I always pour about $1 worth of gas on the ground to make sure the hose is cleared out of any low octane gas.








j/k!

 

ha ok, you beat me to it

 

A 3 product dispenser with a single hose is fed by two tanks (1) Regular and (1) Super. Under the dispenser there is a blend valve which regulates the mid-grade product. Some 7-11 sites have as many as 5 grades that are a blend of two products. Each blend of fuel has a meter (inside the dispenser) that is calibrated to the grade of gasoline. As fuel passes through the meter it registers on the CRIND (display) in gallons and dollars.

The Meters are what the state tests for calibration to make sure each station is not giving away or underselling people. There are heavy fines either way. Each state has a its own tolerance level. The length of hose (in retail applications) is always the same length and does hold some fuel after each transaction, but it's less than 1/2 gal and in the scheme of things will not change the octane rating if you use a lesser grade.

If you ever run across a 3-hose dispenser that means that they actually have 3 separate product tanks in the ground and they are not blending. Most stations have gone away from this as transportation costs for a mid-grade fuel does not make it advantageous to sell.

Any other questions?

 

Unless you live in Oregon, which has no such regulations or quality controls on this. They have done several news features on this. I have witnessed this first hand (growing up in Oregon), and now I live near the border, and will run on fumes if it means I can get back to Washington and pump my own gas in a state that requires bi-annual inspections by the department of weights and measures. A lot of gas stations had all sorts of sludge/crap/particulates in suspension with the gas. They pumped some gas into a clear container, and after a while, you could clearly see all the crap that settled to the bottom.

Anyways, they have shown that some gas stations in Oregon have connected the 87 and 93 pumps to the same holding tank. Normally only 89 is connected to a mixer valve where 87 and 93 is mixed on the fly. But some stations had all 3 connected to the same tank, or had an improperly adjusted mixer valve.

Still other stations had badly calibrated dispensers. (Of course always in the gas station's favor). Others had used motor oil mixed in with the diesel fuel.

I know for a fact that there was a BP station in Beaverton that would read 10 gallons were dispensed when only 5 gallons were dispensed, while I was in high school. (When you are broke, you pay close attention to how much gas you use). Often times, it was the attendent (since you can't pump your own gas in oregon), that would screw you over. Collecting 10 bucks from you, when he only pumped in 5 bucks, and then pockets the difference. I've had that happen to me too.... (Note first sentence where I go out of my way to get my own gas in WA.... It's because of crap like this)