Avoid overspending at Shell petrol station

daveyjp

photome said:

daveyjp said:

Never noticed 'unleaded' on any pump I've used recently.  Not a concern as its been unleaded for decades.

A few years ago BP had what they thought was a great idea to use their corporate green for all their pump handles and pipework, with very subtle changes for petrol and diesel, normal and super etc.  No doubt the increase in misfuels made them realise marketing shouldn't make such decisions and have gone back to green for petrol, black for diesel.

I did use a triggerless pump at a Shell station recently.  I pity the staff dealing with those whose minds are blown by such a novel concept.

What is a triggerless pump

Exactly that.  It looks just like a normal filler pump and nozzle, but the trigger mechanism has been removed from the dispenser.

 Instead there are two buttons on the nozzle head, fast fill, slow fill and also a small screen showing amount dispensed and cost.

AdrianC

daveyjp said:

photome said:

daveyjp said:

Never noticed 'unleaded' on any pump I've used recently.  Not a concern as its been unleaded for decades.

A few years ago BP had what they thought was a great idea to use their corporate green for all their pump handles and pipework, with very subtle changes for petrol and diesel, normal and super etc.  No doubt the increase in misfuels made them realise marketing shouldn't make such decisions and have gone back to green for petrol, black for diesel.

I did use a triggerless pump at a Shell station recently.  I pity the staff dealing with those whose minds are blown by such a novel concept.

What is a triggerless pump

Exactly that.  It looks just like a normal filler pump and nozzle, but the trigger mechanism has been removed from the dispenser.

 Instead there are two buttons on the nozzle head, fast fill, slow fill and also a small screen showing amount dispensed and cost.

The buttons are on the nozzle?

So still a trigger, just electronic rather than manual, and functionally very similar but more restricted (only two speeds rather than variable), and more complex...

What's the actual advantage?

peter_the_piper

daveyjp said:

photome said:

daveyjp said:

Never noticed 'unleaded' on any pump I've used recently.  Not a concern as its been unleaded for decades.

A few years ago BP had what they thought was a great idea to use their corporate green for all their pump handles and pipework, with very subtle changes for petrol and diesel, normal and super etc.  No doubt the increase in misfuels made them realise marketing shouldn't make such decisions and have gone back to green for petrol, black for diesel.

I did use a triggerless pump at a Shell station recently.  I pity the staff dealing with those whose minds are blown by such a novel concept.

What is a triggerless pump

Exactly that.  It looks just like a normal filler pump and nozzle, but the trigger mechanism has been removed from the dispenser.

 Instead there are two buttons on the nozzle head, fast fill, slow fill and also a small screen showing amount dispensed and cost.

That is going to cause some problems with the older drivers and their Morris Minors.

daveyjp

AdrianC said:

daveyjp said:

photome said:

daveyjp said:

Never noticed 'unleaded' on any pump I've used recently.  Not a concern as its been unleaded for decades.

A few years ago BP had what they thought was a great idea to use their corporate green for all their pump handles and pipework, with very subtle changes for petrol and diesel, normal and super etc.  No doubt the increase in misfuels made them realise marketing shouldn't make such decisions and have gone back to green for petrol, black for diesel.

I did use a triggerless pump at a Shell station recently.  I pity the staff dealing with those whose minds are blown by such a novel concept.

What is a triggerless pump

Exactly that.  It looks just like a normal filler pump and nozzle, but the trigger mechanism has been removed from the dispenser.

 Instead there are two buttons on the nozzle head, fast fill, slow fill and also a small screen showing amount dispensed and cost.

The buttons are on the nozzle?

So still a trigger, just electronic rather than manual, and functionally very similar but more restricted (only two speeds rather than variable), and more complex...

What's the actual advantage?

For me?   No stinky hands from fuel which has splashed on the trigger, press and forget, instant stop when full and it filled far quicker.

For anyone who may not have full hand functionality, arthiritis in hand joints where pulling the trigger may be painful, it is a huge improvement.

AdrianC

daveyjp said:

AdrianC said:

daveyjp said:

photome said:

daveyjp said:

Never noticed 'unleaded' on any pump I've used recently.  Not a concern as its been unleaded for decades.

A few years ago BP had what they thought was a great idea to use their corporate green for all their pump handles and pipework, with very subtle changes for petrol and diesel, normal and super etc.  No doubt the increase in misfuels made them realise marketing shouldn't make such decisions and have gone back to green for petrol, black for diesel.

I did use a triggerless pump at a Shell station recently.  I pity the staff dealing with those whose minds are blown by such a novel concept.

What is a triggerless pump

Exactly that.  It looks just like a normal filler pump and nozzle, but the trigger mechanism has been removed from the dispenser.

 Instead there are two buttons on the nozzle head, fast fill, slow fill and also a small screen showing amount dispensed and cost.

The buttons are on the nozzle?

So still a trigger, just electronic rather than manual, and functionally very similar but more restricted (only two speeds rather than variable), and more complex...

What's the actual advantage?

For me?   No stinky hands from fuel which has splashed on the trigger

Except any fuel that splashes back on the nozzle is still going to get on your hands inserting and removing the nozzle.

press and forget, instant stop when full and it filled far quicker.

Full cut-off is still going to be sensed in the same way. Delivery speed is still limited by the bore of the hose and nozzle. They're separate to whether it's a mechanical or electronic trigger.

For anyone who may not have full hand functionality, arthiritis in hand joints where pulling the trigger may be painful, it is a huge improvement.

And inserting/removing the nozzle?

I presume the button has to be held down for continued delivery...? Otherwise, there's no difference to the latching trigger that's illegal in the UK for safety reasons, in case the nozzle slips out of the neck while delivering. Full cut-off rarely works well on jerrycans or motorbikes, and can be problematic on some car necks.

It would also be more complex to deliver only a certain amount of fuel - you can already have buttons on the pump to set money or volume caps.

oldagetraveller1

peter_the_piper said:

daveyjp said:

photome said:

daveyjp said:

Never noticed 'unleaded' on any pump I've used recently.  Not a concern as its been unleaded for decades.

A few years ago BP had what they thought was a great idea to use their corporate green for all their pump handles and pipework, with very subtle changes for petrol and diesel, normal and super etc.  No doubt the increase in misfuels made them realise marketing shouldn't make such decisions and have gone back to green for petrol, black for diesel.

I did use a triggerless pump at a Shell station recently.  I pity the staff dealing with those whose minds are blown by such a novel concept.

What is a triggerless pump

Exactly that.  It looks just like a normal filler pump and nozzle, but the trigger mechanism has been removed from the dispenser.

 Instead there are two buttons on the nozzle head, fast fill, slow fill and also a small screen showing amount dispensed and cost.

That is going to cause some problems with the older drivers and their Morris Minors.

Oy, I resemble that remark. Not an issue, although filling the Jerrycan might prove too much. The old Moggy doesn't visit filling stations. Jerrycan decanted into my Ethanol extraction laboratory. A bit of Octane booster added to the Ethanol free stuff which compensates for the loss of oomph. Then pour the Ethanol free into the Moggy's tank.

That along with what exits the tailpipe , just to cheer up the yogurt knitters!

BOWFER

Marvel1 said:

BOWFER said:

This isn't a problem ,what is a problem is how difficult it is to get bloody pumps to stop on a round figure now.
"Oooh...£30 is coming....slow right down.....97...98.....01 DAMMIT!!!!"
Garages around here are even acknowledging the problem by either dismissing the extra penny, or having a wee tub of change that people donate to and others can dip into for the extra 1p.

Card payment solves the issue, I just stop when it's full.

Don't need my car full, it would be dragging around unnecessary weight.

Biggus_Dickus

BOWFER said:

Marvel1 said:

BOWFER said:

This isn't a problem ,what is a problem is how difficult it is to get bloody pumps to stop on a round figure now.
"Oooh...£30 is coming....slow right down.....97...98.....01 DAMMIT!!!!"
Garages around here are even acknowledging the problem by either dismissing the extra penny, or having a wee tub of change that people donate to and others can dip into for the extra 1p.

Card payment solves the issue, I just stop when it's full.

Don't need my car full, it would be dragging around unnecessary weight.

What we need is someone to provide endless data/graphs to help us decide the optimal amount of fuel to carry around, given every conceivable set of individual variables.

If you let your tank run almost dry then fill to the brim every time it means less visits to the fuel station and less wasted fuel making said visits.

However, filling to half-full means less weight to carry but more frequent visits to the petrol pump.

I like the idea of filling up every time,...and I also like the idea of carrying less weight;...but which is better?

p.s. 12 gallons of petrol weighs about 90 lbs, Adrian.

 

 

born_again

BOWFER said:

Marvel1 said:

BOWFER said:

This isn't a problem ,what is a problem is how difficult it is to get bloody pumps to stop on a round figure now.
"Oooh...£30 is coming....slow right down.....97...98.....01 DAMMIT!!!!"
Garages around here are even acknowledging the problem by either dismissing the extra penny, or having a wee tub of change that people donate to and others can dip into for the extra 1p.

Card payment solves the issue, I just stop when it's full.

Don't need my car full, it would be dragging around unnecessary weight.

I worked out that at the rate prices are going up. Filling tank to full is actually cheaper than only filling half full. Given the small amount of extra mpg you get from a half full tank compared to a full one. 

AdrianC

Biggus_Dickus said:

p.s. 12 gallons of petrol weighs about 90 lbs, Adrian.

Sorry, I was born post-decimalisation, so I don't do Dibnah measurements.

Which size of gallons are you referring to? Imperial, I presume? So since petrol's about 740g/litre, that'd be 40kg for 54 litres... Not a huge difference in a 1500kg vehicle.