A few weeks ago I was in Perth Scotland.Having an empty tank I filled up at Tescos , before I had a full tank the pump shut off and I had to que up and pay.I mentioned to the cashier it would have been nice to have got a full tank of fuel before the pump shut off.The explenation was the pump shuts off after 3 minutes as a safety precaution and no one else complains.Well says I most people have probably not an empty tank as they are local, I am completety empty due to driving up from south. So returned to pump continued to fill and que pay for the remainder much to the annoyance of the que of vehicles waiting behind me. This got me wondering if anyone else has had this problem elseware?
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Obviously not a safety precaution, but a means of getting as many vehicles through as possible at busy times. I don't know of any connection between filling your tank full and dangerous petrol accidents.
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Similar problem at a Tesco petrol station in West London recently. I said to the cashier that their tanks may be empty, only to be told that they definately weren't and it must have been either me not working the pump properly (I have only been doing it for 13 years after all) or that my tank wasn't empty and actually still had about £20 worth still in there.
No explanation about it cutting out after a certain length of time, but wouldn't surprise me, as the fill up was very slow. Didn't stop suddenly either, just slowed to a trickle before finally stopping.
Very frustrating, especially with the inference it was all my fault!
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I used a supermarket forecourt a few weeks ago, where an island of pumps were marked 'Pay at pump only'.
I was queueing patiently at another island, and noticed drivers using the 'pay at pump only' and going in the kiosk to pay, so when I paid I commented on this and was told the signing was confusing, but only referred to twenty four hour working, when the kiosk was unmanned.
The next time I used that forecourt, I thought I'd be clever. It had changed. The pay at pump was now only that.
I had to drive out of the forecourt, round the filling station, and back in......... Is it me?
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Why didn't you pay at the pump?
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Aha. I thought you were going to say the latest Windows update has nadged Zonealarm, cutting off everybody's internet access and destroying the Windows based pump system.
But you didn't. (However, I will be fixing Zonealarm tonight!)
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But you didn't. (However I will be fixing Zonealarm tonight!)
After lots of problems with Zonealarm, I've switched to Comodo which is free. Quite happy with it.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 09/07/2008 at 19:42
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Oddly I had exactly this sort of cut off for first time ever at Sainsbury's yesterday. Trying to brim the Xantia for a fill to fill check with diesel that foamed like Tet's bitter!!.
Took a good 5 mins before pump shut off and if there'd been anyone behind I'd have been too emabarassed to carry on.
As for pay at pump I'll use it again when the cash limit is greater than the price of a tankful.
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I almost invariably fill my car up with petrol at my local Tesco Extra - I can quite comfortably fill the fuel tank to the brim from whatever the original level.
I've never heard anyone complain that they were unable to do so; this applies to the long period of the 12 strong bank of original pumps and brand new ones fitted around nine months ago.
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Last time I used tesco pay at pump they only let you have £65 worth, is that still the case? Wouldn't do me much good if I was below 1/4 of a tank.
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£65 worth wouldn't do me much good if I was below 1/4 of a tank.>>
Would do 300/400 miles, depending on the car.
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brimmers are tomorro,s mimsers in my opinion
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I filled up at Tesco once. The pump was really slow and it shut off after about 3 minutes. I went in to pay and told the cashier. She shrugged her shoulders and said 'Oh it's the filters.' Anyway I wasn't too bothered and the tank was near-full. I'd just never experienced that before.
On the pay-at-pump thing. It used to be that you got a £60 limit at Tesco. This was fine for filling most tanks. Then if you were nearly empty the £60 wasn't enought to fill the tank. About a year ago or less, they increased it to £80 and guess what... Quite depressing I think. Full tank for me is now pushing £90. Resisting the urge to mimse...
GB
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Resisting the urge to mimse... Mimsing isn't economical, so you are doing the right thing. Getting a decent move on with a lightish foot, lots of overrun and appropriate, miserly use of the brakes is economical.
The main reason I hate mimsing with a fundamentalist passion is that mimsers make me use more fuel on top of the other two or three reasons. The others are that they get in the way, and that the sight of them onanizing around provokes choking fury which I am sure is bad for my body and murderous fantasies which I am sure are bad for my, er, soul; and that they think wrongly that they are driving safely and I am not; that because they are ridiculously far within the law they are somehow competent and responsible. Damn carphounds.
Naturally no one who posts here would come into the mimser category, or so I like to think.
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Lud, I think you should be put in charge of a re-write of the Highway Code. It would be so much better. I would imagine something like:
Rule 1
- No mimsing - you know who you are.
Rule 2
- Come on, get a move on!
Rule 3
- If you can't keep to Rules 1 and 2, at least get out of my way.
Can't wait for that edition!!
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I am really, genuinely not like that. I have driven some miles in many cars. I am a close observer of all these matters.
Perhaps I don't write boringly enough to be understood.
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I read a news article along these lines lately:-
h ttp://tinyurl.com/2u7efn
I've made the link non-clickable as the story does contain some mild naughty language, but I'm sure it's nothing we haven't all said in a petrol station at some point or other... :-)
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I am really genuinely not like that. I have driven some miles in many cars. I am a close observer of all these matters. Perhaps I don't write boringly enough to be understood.
But you might then be accused of "forum mimysing" - that is ambling along between posts, musing out loud about your experiences of pre-war motoring, philosophising about the strange ways of the world, throwing in an anecdote about your brother in law in 1957 - making us all slow and read your fascinating posts, rather than just letting others get on with short snappy pertinent replies. :)
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Would do 300/400 miles depending on the car.
My fuel gauge doesn't work :-) I just know how many miles I can do on a full tank, don't want to bring varibles into it like it might be nearly full :-)
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Asda pay at pumps limit is currently £70, but what annoys me more is more often than not the receipt machine has no paper, or it has paper, but it is jammed.
Unfortunately the pump doesn't always tell you this before you use it, bit of a pain when you need a VAT receipt. You fill up, press button for receipt, wait for receipt, it then prints onto nothing so you have to go and queue for a receipt anyway!
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One thing amuses me at filling stations is the large number of people who will sit in a queue for the pumps just to get the filler cap on the same side as the pump, even when other pumps are free. Despite signs saying 'use both sides' and watching me fill my car from the 'wrong' side, they don't seem to twig that the fuel hose will easily reach round the car. Amazing.
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Not all hoses are long enough though.
Fair enough some are and signs usually point this out as you say (Supermarkets in particular I think) in which case I'm happy to drape the hose around the car/across the roof.
It's a pain getting to the pump and finding the hose won't reach across and then have to start queuing from scratch at a different pump (usually a left hander)
Edited by Marc on 10/07/2008 at 12:37
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As with many other things the French seem to have worked out the problem. When you have filled up you move your car to a parking bay next to the shop to pay for your fuel. They don't seem to lose track of who has had what ammount and it allows you time to browse the shop without feeling the pressure to move off the pump.
There are probably reasons why we can't do this, most likely related to drive-offs.
Edited by stackman on 10/07/2008 at 13:48
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There are probably reasons why we can't do this most likely related to drive-offs.
We can do it. I sometimes have.
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I remember people used to move out of the way as a way of courtesy, when self-service first came in. I think it lapsed when large multi-pump stations came in, because there is nowhere obvious to move to without it looking as if you are about to drive off without paying.
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The bit that really amuses me about people who must have the pump on their side , is when I swan up to an empty pump, wrong side 'n all and most importantly from the back of the wating queue, is the really filthy look you get as though you'd dared to use a bit of common sense. It got a bit chancey though when I did it during the alleged fuel shortage last month. More to life then waiting to fill up your tank..
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>>Not all hoses are long enough though
Maybe I've been lucky but I've never found one that isn't long enough even at one-horse village garages. Just make sure you don't park too far away.
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Buy a Porsche.
A driver behind me at the filling station was able to fill up as I paid because his fuel filler was in the front offside wing.
I think it was a Boxter.
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That was me! I have to fill up so much I have developed ways of saving time. The 911 had the filler cap in the same place & it is v useful. Another classic is doing a quick 3p.t. and reversing in so your filler cap is on the correct side, whilst a long queue of middle-aged folk look on incredulously at the audacity of such a manouver as they wait pointlessly for 4 cars in front to fill up & pay.
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Isn't the turnaround time ultimately limited by the speed with which the cashier can store and clear the pump information? Even if a pump has been vacated, you can't start filling until the dial has been reset.
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Can you imagine the queues when we all have to use electric cars ? " Sorry mate I'll only be another eight hours or so but I reckon Plug 3 will be finished about tea-time if you you want to get behind him." " Is that the new Zippahonduki Sparkler you've got there? I heard you can get nearly half way up the M1 in less than two days in one of those ? "
;-0
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Not all hoses are long enough though.
Total rubbish, never failed yet in 30 years.
The problem is if you drive either not far enough or too far past your chosen pump!
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..they don't seem to twig that the fuel hose will easily reach round the car. Amazing.
Often with a struggle though & good chance you'll spill the left-over fuel in the hose over yourself or car with the nozzle upside down. The hose can also scratch paint if dragged over.
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Never done either. I must be a careful type.
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I never fill up on the wrong side having damaged a car with a hose that had frayed exposing the wire braiding but then again i never forget which side my filler cap is on having to perform an impossible reverse maneouver to get to the right pump like i have seen some numpty's attempt causing mayhem and choas in doing so.
is it really that hard for some people to LOOK as they pull in to see where they need to head for, it seems they stop and assess the next move, obviously thinking and driving is far too difficult
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