had no diesel he sheepishly got back in and drove off with the wife having a go at him!!
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And My wife still nags me about that, she has never forgotten!
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Ahhh....diminishing petrol stations...
In Carlisle, Esso had two which flooded in January.
Did they take this as a great opportunity to refurbish them, complete with coffee/pastry bar and TigerWash???
Did they hell. They closed them down permanently, stripped every hint of them being 'Esso' within days of the flood and put a fence round them.
Typical.
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Always refuel either first thing in the morning or the very last thing at night if possible. because automobile fuel is sold by volume not density so if you buy it at its coldest the contents of your tank will grow during the heat of the day. Not by much admittedly but the queues will be less at these times too!
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Good grief!
And I thought I was careful with money.
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As an adition to filling when the fuel is colder.
Did you know that if you pull the trigger to the top for a faster fill, in every 4 gallons you give the petrol company one pint?
If you only pull the trigger half way it doesn't take that much longer to fill but you do get your full ration.
There is a test during commisioning by Customs and Excise of the meter units which permits fuel companies to have an error during fast fills. The metering units are very very acurate.
The fuel companies are permitted to request that the metering unit is calibrated correctly.
The error factor is of course taken full advantage of.
Hope it help.
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The old Shell station on Shinfield Road in Reading was converted to a 'Sainsbury's/Shell Station' about a year ago.
You would be surprised how many idiots fill up their vehicles then leave them blocking the pumps while they do a bit of shopping. If there isn't a free pump available I won't call there any more.
Kevin...
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As a Luton resident, I've seen a few signs like this.
I usually shop for petrol between midnight an 4am.
Being nocturnal has its uses
--
I read often, only post occasionally
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I only use the shell garage nr the airport in Luton and know this to be one of the garages you guys are refering to, but I have seen it at many other shell garages in Herts too, so would presume it's a policy thing.
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I wouldn't leave my car there for too long, Be very surprised if you had any wheels left when you got back. Too close to Whitley for my liking ;o)
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A few months ago I was in a queue in a Shell station and the car in front moved out of the way to allow me to fill up, unfortunately Shell have a system that disables the pump until the previous user has paid. This is probably the reason for the signs, pointless clearing the way until you?ve paid.
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A lot of folk don't realise that if you pull up to a pump with the filler on the wrong side, the pipe is long enough to stretch right round to the other side of your vehicle.
Saves me a lot of time queueing.
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doctorchris - I know from experience that is not always an option, some pipes are not long enough. The Shell station on Grosvenor Road in London springs to mind.
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doctorchris - I know from experience that is not always an option, some pipes are not long enough. The Shell station on Grosvenor Road in London springs to mind.
Worth a punt though. I have been doing exactly this during twenty three years of driving, and have only ever been caught out twice.
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True, but the Grosvenor Road station is about the size of a shoe box and not easy to manoeuvre in.
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Yes, but don't you feel an idiot when it happens.
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A lot of folk don't realise that if you pull up to a pump with the filler on the wrong side, the pipe is long enough to stretch right round to the other side of your vehicle.
Sssshhhhhh. Don't tell everyone. It cuts down on my queuing time by doing this. The looks some people give when you do this - it's as if you've gone and commited the ultimate sin of jumping the queue. Hardly! I call it common sense. Amazing the people that are left waiting then follow suit and the queue quickly diminishes.
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Don't tell everyone>>
But what about those like me who fill up with a predetermined cost figure i.e. £10, £15 or £20? No way to check how much you are putting in.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>>But what about those like me who fill up with a predetermined cost figure i.e. £10, £15 or £20?
Out of curiosity, do you have any reason for this other than cash flow ? I've often wondered since I often see people doing it.
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And dont forget the "nudge button" at the cash desk
"There filled it up with £10.00"
"nudge"
£10.01 "What the F"
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>>But what about those like me who fill up with a predetermined cost figure i.e. £10, £15 or £20? Out of curiosity, do you have any reason for this other than cash flow ? I've often wondered since I often see people doing it.
I do it too a lot of the time, it's purely down to cashflow, I don't do it by choice because:-
a) More trips to the fuel station
b) Can't work out my mpg (I'm sad and like to do this occasionally)
Blue
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Out of curiosity, do you have any reason for this other than cash flow ?>>
Just habit. I don't use my car all that much (I have a free bus/train/ferries pass), so there's no point in driving around with a full tank of fuel and the extra weight involved unnecessarily.
A tenner's worth of fuel lasts between a week and 10 days and, as we are at Tesco at least once a week, filling up is no problem if it is necessary.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Depends if you are alowed to do this, I was in an Esso the other day which had notices at the pumps saying that the pumps would not be started if unless you were at the "correct" side (can't remember their exact wording now).
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to the other side of your vehicle.>>
I've always had the fuel tank filler on the opposite side to the pumps whenever possible - for one thing the person in front has probably left quite a bit of fuel still in the pipe and, secondly, you get a full measure of the expensive product you have just put into the tank...:-)
Alternatively, if the fuel tank filler is on the same side, stretch the pipe out so that gravity does the job for you.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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>> to the other side of your vehicle.>> I've always had the fuel tank filler on the opposite side to the pumps whenever possible - for one thing the person in front has probably left quite a bit of fuel still in the pipe and, secondly, you get a full measure of the expensive product you have just put into the tank...:-) Alternatively, if the fuel tank filler is on the same side, stretch the pipe out so that gravity does the job for you.
What??
The valve that controls the amount of fuel dispenced is in the handle, not at the top of the pipe.
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Yup the most you get is the dribble in the nozzle
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>>not at the top of the pipe.>>
If someone fills their tank with the pipe in a U shape, some fuel is left in. I know because, if you don't take care when filling with the fuel tank filler on the opposite side to the pump, your car bodywork, clothes and/or shoes get doused in the fuel left in the pipe as you stretch it out.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Busiest time of the day suits me for my truck. I get paid by the hour whether I am driving or not......
Cars a different matter though. I buy my gas from the gas suppliers, not forecourts. limited opening hours but best to get there just after 9am when all the delivery vans have loaded up and gone, and I once saw someone waiting to use the pump after me.
Only costs 34p per litre too....
WTM
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What about gormless people who drive into petrol stations through the exit then sit blinking at you in bewilderment, wondering how they?re gonna drive out and why everyone is shaking their heads at them. Makes me want to poke their eyes out.
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Two have just disappeared around here in the last 3 months. One was an Esso and now the BP further up the road on the other side looks like it might. It could of course be being refurbished as the BP signs are still up but the notices about it are on a piece of A1 paper attached to a cone which you can't read as it has folded in on itself! What was really annoying was that I drive passed it quite regularly but there didn't seem to be any real way of telling it would suddenly shut down. I had to make a special trip to get petrol so to find it closed when I got there was galling. What was even worse was I got back towards home there was a huge queue for the traffic lights as there was a road race (daft joggers) being held so there was total chaos. Ended up sitting in a queue for 15 minutes to get into my own village! There were 4 police directing traffic and a police van which was probably nearly the entire complement of local police..they're not normally seen in these numbers outside the late night brawl and head through window times of the wee small hours.
I assume the lack of filling stations has something to do with most people buying petrol from supermarkets now. Bit annoying really as I gave up supermarket petrol as a New Year's resolution!
teabelly
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Hi there fellow users of the Luton airport Shell station. The policy is more explicit at some sites than others: at Flamstead they make it clear that it's all to do with "drive-aways" -- skunks who fill up without paying.
What really annoys me at the airport site is how, when it's very busy (often), people will force queues to back up onto the road for want of a bit of adjustment of their own positions. There you go, yet more evidence that most people don't think most of the time -- the safest assumption I've ever made.
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Prompted by redafour's post, I dropped "thermal expansion of gasoline" into Google and came up with:
* TEgasoline = 9.5 x 10<-4> (C°)<-1>
which is the expansion co-efficient of gasoline (<> enclose superscripts).
And, as the answer to a student exercise in physics:
"If you fill the car tank in the afternoon, the tank is larger. You should fill the tank in the afternoon. The trick is to put the most molecules of gasoline in the tank. The best combination is to put cold gasoline in a warm tank."
Why? Because the petrol comes out of the pump cold from underground storage and the fuel tank in the car expands with the rise of temperature during the day.
Ain't Google wonderful?
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I used to use the Motorway BP as they gave you a car wash if you bought 20 litres, but recently I have been going to Asda as they have a pay-at-the-pump card machine which is alot more convienient. That convienience would go a long way towards preventing people from driving off before paying too. Where I lived in the US all the major brand petrol stations had the capability to accept cash/credit cards and even the smaller ones that didn't, required you to pay first.
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Howabout people who pull in to the petrol station entrance - then stop straightaway if there are no pumps free. They're obviously waiting for the first pump to come free, but the result is a large queue backing into the carriageway.
Why can't they just pick a pump and wait patiently behind the car already there??
I've had a few 'conversations' with people I've simply driven round as they're blocking the entrance....
Grrr.
DB
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Going back to the 'filling up on the wrong side' thread - I can't help but laugh watching people attempting to do this and then realising that they're about 6 inches too far away... the annoyance on their face at having to move their car a centimetre (and if like me have to do the petrol cap back up with the keys) is priceless - done it myself but learnt quickly!
I don't get out much.
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Never found a problem reaching the filler on a VW 'the wrong way round'. Some hoses are retained in the pump body by counterwights and need a good pull to get them out.
Why would a garage not want someone to fill up on the wrong side?
As for picking a car at random and waiting patiently behind it..............
Just done a full to full check on my Passat diesel and am pleased to find out the mpg is considerably better than what trip meter says. Do they get more pessimistic with age?
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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>>'What time of day do you re-fuel?'
Whenever the queues are small at our local Tescos - I live quite close by, so whenever I'm driving past I have a quick glance and if it's quiet I'll pop in (assuming I need fuel in the first place).
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Oh, and another thing.
Why are the airlines free in Surrey, but when I cross the bridge into Middlesex, I am expected to pay 20p?
Diabolical liberty, I call it. They are trying to keep me poor!!
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I don't do it because I don't like thick, heavy, dirty hoses scraping over the roof and boot of my car.
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I don't do it because I don't like thick, heavy, dirty hoses scraping over the roof and boot of my car
Spend a couple of seconds squeezing up tight to the pump kerb, judge the exact place to stop in relation to the pump, and if necessary, hold the hose away from the car with your free hand, and you don't have to.
Filling everything from a small MG Metro to my current V70, with several booted saloons in between, all of which I keep obsessively immaculate, I have never wiped the hose against the body.
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OOOOPPS!! What have I started??
& yes, it is the Shell sites in Luton I refer too!!
But, did you know that as well as your Bonuspoints from Shell, if you apply for the Shell credit card, you get points worth £10 fuel free? No need to continue using the card,although it's worth just under 1p/ltr for every £ you spend, anywhere, but may as well have the tenner!!
& don't apply for joint cards initially, After a few weeks, they'll write to you & offer ANOTHER £10 to get a second card on the account.
Other £$£$£ tips in www.moneysavingexpert.com they have lots forums & HJ's site is ALWAYS well promoted, there.
VB
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Spend a couple of seconds squeezing up tight to the pump kerb, judge the exact place to stop in relation to the pump, and....
...then realise they've put a whacking great big railing up between you and the pump, just at door banging height, since you last visited.
Hmmm.
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I always used to pull up on the 'wrong' side in my 406 estate and never had a problem. I've just changed it for a Merc C Class estate (so essentially the same size and layout). First time I tried it I stretched the fuel line at such an angle that fuel would only dribble out - there was a pretty girl filling a Porsche Boxter next to me and she looked at me as if I was a complete moron :-( I put £2 in and drove off.
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I do it because I like to see big thick dirty marks on the body of my off-roader.
(By the way, just trading it in for a rather gay Panda 4x4).
Love Doctorchris kisses, kisses.
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Oh, and another thing. Why are the airlines free in Surrey, but when I cross the bridge into Middlesex, I am expected to pay 20p? Diabolical liberty, I call it. They are trying to keep me poor!!
And boy are we browned off about you cheapskate Middlesex mob sneaking over the border and hoggin our air lines!
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>> Oh, and another thing. >> >> Why are the airlines free in Surrey, but when I cross >> the bridge into Middlesex, I am expected to pay 20p? >> >> Diabolical liberty, I call it. They are trying to keep me >> poor!! And boy are we browned off about you cheapskate Middlesex mob sneaking over the border and hoggin our air lines!
'ere, who are you calling Middlesex? I was born there, but slipped into Surrey many years ago (tic)
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>If someone fills their tank with the pipe in a U shape, some
>fuel is left in.
Nope,
Weights and Measures would not give type approval to a pump design that allowed dispensed (and therefore paid-for) fuel to remain in the hose.
See: www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=9627&m...e
Check W&M website for the permissible tolerances, they are pretty tight.
Kevin...
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I was going to suggest that you lot need to get out more. Then I figured that would mean you would visit the filling station more often.
Car mats, anyone?
;o)
ND
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If I've not anything better to do, I generally fill up at some point on a Sunday. Hate filling in my best clothes midweek. Lucky enough to have a filling station up the road selling fuel at competative prices despite its rural location. It has a nice village shop type feel being privately owned and the owner actually takes the trouble to work there. I'd rather put a few pence in his pocket than some faceless chain employing minimum wage staff.
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>>Nope>>
I can assure you I don't make it up as I go along......
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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A bit OT, but I've gone through my fuel receipts for the last few weeks. In 2 months I'v egone through about 5300 litres. all at the same place. I asked them if I could have (for free) one of the cheap £4.99 pair of binoculars they have advertised at all the pumps. I was told by the manager in no uncertain terms to get stuffed. Think I will go somewhere else infuture.
WTM
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<< I wastold by the manager in no uncertain terms to get stuffed. Think I will go somewhere else infuture.
Make sure that you don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
--
L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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From experience I often find a considerable quantity of petrol lying in the pipe, and now am always cautious to avoid splashing it over the car or my shoes.
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worst place is the new petrol stations that have tie-ins with supermarkets e.g. the esso at Handy Cross in High Wycombe that's also a Tesco express. Having to queue up to get to a pump then finding the person who's car you're behind is doing a full weekly shop is quite tedious....
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Tesco express
WHY i scream WHY
WE have within 4 miles, 1 tesco extra open 24 hours (seperate fuel) 1 tesco normal open 24 hours (seperate fuel) and 1 Tesco Extra (Esso)
The goods in the extra cost more, the fuel in the extra costs more, very limited parking at the extra, the q's at the till go out the door, takes ages to get in, get fuel, get served, get out. Faster at the main tescos.
Yet the place is always packed!
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In that particular case, why not go to the Shell one across the road? Usually the same price or cheaper & easier to queue at
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true - i could have gone to the shell but i usually use shell diesel and get ~57mpg, last tank load was esso and this gave 60mpg so I'm thinking of trying esso for a while
Car = Citroen C3 HDI 16v
Route = Motorways, mostly @ 90mph
Rich
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