9 ms·

You weren't watching it? Do people actually engage the pump and then just walk away and assume it will all work out?

mattmaroon 6y ago
I’ve been doing this all my life and didn’t even know it could go wrong. I just assume everyone inside the store did this too.
mattlondon 6y ago
I was watching the price going up on the display, and not the actual hole in the side of the car where the fuel goes in. For UK pumps you actually need to stand there and physically hold the pump nozzle the whole time. If you let go it is spring loaded and it stops pumping. Of course, you don't have to look right at it while it is pumping...
- stuartd 6y ago
  UK pumps still have a hole which you can push a little rod through to lock the pump on.
- nkozyra 6y ago
  Maybe 25-20% of the pumps in the US are the same.
  - loeg 6y ago
    It really depends. I'd say 90+% of the pumps I encounter have working latches (NW US).
- ryanlol 6y ago
  But what’s the deal with UK pumps stopping if you squeeze the trigger too hard? Drives me crazy.
  - anticensor 6y ago
    That may have to do with dead man safety.
  - donarb 6y ago
    That's caused by the mechanism described in the article. If you squeeze the handle hard you get a fast flow. This can cause the gas to splash back into the nozzle and cuts off the flow because it appears that the tank is full.
tehlike 6y ago
The downsides to automation. More often than not, even if you are 90% of the time alert, you get fairly comfortable and not watching. I do watch my car while i am doing some other stuff or looking at my phone, but seen some other automation related stuff that makes me lazy. Like not locking the door at home when going out, because it's automatic.
yellowapple 6y ago
Honestly, I do. My usual routine is to open the fuel hatch, check for card skimmers, swipe my card, punch in my phone number for the loyalty program (if I'm at my usual gas station), punch in my ZIP, grab the nozzle, select a grade, stick the nozzle in the hole, set the trigger on the lower speed, head into the store, buy beer, put the beer in the car, wait for the pump to finish (if somehow it hasn't), put the nozzle back, close the fuel hatch, and drive off on my merry way. This all seems to be pretty normal where I'm from.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- inopinatus 6y ago
  A word of warning, all that moving around is potentially† building up a nice static charge on your body just in time for you to discharge it through the cloud of gasoline fumes as your hand closes around the trigger to unlatch it, with well-documented pyrotechnic results. † (sorry)
  - mehrdadn 6y ago
    Yeah I was thinking the same thing, this is probably a bad idea. You don't want to go sit in your car either.
  - leeoniya 6y ago
    you'll discharge it on the grounded pump trigger before you withdraw anything with gas on it. static builds up everywhere, all the time during dry winters, yet gas stations don't regularly start exploding seasonally.
    - inopinatus 6y ago
      This isn't a theoretical concern: there are numerous documented cases, even multiple instances with footage on <popular video sharing website>, so a notion of "this can't happen" argued from first principles isn't just moot, it is potentially harmful. The proper safety advice is that if you've been moving around, ground yourself by contact with some other earthbound metal before approaching the nozzle.
dmitryminkovsky 6y ago
You don’t? I’ve done this hundreds if not thousands of times and it only didn’t work once, for the first time, a few months ago when I was filling my UHaul in Queens to move out of New York City. It was fitting.
IshKebab 6y ago
What do you mean walk away? Do you guys have a lock to keep it on?? That seems unwise.
- loeg 6y ago
  It stays in place by gravity.
- bagels 6y ago
  Yes, in many locations the dispensers have a lock to keep the trigger depressed.
- mitchdoogle 6y ago
  Yes, I've done this my whole life and seen many (most?) others do it too. I've never even seen thought it's a bad idea, because the gas pump shut off has worked 100% of the time for me. Go to a gas station, start pumping, and lock it, then go inside the gas station to buy some snacks. When I come back outside, the gas is full and I can go on my way.
kalium-xyz 6y ago
You cant do that in most European countries as the trigger will need to remain engaged for the valve to stay open. So you just stand there holding the pump handle bored the entire time. I get its more safe but I wish we had the same system as they do in the US
- toxik 6y ago
  I have never seen a nozzle without a latch in Europe, however, 90% don’t work and just unlatch immediately.
- Xylakant 6y ago
  There’s usually a little latch on the handle that you can engage so that the valve stays open and you can let go then. No need to keep glued to the pump, even in Europe. You should still watch the pump though - you’re handling flammable substances.
  - vvillena 6y ago
    IIRC some European countries forbid those latches, to ensure the pump is always actively watched.
- CodeWriter23 6y ago
  You can always prop it open with the gas cap and let the diaphragm trigger described in the article do its job. Unless the air inlet is obstructed.
  - kalium-xyz 6y ago
    That trick doesn’t work for all cars sadly.
dheera 6y ago
People seem to do it all the time in California at least. I've never actually seen a tank overflow but if it did it seems like the potential consequences could be disasterous. Maybe they should remove those flip-up latches if they want to prevent people from doing that.
recursive 6y ago
Yes. I do that. I've never even considered the possibility that it could be a problem, and so far it never has been.
noodlenotes 6y ago
When do you wash your windows if not when the gas is pumping?
- PascLeRasc 6y ago
  One of my favorite monthly activities is having that two minutes to clean receipts out of my car and wash the front and rear windows.
masklinn 6y ago
> Do people actually engage the pump and then just walk away and assume it will all work out? You don’t need to walk away, I generally just zone out watching the volume and price display scroll.
perl4ever 6y ago
In some areas, they do not have the latch on the handle to prevent that. They may (also) have a warning sign saying do not leave unattended.
- myself248 6y ago
  But you can wedge the fuel cap into the handle to prop it on while you wipe the windows...

I’ve been doing this all my life and didn’t even know it could go wrong. I just assume everyone inside the store did this too.

mattlondon 6y ago

I was watching the price going up on the display, and not the actual hole in the side of the car where the fuel goes in. For UK pumps you actually need to stand there and physically hold the pump nozzle the whole time. If you let go it is spring loaded and it stops pumping. Of course, you don't have to look right at it while it is pumping...

stuartd 6y ago
UK pumps still have a hole which you can push a little rod through to lock the pump on.
nkozyra 6y ago
Maybe 25-20% of the pumps in the US are the same.
- loeg 6y ago
  It really depends. I'd say 90+% of the pumps I encounter have working latches (NW US).
ryanlol 6y ago
But what’s the deal with UK pumps stopping if you squeeze the trigger too hard? Drives me crazy.
- anticensor 6y ago
  That may have to do with dead man safety.
- donarb 6y ago
  That's caused by the mechanism described in the article. If you squeeze the handle hard you get a fast flow. This can cause the gas to splash back into the nozzle and cuts off the flow because it appears that the tank is full.

tehlike 6y ago

The downsides to automation. More often than not, even if you are 90% of the time alert, you get fairly comfortable and not watching. I do watch my car while i am doing some other stuff or looking at my phone, but seen some other automation related stuff that makes me lazy. Like not locking the door at home when going out, because it's automatic.

yellowapple 6y ago

Honestly, I do. My usual routine is to open the fuel hatch, check for card skimmers, swipe my card, punch in my phone number for the loyalty program (if I'm at my usual gas station), punch in my ZIP, grab the nozzle, select a grade, stick the nozzle in the hole, set the trigger on the lower speed, head into the store, buy beer, put the beer in the car, wait for the pump to finish (if somehow it hasn't), put the nozzle back, close the fuel hatch, and drive off on my merry way. This all seems to be pretty normal where I'm from.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
inopinatus 6y ago
A word of warning, all that moving around is potentially† building up a nice static charge on your body just in time for you to discharge it through the cloud of gasoline fumes as your hand closes around the trigger to unlatch it, with well-documented pyrotechnic results. † (sorry)
- mehrdadn 6y ago
  Yeah I was thinking the same thing, this is probably a bad idea. You don't want to go sit in your car either.
- leeoniya 6y ago
  you'll discharge it on the grounded pump trigger before you withdraw anything with gas on it. static builds up everywhere, all the time during dry winters, yet gas stations don't regularly start exploding seasonally.
  - inopinatus 6y ago
    This isn't a theoretical concern: there are numerous documented cases, even multiple instances with footage on <popular video sharing website>, so a notion of "this can't happen" argued from first principles isn't just moot, it is potentially harmful. The proper safety advice is that if you've been moving around, ground yourself by contact with some other earthbound metal before approaching the nozzle.

dmitryminkovsky 6y ago

You don’t? I’ve done this hundreds if not thousands of times and it only didn’t work once, for the first time, a few months ago when I was filling my UHaul in Queens to move out of New York City. It was fitting.

IshKebab 6y ago

What do you mean walk away? Do you guys have a lock to keep it on?? That seems unwise.

loeg 6y ago
It stays in place by gravity.
bagels 6y ago
Yes, in many locations the dispensers have a lock to keep the trigger depressed.
mitchdoogle 6y ago
Yes, I've done this my whole life and seen many (most?) others do it too. I've never even seen thought it's a bad idea, because the gas pump shut off has worked 100% of the time for me. Go to a gas station, start pumping, and lock it, then go inside the gas station to buy some snacks. When I come back outside, the gas is full and I can go on my way.

kalium-xyz 6y ago

You cant do that in most European countries as the trigger will need to remain engaged for the valve to stay open. So you just stand there holding the pump handle bored the entire time. I get its more safe but I wish we had the same system as they do in the US

toxik 6y ago
I have never seen a nozzle without a latch in Europe, however, 90% don’t work and just unlatch immediately.
Xylakant 6y ago
There’s usually a little latch on the handle that you can engage so that the valve stays open and you can let go then. No need to keep glued to the pump, even in Europe. You should still watch the pump though - you’re handling flammable substances.
- vvillena 6y ago
  IIRC some European countries forbid those latches, to ensure the pump is always actively watched.
CodeWriter23 6y ago
You can always prop it open with the gas cap and let the diaphragm trigger described in the article do its job. Unless the air inlet is obstructed.
- kalium-xyz 6y ago
  That trick doesn’t work for all cars sadly.

dheera 6y ago

People seem to do it all the time in California at least. I've never actually seen a tank overflow but if it did it seems like the potential consequences could be disasterous. Maybe they should remove those flip-up latches if they want to prevent people from doing that.

recursive 6y ago

Yes. I do that. I've never even considered the possibility that it could be a problem, and so far it never has been.

noodlenotes 6y ago

When do you wash your windows if not when the gas is pumping?

PascLeRasc 6y ago
One of my favorite monthly activities is having that two minutes to clean receipts out of my car and wash the front and rear windows.

masklinn 6y ago

> Do people actually engage the pump and then just walk away and assume it will all work out? You don’t need to walk away, I generally just zone out watching the volume and price display scroll.

perl4ever 6y ago

In some areas, they do not have the latch on the handle to prevent that. They may (also) have a warning sign saying do not leave unattended.

myself248 6y ago
But you can wedge the fuel cap into the handle to prop it on while you wipe the windows...