Old gas pumps can't handle ever-rising prices

[last_texas_dem]

Source: Associated Press

By JOHN K. WILEY, Associated Press Writer

>>>>REARDAN, Wash. - Mom-and-pop service stations are running into a problem as gasoline marches toward $4 a gallon: Thousands of old-fashioned pumps can't register more than $3.99 on their spinning mechanical dials.

The pumps, throwbacks to a bygone era on the American road, are difficult and expensive to upgrade, and replacing them is often out of the question for station owners who are still just scraping by.

Many of the same pumps can only count up to $99.99 for the total sale, preventing owners of some SUVs, vans, trucks and tractor-trailers to fill their tanks all the way.

As many as 8,500 of the nation's 170,000 service stations have old-style meters that need to be fixed — about 17,000 individual pumps, said Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute of Tulsa, Okla.>>>>>

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080513/ap_on_bi_ge/old_gas_pumps

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Sorry if this isn't newsworthy enough to qualify as LBN, but I just found it to be an interesting story. I guess gas over $3.99 a gallon and purchases over $99.99 in total would have seemed like an impossible development, perhaps even as recently as a few years ago.

In Huntsville, the gas station in town that traditionally has the best prices is also the only one that I know of that has these old-school pumps. It's sad that the price of new pumps is apparently not worth the cost for many of these family-owned gas stations.

[Muttocracy]

1. oh no, there is a station with the old dial pumps here and I love stopping there

I've been afraid it's going to go out of business as it is - people probably can't afford to spend a little extra at the country station and are probably filling up in town on their way home from work.

Another small station has quit selling gas and just does repairs now - I'm guessing because even the locals would pass it by and go to the cheaper place on the highway.

One more small business category goes down.

[bluesbassman]

5. Good old Free Market at work!

Except it ain't really a free market when it's controlled by a select few. My guess is that we'll see $6.00 a gallon by the general election. The BFEE's parting gift to America.

[Trajan]

2. Awww shoot ....

They will need another $1 per gallon just to get new pumps .....

I hope they are shiny ....

:eyes:

[uncle ray]

11. these are independents.

the stations owners that still have these old pumps deserve some credit rather than your sarcasm. they felt no need to upgrade perfectly functioning equipment for DECADES, pinching every penny they can to compete with the convenience store chains. they've been trying to make it doing what they went into business years ago to do, sell gas. they have tiny stores that don't have the square footage of the chains to sell tons of overpriced crap instead of gasoline.

[Trajan]

16. I feel badly for common citizens ....

But frankly, I don't see you lasting long as my personal arbiter controlling my sarcasm or frustration ...

I promise, that will be a thankless job for you .... It is obvious that my anger is directed to those who are profiting from these rapacious price structures, and NOT towards poor 'Mom and pop' stores ....

Sheeesh ....

[uncle ray]

19. whatever.

your comments were vague and misdirected. this thread is about mom and pop stores, not the big oil corporations, so the logical conclusion would be that your witty comment was directed at them.

[Trajan]

25. Really ... who cares what you think ?

You have a momma, and she doesn't live here ....

[damntexdem]

22. Well, they can charge by the half gallon.

That's what stations did back when gas went over $1 per gallon.

[12string]

3. Old Gas Pumps

I remember in the 70's some stations putting signs on the pumps that the dollar total was 1/2 of the sale as the pumps would not register over 99 9/10s per gallon.

[pdxprog]

4. They could go the Canadian route and charge per liter

I remember my first time up there as a driver about a zillion years ago, wondering what all the fuss was about regarding supposedly much higher gas prices north of the border -- until I bought a tank and figured out it wasn't per gallon (duh!).

[TrogL]

20. Some of our signs don't work right

We never thought we'd see $1.00 per litre so the pumps have a sticker on them noting that the ".23" displayed really means "$1.23".

[Muttocracy]

6. well, that's an option - just change the units - except Americans are kinda math illiterate... nt

[StClone]

7. You beat me -- they sold it by the half gallon!

[uncle ray]

12. that's the best option.

the old pumps are mechanical, the dials are controlled by gears, so converting to liters is not that easy to do, not like simply reprogramming a computerized pump. multiplying by two is a simple procedure that can be handled by the cashier, or even programmed into the cash register instead of the pump, assuming they even have computerized registers!

[djp2]

8. Use European Litres

In Europe gasoline is sold in Litres, Approx. 4 litres to a gallon (US). Highest price in London right now is 139.9 pence a litre, equivalent to $11.19 a US gallon. They are expecting prices to go to 2.00 pounds a litre this year.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23484069-details/Petrol+in+London+most+expensive+in+the+country/article.do
This happens to be in Chelsea where I often visit.

[ElboRuum]

9. There is something amusing about...

...a cash register that lacks the horsepower to tally up a sale.

[magellan]

10. "The pumps, throwbacks to a bygone era" -- yeah, a whole 8 LONG years ago

...when the Repubs were complaining about $1.50 average for gas during Clinton's last year in office.

Funny, I haven't heard the Repubs complaining about Bush** overseeing what's been more than a DOUBLING of the cost at the pump since he stole office.

[truthisfreedom]

13. What's far more telling ishow many pumps are designed for $100/gallon gasoline...

Now THAT'S interesting.

[grantcart]

14. lol my brother is a judge in Reardan Washington lol

[picadilly]

15. Add a 0 after 3,99, shift the comma right, jack up to the next dime ...

and your pump will work all the way to $39,90 the gallon.

[Tesha]

18. We have a winner! (NT)

[LeftHander]

17. Hmmm maybe the Oil companies should be providing pumps

To the stations that are selling gas from that oil company.

After all the stations don't make the profit. The oil companies do and they have made plenty recently.

[damntexdem]

21. How quaint! Remember when gas pumps couldn't handle prices over 99 cents?

They were rigged to record the price per half gallon, instead. Then there were replaced with pumps that could handle amounts over $1.

Current pumps will need to be replaced to handle amounts over $4. I wonder how long it will be before they, too, have to be replaced with machines that can deal with $10+ gas.

Hey, I have an idea: buy up old gas pumps from Mexico, which priced gas in pesos per liter, and rig them to record dollars per gallon -- about 10 pesos per dollar, and nearly 4 liters per gallon should give them at least a few years' utility. ;-)

[Traction311]

23. Good!

Maybe they won't raise it past $3.99, as if that isn't high enough!

[dysfunctional press]

24. can they price it in units less than a gallon?

if the price wheels don't go past $3.99, can they adjust the amount metered? i.e. sell it at 1/2 gallon for $2.00...?:shrug:

[Rene]

26. why don't they get rid of the point9 bs. and make ONE good grade of gas for all cars !