Did this happen at a reputable chain or some independent station? I always watch the gallons dispensed into 5 gallon cans and it’s always 5 gallons at the full mark, across multiple stations over a hundred mile radius.
I read an article years ago that most federal testing was done by pumping 5 gallons of fuel into a precisely marked container so some stations figured a way to make it pump the correct amount up to 5 gallons then it pumped slightly less each gallon afterwards.
It could have been a mistake just like the station owner claimed but thanks for the reminder to pay more attention when filling up !
I definitely will start checking the price after pumping exactly one gallon to make sure it matches the advertised price.
I talked to one of those guys that goes around testing pumps for a living a couple years ago, he said it’s pretty rare to find inaccurate pumps but it does happen and it’s definitely bad news for the station owner because the news spreads very fast when they get fines.
I read an article years ago that most federal testing was done by pumping 5 gallons of fuel into a precisely marked container so some stations figured a way to make it pump the correct amount up to 5 gallons then it pumped slightly less each gallon afterwards.
This happened in Florida many years ago as well. It was done intentionally because they had to change out the computer chip that measures the fuel. Not sure of what the fines were but one aspect was that they had to have their price per gallon lowered for about 2 months so they were the cheapest in town. I'm sure they took a big hit, but so did the other gas stations around who couldn't afford to lower their price to match the penalty.
I saw a story yesterday about under charging people for gas for several hours. I got the idea it was suppose to be something like 4.29 a gallon and they were charging people 2.49. They bitched a little bit that no one told them.
When we were coming back from vacation last year I filled up at a large chain gas station. My F150 has a 36 gallon tank and had about a quarter tank. At some point I noticed it stopped on something like a $1.20. So got over 20 gallons for that price. I printed the receipt and showed the guy behind the counter. He didn’t seem worried about it even though I said he should at least check the pump. They probably lost $80 of fuel but seemed unconcerned.
Cat D3, Deere 110 TLB, Kubota BX23 and L3800 and RTV900 with restored 1948 Deere M, 1949 Farmall Cub, 1953 Ford Jubliee and 1957 Ford 740 Row Crop, Craftsman Mower, Deere 350C Dozer 50 assorted vehicles from 1905 to 2006
The only delivery issue was when vapor recovery was new.
Auto Filling a 20 gallon tank took forever and was 34 gallons and counting…
Fuel was circulating back to underground tank.
I do wonder how independents can underprice the majors and keep doors open?
The beautiful Shell station off the freeway is consistently 60 to 65 cents a gallon highe than both independents within 2 blocks which always requiring jockeying to fill up because non stop they are that busy where almost never a car at the flagship Shell.
I got gas at a convenience store chain a couple of years ago and the pump racked up around fifty cents before I even started pumping. I had to be someplace so got my gas but took the time to complain to the manager, who said something to the effect of "Too bad."
That night I filed a complaint with weighs and measures, who took the pump offline until it was fixed. That manager had been there for years, but was gone shortly afterwards.
He was always a anyways, so I didn't really care.
