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This is news to me. In the UK the petrol pump nozzle has to be held, you can't just put it in there and expect it to fill up your tank - at all times the handle

This is news to me. In the UK the petrol pump nozzle has to be held, you can't just put it in there and expect it to fill up your tank - at all times the handle has to be held. Is this not the case in the USA? Can you put the nozzle in the tank, walk about, get in and out of the car and rely on the nozzle staying in the tank, filling up the tank until it magically knows the tank is full? If so then that is where your problem is. In the UK we don't have forecourt fireballs, it sounds to me that this is an American 'innovation', one that is probably needed given that Americans need to consume their own bodyweight in 'gasoline' to get to work and back in one of Detroit's finest 'cars'.

simoncion 11y ago
> Is this not the case in the USA? Most of the time, no. Not every pump handle has a functioning hold-open mechanism, but the vast majority of them do. > ...filling up the tank until it magically knows the tank is full? It's not magic, it's simple application of physics. [0] I would be shocked if this wasn't a feature of every nozzle that was usable by members of the public... nozzles in the UK included. :) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dispenser#Automatic_cut-off_in_fuel_dispenser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dispenser#Automatic_cut-o...
ghaff 11y ago
>In the UK the petrol pump nozzle has to be held, you can't just put it in there and expect it to fill up your tank - at all times the handle has to be held. Is this not the case in the USA? It varies--based on state I believe. There's a little catch that can be used at some pumps to fill without holding onto the pump handle. It actually does shut off quite reliably when the gas reaches the nozzle. It uses a venturi mechanism. [1] You're supposed to stay there and keep your eye on it but it's pretty reliable. Only once in my life have I seen this not work as it was supposed to. [1] http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119483&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119483&page=1

simoncion 11y ago

> Is this not the case in the USA? Most of the time, no. Not every pump handle has a functioning hold-open mechanism, but the vast majority of them do. > ...filling up the tank until it magically knows the tank is full? It's not magic, it's simple application of physics. [0] I would be shocked if this wasn't a feature of every nozzle that was usable by members of the public... nozzles in the UK included. :) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dispenser#Automatic_cut-off_in_fuel_dispenser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_dispenser#Automatic_cut-o...

ghaff 11y ago

>In the UK the petrol pump nozzle has to be held, you can't just put it in there and expect it to fill up your tank - at all times the handle has to be held. Is this not the case in the USA? It varies--based on state I believe. There's a little catch that can be used at some pumps to fill without holding onto the pump handle. It actually does shut off quite reliably when the gas reaches the nozzle. It uses a venturi mechanism. [1] You're supposed to stay there and keep your eye on it but it's pretty reliable. Only once in my life have I seen this not work as it was supposed to. [1] http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119483&page=1 http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119483&page=1