Gas Pump Question

I'd find it hard to believe that more than one nozzle could be turned on unless the pump was re-set.

Closest I've ever seen was at a truck stop back in July when dude driving truck B helped himself to the satellite pump while dude A was filling from the primary pump.

NO. Each side of a dispenser has its own meter. While it may be possible for someone on the other side of the dispenser to dispense fuel because the solenoid valve was hanging open, it would not register on the meter that your friend was using.

BTW: The pump is actually hanging 4 inches off the bottom of the fuel tank.

I'm thinking of a situation in which someone comes up and helps themselves to a few gallons from the same side of the dispenser. Like from the premium nozzle while one is filling up on regular.

How is that possible? I haven't seen a pump with more than one *nozzle* (except for Diesel) in probably 10 years? And even if its an old-style pump where each grade has its own nozzle, who would allow another person to walk up within a foot of where they're standing and pick up a nozzle off the pump they're using???

I just filled up at one with multiple nozzles today, in a relatively new station.

Some people walk away from the pump while its running to wash their windows, check the oil, etc. In Oregon, many people never get out of the car while the attendant fills it, so the attendant could slip a few gallons into a can easily.

That doesn't work. Even on the relatively few remaining pumps that have multiple nozzles instead of just one, once a particular nozzle is activated by tripping the lever or shifting the slide, the others are rendered inoperative until the pump is reset (i.e., the sale is completed).

When a dispenser is authorized (when you remove a nozzle, push the approp= riate button, and swipe card or the person at the fuel controller pushes a butt= on), it resets the meter, turns on the solenoid to the nozzle, and the solenoi= d that turns on the appropriate fuel, and the sub-pump that pumps gas to that so= lenoid, and a whole bunch of other things (carder, vapor-vac, approx 5 computers = in the dispenser, 3 in the store, PES system, etc). The premium could not have been authorized while the dispenser was alread= y pumping. It is pretty fail-safe.

As poster Steve said, how could someone walk away from the nozzle while activated and not see someone approach with a gas can in hand, remove the=

nozzle from the car being fueled, fuel their can, and put the nozzle back=

into the car or dispenser? That amount of inattentiveness is an invitati= on to disaster.

But is there only a single digital readout for gallons/dollars? I can't imagine that there isn't an interlock mechanism (hardware or software) that prevents two pumps on the same "head" from running simultaneously. It seems like it would be HARDER to design it so that two pumps COULD run at once and double-increment the display, frankly.

If there are two displays, then there should be two independent price readouts, so no problem.

So do I, but I'd still be all over anyone that walked up and messed with the pump I was using.

I'm surprised Oregon doesn't have a lot of trouble from indignant out-of-staters who prefer to pump their own fuel. If I ever pass through there by car, I'll endeavor to buy gas on either side of the state, but not IN it. :-/