Does anyone know if there are petrol stations that still allow you to put the nozzle in the car tank and then rely on the auto cut-off to stop the pump?
I can see on most of the nozzle hand pieces that there is still the little catch that engages with the trigger but they seem to have been disabled.
Unfortunately I have developed osteoarthritis (I'm in my early 40's) in my hands and I'm finding it increasingly painful and difficult to maintain my grip on the trigger while I fill up, on some slow pumps this can take up to 10 minutes.
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I haven't seen that facility for years. A certain tabloid would probably blame "elven safety" or EU rules.
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SFAIK these auto shut-off pumps have never been legal in UK and, as you have noticed, the lock-on mechanism has been disabled.
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I have seen coach drivers with some device which goes on the trigger, whether it's something the filling stations provide I don't know. Maybe ask the next time you are in. Failing that call one of the coach companies.
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On most pumps there are a couple of holes either side of the handle. On pumps I used to see with the "lock on" mechanism, there was a pin through these holes that the trigger latched onto. Looks to me all they've done is to remove the pin. If this is the case then take something that pushes through the holes with you and try it. Remembering of course to remove it afterwards and store somewhere safe for the next fill up.
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I have seen coach drivers with some device which goes on the trigger whether it's something the filling stations provide I don't know. Maybe ask the next time you are in. Failing that call one of the coach companies.
You could try using the filler cap to hold the trigger open, should fit nicely.
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You could try using the filler cap to hold the trigger open should fit nicely.
Not if you've got a new Mondeo ;0)
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Some filling stations (I can think of 1 or 2 near to where I am) are more than happy to help customers who suffer from problems which prevent them filling up the car themselves.
I realise that the younger you are, the harder it becomes to ask for help, but worth a try.
Quiet village petrol stations seem better at this than large in town busy fuel stations in my experience.
Edited by Saltrampen on 06/04/2009 at 13:43
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hi
all self service filling stations pumps have the trigger holding clip removed. especially petrol pumps.
some attendant pumps might still have them.
some 'truck stop' diesel pumps may still have them.
if i remember rightly, on petrol pumps if the driver drives off and snaps the hose, the pump would cut out after 20 gallons where as a diesel pump would dump 100 gallons. but this might of changed since i last fitted petrol/diesel pumps.
i have same trouble with my hands regarding filling and have to stop and start often.
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You need a thin nail on your car keyring to go through the holes in the handle.
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Just a thought, but if they have removed the locks for H&S reasons then I doubt they'd take too kindly to you bypassing the system with one of your own... and what would happen if the cut off didn't work??
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A small split pin is ideal and can be threaded onto a keyring.
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I came across a service station with a very slow filler;complained to the owner-a major oil company who thanked me for contacting them and returned my money and said they would investigate.I thought that the end of the matter but a few weeks later I received a further letter to say a fault had been found on the pump,it had been fixed and another cheque was enclosed.I've used that company again(and again).
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Every station in Germany has the auto shut off system so I doubt if its for safety,and as the fumes from petrol are carcegenic I am suprised you are allowed to stand over the filler.
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as the fumes from petrol are carcegenic I am suprised you are allowed to stand over the filler.
I thought a lot of pumps were fitted with a recovery system these days to extract the fumes elsewhere?
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to extract the fumes elsewhere ...
It's hard to 'extract' fumes once they have escaped from your tank filler pipe ... (I think that was what Andy meant?)
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I use a piece of piano wire bent into a Y shape which I keep stowed in the drain hole in the shroud around the filler neck. I usually lose it every few months though by leaving it in the nozzle. It has to be stiff wire or rod, something like a paperclip is far too bendy, a drill or allen key would work. You can only do this on diesel pumps, the petrol pumps have some part missing for safety reasons.
Edited by Hamsafar on 06/04/2009 at 18:53
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A straightened paperclip with a tab of duck tape was my solution, worked fine
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Don't know if this www.gasclip.com would fit - designed for US pumps.
Many years ago I had a plastic device which I think was given away as a promotional item by some firm or other, and it clipped onto a keyring. It was just a flat piece of plastic, maybe 1" wide and 2" long, with a straight niche in one side near the bottom that clipped onto the fixed handle and and angled niche near the top which jammed under the trigger and held it on.
Edited by Bill Payer on 06/04/2009 at 19:06
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New stations and very large ones have stage 2 vapour recovery systems on them (any which sell over 3,500 m3/year will too by Dec 09).
This is essentially a collar on the nozzle which extracts the vapour displaced from the tank.
Edited by Jonathan {p} on 06/04/2009 at 19:45
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I always wedge it open with the filler cap. The auto shut-off still works, it does need the trigger to fly back.
Edited by Manatee on 06/04/2009 at 20:05
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I too have grip problems, especially in cold weather, due to having broken my fingers and other hand bones on several occasions in my more active years. ( don't ask ! ) Mostly I try to put up with it and convince myself that it is a form of excercise gripping fuel nozzle triggers. On the days when the mitts simply won't cooperate I jam a credit card in sideways to hold the trigger in the on position. When the overfill release clicks it usually just drops out.
The Italians sometimes provide a sand bucket as an ashtray next to the pumps so you can have a fag while your car fills up....strange but true !
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 06/04/2009 at 20:16
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( don't ask ! )
I feel we need to know now.
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>>I always wedge it open with the filler cap. The auto shut-off still works, it does need the trigger to fly back
CORRECTION - it doesn't need the trigger to fly back!
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A lot of the big nozzle truck diesel pumps still have the latch enabled (until they break) as it can take a while to fill up with around say 500 litres. If not as it has already been suggested a split pin works wonders to do the same job.
My personal favourite though is the use of a tennis ball. They fit just right when wedged in the handle and the auto cut-off still works too. I'm not so sure that the person in charge at your normal car forecourt would be too impressed by the use of the tennis ball, but at most truck places they don't bat an eyelid.
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but at most truck places they don't bat an eyelid.
They might if you made a racket ;o)
I'll get me coat.
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Although they'd probably still....serve....you.
I off out now too....
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I used one with a trigger lock at our local filling station today,dont know if their pumps all have them but the fast fill diesel one does .
some pumps have differant filling speeds so try to find one that has a high pumping rate then you wont have to hold it so long
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tennis ball
At my works diesel pump the pin has been removed after one too many incidents of drivers lifting the nozzle almost out of the filler neck and splashing a few litres on the ground. Now we all use a 500ml soft drinks bottle, a furniture polish tin or a polystyrene coffee cup stuff with tissue and wrapped with duct tape to wedge the trigger on.
My friend's dad's petrol station in a small (now bypassed) Mid-Beds village had 4 pumps, one of the diesel pumps was fitted with the pin allowing the trigger to be locked-on. This was several years ago, the station is still trading but I don't know if the diesel pump is still thus equipped. I believe a lot of his local account customers drove diesel-powered cars/ vans/ Land Rovers, especially to and from the golf club ;-)
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The fast fill HGV pumps often have them, however they tend to be pre-authorised use only and the nozzles are too wide for some diesel cars' filler necks.
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