WTF is this normal???

[DarkEcho]

Hey guys, Everynow and then when i go to the (EXTREMELY OVERPRICED) gas station, Ill put in like 20 bucks when im almost empty and i kNOW that 20 wont fill it up but for some reason everytime i go, it will automatically stop at about 19.25$ as if it was auto stopping because the tank is full..but then i get in the car and drive off and my tank is 3 quarters!!! is this just some kind of gimmick to help gas stations scroung up a few more cents (cuz they know im not going to walk back in to get 75 cents.) why doesnt it use up ALLLLL of the 20 bucks i put in there??? its not even close to full so i dont know why it stops.....any ideas? thanks

[nikon]

wow...this is rocket science....most pumps stop short....then when you pull the little handle again it will slowly put the rest of your gas in ;)

[DarkEcho]

well yes i know that but usually they will go full speed until they get close then it will go slowly until it hits 20.00 never before did it stop short on me

[nikon]

Originally posted by DarkEcho:
well yes i know that but usually they will go full speed until they get close then it will go slowly until it hits 20.00 never before did it stop short on me

it depends on what that station has their pumps for

[Golbez]

I would have gone in and got my 75 cents if it wouldnt let me put it in, and everytime thereafter, but that's just how I am [img]smile.gif[/img]

[DarkEcho]

i mean what if one day im pumping gas and it stops then im like "well that one guy on firebirdv6 said that you have to pull the handle" so i keep filling it when it actually stopped in the first place because the gas tank was full and now im overflowing my tank.... see i dont know when its full or not! and usually when it stopped is when i knew it was full....but now it stops and its not even close so im just confused...thanks anyway

[Zell]

When I first started pumping gas on my own the tank would stop, then I would go inside and get my change. I would argue with the guy for trying to gyp me. I was later ashamed to find out that all I had to do was squeeze the handle a few more times to get it to finish.

[Jason McCallister]

Pumps like that use a vapor recovery system. The pump/nozzle will shut off when the backpressure reaches a certain limit to prevent splashing/spilling. Think of it as filling up a jug with water... the air must come out as the water goes in.

Since the gravity of gasoline will change with temperature, the backpressure will also change. Some days the nozzle will release earlier than other days. Also, if the nozzle is not inserted all the way into the filler neck and straight, the nozzle will receive "false readings" of backpressure since the tip of the nozzle will be touching the wall of the filler neck instead of directly in the middle. (make sense?)

Don't be afraid to "overfill" it once as long as you have some rags and water (windshield cleaning tanks next to the pumps) to wash off the spilled gasoline. Once you overfill the first time, you'll have a good idea the next time you fill up when the tank is actually near full without over filling.

[ka50]

Next time tell me if you don't want your 75 cents. I'll take it. hehe

and yeh sometimes it shuts off before ur tank is full..

[SouthrnMaro1]

I usually turn my car to on so the gauges come on and you can look in the window and watch it rise to Full.

[Golbez]

hehe, man I always try and squeeze as much as it will let me put in, like when it goes off, I'll give it some more and it'll go off again, then I'll put some more in and it'll go off again, and then sometimes even again just to make sure, Im probably filling up the pipe. It's funny one time in this po-dunk town between Dallas and Houston the pump sucked and it splashed out and I was like oops, heh heh, just that much more I can go [img]smile.gif[/img]

[OutKlast]

The pumps by me are doing the exact opposite it hits the stop and normally I can squeeze in some more but the last few times I squeeze just a little like .25 more after it stopped and it squirts out the tank. Now I just let it stop and get my change not like it's that far of a trip to a gas station.