Overserved at the pumps

ds20prefecture

Today I needed to fill a 5L drum of petrol so off I went to the Statoil in Kiltiernan. I was surprised to find my 5L drum took 6.49 litres, so I questioned them at the till. Puzzled expressions and ultimately the shrugs said "WhadyaGonnaDo?". The girl at the till even said that she regularly puts over 6L into their own 5L drums. I paid up & left.

When I got home I filled the drum with water and decanted into a 2L milk container. It took 2 1/2 of them to empty the drum, making 5L, not six and a half.

So either the pump is over reading (and charging) by 30% or 3 different yet rated containers are wrong.

I will check against another station tomorrow. My question is - has anyone else encountered this?

damo605

That definitely sounds like a scam! There's a local petrol station here and if I get €20 worth there I get a lot less miles than if I get €20 worth in a different station even though they are very similarily priced per litre and the on board computer shows same MPG from both....
I never measured it exactly, I just stayed away but I wonder if they are up to the same game?

jayok

Report them to the Weight and Meaures Authority. This is considered a serious offence. It's a little late now but I would have asked them for their certificate from the Weight and Measures Inspector to prove the equipment was properly calibrated.

As a kid my Dad had a fuel station and randomly an Inspector would turn up and simply start pumping fuel out of each of the pumps. He would take 1 litre and 5 litre samples. He had full authority to do this and checked that the correct amounts were dispensed. If I recall correctly there was a 2% difference allowed - but maybe this is no longer the case. However, it certainly is NOT 30%! We used to see him about every six months.

69 mustang

Report it to the corpo weights and measures department.
Did you get a receipt.:mad:

ds20prefecture

Will do - I did get a receipt. I think I'll do a couple of spot checks myself.

Fey!

I've never even considered that the pump would be wrong! Now I just feel stupid!

Our man in Havana

Get a volumetric fask from a lab and fill it and compare the results. For best results get a 5 litre one.

Hotblack Desiato

Just one more example of why we desperately need Trading Standards Officers in this country... Give it another five years or so, maybe the government's new consumer agency will actually start doing something against this sort of everyday common-or-garden ripoff. Though, maybe not...

AMurphy

ds20prefecture wrote:

Today I needed to fill a 5L drum of petrol so off I went to the Statoil in Kiltiernan. I was surprised to find my 5L drum took 6.49 litres, .....

When I got home I filled the drum with water and decanted into a 2L milk container. It took 2 1/2 of them to empty the drum, making 5L, not six and a half.

...
I will check against another station tomorrow. My question is - has anyone else encountered this?

While I'll not say stations cheat, innocently or otherwise. Do keep in mind the containers you were using are not calibrated to any great extent.
I fit 14.5 gal in my 14 gal fuel tank regularly.
I fit 3 gal in my 2.5gal jerry can for the mower.

Keep in mind temperature does induce some error and you are currently in a freeze. But not 30%. Maybe 2~3%.

To do any sort of calibration, you need to work from a calibrated volume, Best people for that is call your Weights and Measures Dept.
Otherwise, use an accurate scales. Weight the container, before (empty) and after (full). (Google the denisty or petrol and figure it out.)
Or use a length of capped 12" tubing.

However, I'd not put much faith in any volume less than 3 gal. (12L)

ds20prefecture

AMurphy wrote:

While I'll not say stations cheat, innocently or otherwise. Do keep in mind the containers you were using are not calibrated to any great extent.
I fit 14.5 gal in my 14 gal fuel tank regularly.
I fit 3 gal in my 2.5gal jerry can for the mower.

I suppose that's why I used the 2L milk carton (checked it with a measuring jug.) The 2.5 2L milk cartons confirmed the 5L capacity on the jerry can. If it was 5.5L pumped I wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but 6.5?

gaui3d0pnbz86o

try here

report them if in any doubt as if they were right(which i doubt) then they wont get into any trouble! and if they are scamming or have faulty equiptment then they need to be charged or have the pumps fixed

ds20prefecture

OK filled the jerry can at the Texaco on Rochestown avenue. 6.4L into the 5L can!

I did my decanting experiment with the 2L milk carton, but this time decanted 6.4 L. DOH!

I reckon when I filled my jerry can with water last night, I was getting a lot of petrol "foam" at the top, leading me to think it was full when it wasn't.

Sorry folks - wild goose chase. The jerry can holds 6.4 litres when full, and I feel slightly foolish.

Atomic Pineapple

as nelson from the simpsons would say...............haha!

still its something to keep an eye out for a lot of petrol stations could be conning people in this way and easily getting away with it, its something you'd never think about

stormin

ds20,

I wouldn't feel too stupid about it. It's no harm to make us all think sometimes that we need to keep an eye.

unkel

stormin wrote:

I wouldn't feel too stupid about it. It's no harm to make us all think sometimes that we need to keep an eye.

Agree. Vigilance rules

AMurphy wrote:

use an accurate scales. Weight the container, before (empty) and after (full)

Yeah, weight makes much more sense. If going by volume, milk containers are never filled up to the top anyway so they are useless for comparisons. Even a rough decanting into a bog standard household measuring jug would be way better

IrishRover

A jerry can for carrying fuel will have an extra capacity to allow for expansion. You shouldn't overfill it.

Seth Brundle

Don't the pumps have a visible sticker showing the certificate of inspection by the W&M Dept. and also aren't they somehow sealed?

Also remember (maybe insignificant) but petrol volumes change with temperature as it evaporates when it comes out of the pump?

Turner

You might want to edit you original post highlighting your mistake incase the nice people at St$toil get offended.

thelurcher

I've only noticed the sticker showing the certificate of inspection by the W&M Dept. at one station I go to - it also give the inspection date.