Stories when filling up at "gasoline station"

Kinda and old story 1989.
Im driving from California to Alaska in my 81 Diesel Rabbit.
Im 4 days out, up in the yukon somewhere (BFE).
I pull into a station and all they have are 1 1/2 Dia semi truck fillers nozzles.
After running around finding a oil funnel and spending 20min filling up, I go inside to pay and the casher lady gets pissed because I only spent $20 "topping off" my truck.

mindy1701 said:

Kinda and old story 1989.
Im driving from California to Alaska in my 81 Diesel Rabbit.
Im 4 days out, up in the yukon somewhere (BFE).
I pull into a station and all they have are 1 1/2 Dia semi truck fillers nozzles.
After running around finding a oil funnel and spending 20min filling up, I go inside to pay and the casher lady gets pissed because I only spent $20 "topping off" my truck.

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Speaking of nozzle size, many pages ago in this thread, someone mentioned that at least in theory, it should be impossible to fill a gasoline car with diesel fuel, because diesel pumps (for cars) use the larger 15/16" nozzle size -- formerly also used for leaded gasoline -- while unleaded gasoline pumps are required by federal law to use a smaller 13/16" nozzle size, to match the smaller (3/4") filler neck in unleaded-fuel-only vehicles.

However, there doesn't seem to be any federal requirement for the nozzle size on diesel pumps. It appears many stations use the same 13/16" nozzles for both unleaded gasoline and 'car' diesel. The size of a 'truck' diesel nozzle is also not regulated, but diamaters of 1¼" and 1½" seem to be common.

So, if you fill up your TDI and no one ever questions whether you are mistakenly putting diesel in a gasoline vehicle, then maybe that station has the correct-sized nozzles, which eliminates that problem (but does nothing to prevent people from filling a TDI with gasoline! ). But if you do get "STOP! THAT'S DIESEL!" comments, then maybe that station has the incorrect smaller nozzles on the diesel pumps, and they either don't know that diesel pumps are supposed to have the slightly larger nozzle, or they're too lazy/cheap to put the correct nozzles on the diesel pumps. (I would suspect the latter especially if they only make the comment after you fill up. )

Gas hog driver gives good tip!

vwestlife said:

Despite the larger size of the nozzle, the attendant (here in full-serve NJ) filled my Passat up with no trouble, and didn't even have to manually hold the trigger.

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Hey vwestlife, nice nixie tubes!
Those gas jockeys in NJ and OR must hate us out-of-staters. Back when I was but a wee laddie and still in a gasser, I stopped to fill up in rural Oregon and began pumping away when a guy told me not to do that. I didn't believe him when he said I couldn't pump my own gas -- I even argued with him until the pump cut off, lol!
If you had an all-electric vehicle in these states, does a gas station employee have to come to your house to plug it up at night?
But seriously, folks.
I don't think I'd ever had anyone ask me about my car (not since the start of the thread anyway) until I moved to Mississippi. The first time was at a nasty Phillips station in Columbus, when a young cashier and her boyfriend asked some questions. More recently a fellow in a Lincoln Navigator struck up a conversation about mileage. I can't recall now, but I think he may have owned a Jetta TDI at one point. Going from a Jetta TDI to a Navigator? Ouch.
He did give me a useful tip - paying with Wal-Mart gift cards gets you 3¢/gallon discounts at their pumps. He said he buys the $100 cards, when he can, to get the discount. (Which, I imagine, his fillups take most if not all of that card...)
At the Greenwood Wal-Mart where I fill up occasionally, it's as cheap as anywhere; 3¢ less is icing on the cake. And it runs as good as the Scott Petroleum stuff. Heck, it's probably the same anyway.

Here in NJ, the Wal-Marts don't sell fuel, but maybe that's a good thing. If you consider how poorly paid and educated a typical pump-jockey is, then can you imagine a Wal-Mart pump-jockey?

We don't even have convenience stores that sell fuel. I always find it amusing when I go to PA and I see Turkey Hill stores with pumps out front. Here in NJ, Turkey Hill is only a brand of ice cream, not a convenience store/gas station. And of course "Sheetz" cracks me up just because of the name.

p.s. The comment of mine which you quoted was in regards to filling a TDI with a big "truck" nozzle. Would I be a geek if I went out right now and measured the size of my TDI's filler neck?

QuickChek has started selling fuel at some of their stores.
http://www.quick-chek.com/index.php?mod=Gas

Speaking of Sheetz (Awww, Sheetz! ), when they post "KERO" on their signs, is that really kerosene, or is "kero" redneck slang for "Diesel Fuel Oil No. 2"?

vwestlife said:

Speaking of Sheetz (Awww, Sheetz! ), when they post "KERO" on their signs, is that really kerosene, or is "kero" redneck slang for "Diesel Fuel Oil No. 2"?

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It is kerosene...

vwestlife said:

Speaking of Sheetz (Awww, Sheetz! ), when they post "KERO" on their signs, is that really kerosene, or is "kero" redneck slang for "Diesel Fuel Oil No. 2"?

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Most of the time, "rednecks" will know more about diesel than non-rednecks. So as an honorary redneck, STFU.

Rednecks often use kerosene heaters.

Uh huh...and they know about the difference between diesel and kero.

The other thing is, back then, I believe diesel (#2) was cheaper than RUG.

Note that the kero was the same price as premium.

I wish that diesel were back to cheaper than RUG, so you could use the old "it's my dad's, he told me to fill it up with the cheap stuff " trick.

A buck fifty nine, that's got to be a really old photo. I say "Sheetz" every time I see the price at the pump, even though it's really a BP station.

Thunderstruck said:

A buck fifty nine, that's got to be a really old photo. I say "Sheetz" every time I see the price at the pump, even though it's really a BP station.

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$1.60...hmmm...I'd say 3 to 4 years ago *bob cries for reasonably priced fuel*

According to my mileage spreadsheet - about 2003 / 2004 timeframe.

And don't we all want cheaper fuel ....

At least my Sheetz is still at "only" $2.50/gallon right now - $.10 or more per gallon cheaper than everyone else around here.

scooperhsd said:

And don't we all want cheaper fuel ....

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Uh, try looking at some of the political threads. There are some wack jobs on this forum that seem to wish for high prices as the solution to our problems.

TM

Bob_Fout said:

$1.60...hmmm...I'd say 3 to 4 years ago

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July 29 2003: bought my Golf and paid $1.559 for RUG for my Saab.

D2 was a little higher right then, but about six weeks later D2 held steady while RUG spiked to over $2 (pipeline problem in Arizona).

D2 was $1.50 when I bought mine in Aug of 2004.

RogueTDI said:

[ QUOTE ]
I was driving through Oklahoma and Arizona in my TDI, going for maximum fuel economy by driving 50 mph. At the end of the day, I pulled over for fuel and a couple comes over to me and says, "We passed you several times today, but you still managed to stay ahead of us! How can that be?"

"Yeah, because I didn't have to stop for fuel like you did. "


[/ QUOTE ]

Now THAT is a great TDI commercial right there!

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I been reading this thread back to front and I finally remembered that VW DID have an ad for TDI's. It was a Golf, me thinks, and a young lady having to stop several times to shed clothing. I think she was going from CO to Arizona. Point of the tv spot was the range of the car and that you have to stop for food or rest before fuel.

I have a new story--if only I had more than one hand to use to type it!
I was just up in Sammamish, Washington where they had the big windstorm with all the damage and over a million without power. I had driven with my family from Portland and was coming back from a first date just north of Seattle--and no, the date didn't go the best...
Anyway, as I got back into Sammamish I noticed a line of cars almost a half mile long for the 76 gas station. Every pump was packed as I drove by--but about one block further was a Shell station with all the pumps covered...except the diesel pumps. I was on 2/3 of a tank (253 miles) but thought it an opportunity I could ill afford to pass up!
I did a U-turn, pulled in to the diesel pump and immediately was followed by a string of cars. I saw them pull up too the other pumps as I pumped my car as slowly as possible--a guy did a burnout in a F250 in frustration--he wasn't the only one that would do that. People started going inside and pointing at me, no doubt wondering why I could get 'gas' and they couldn't. A lady in her Suburban pointed to me and all I could do was shrug to her. I didn't have the heart to be too mean and yell that people should get diesels...Another guy in a Jetta pulled in line behind me, looked at me, looked down probably at his gas gauge, looked up at me, then my car--frowned, and drove off. I saw 1.8T on his trunk lid . By far the most satisfaction was the 3-4 Prius drivers that came in for gas, looked at me with my green pump, and then had to leave! *CACKLE*
Well, I was having too much fun at the constant stream of cars, (by now starting to line up on the street) so after my 3.1 gallons were dispensed, I left the pump in the car and slowly cleaned the windshield, then checked the oil (quart low in 8500 miles, not bad for an A3), and proceeded to hang up the pump. As I drove off I saluted the station employees inside with my cast, and they laughed and waved back.
So--was I evil?
-BB

BleachedBora said:

So--was I evil?
-BB

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Yes.

BB: I would have gotten some ice cream while pumping...
that would have made you more "cool"!

That is a great experience !

What to do with a gasser when gas is NOT available ?
"stick it"...

While fuel prices may not be as low as I would like them, the Kwik Trip I fill up at not only has lower prices than the rest of the stations, but I get free coffee because I fill up with the truckers, and that is their policy for the truckers. I sure ain't one to turn down free coffee

Bleachedbora,
Thanks for sharing your experience, it made my day!

Aw Sheetz!

BleachedBora said:

a Shell station with all the pumps covered...except the diesel pumps.

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One of the things people used to give me crap about regarding driving a diesel was that "it's too hard to find a diesel pump". They stick right out in a gas crisis, don't they?

When Katrina hit, the diesel was just as scarce as gas around here. And a lot of the pumps where I used to fill up in B'ham were combos, so I still had to wait... I eventually found one where the gas handle was bagged; it was just me and a box truck driver trickle-filling the last few gallons out of the tank while everyone else waited in line. We both complimented each other for driving diesels!

Sheetz is a great name. I used to know a girl who worked at one in central Pa a while ago. Nice stores, from my experience.

I was in the SE for the gas after Katrina hit and considered topping of since a station near the hotel had seperate diesel pumps. Since I was worried about cutting in line, I waited until the next morning at 4am when only diesel was available.

BleachedBora said:

I saw them pull up too the other pumps as I pumped my car as slowly as possible--a guy did a burnout in a F250 in frustration--he wasn't the only one that would do that. People started going inside and pointing at me, no doubt wondering why I could get 'gas' and they couldn't.

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He probably wasted 1/4 of a gallon doing the burnout!!!

A lady in her Suburban pointed to me and all I could do was shrug to her. I didn't have the heart to be too mean and yell that people should get diesels...

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Priceless....

Another guy in a Jetta pulled in line behind me, looked at me, looked down probably at his gas gauge, looked up at me, then my car--frowned, and drove off. I saw 1.8T on his trunk lid .

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The driver was probably thinking back to the TDI he saw when buying the 1.8t.

By far the most satisfaction was the 3-4 Prius drivers that came in for gas, looked at me with my green pump, and then had to leave! *CACKLE*

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They probably had to put premium in a Prius. Not good.

You know what that made me think of?

Another advantage to diesels for the stupid.

No worrying about what grade of fuel, you just hit the diesel button. No 87, 89, 91, 92, 93, or 94 buttons to deal with.

(That said, the station where I fill up has Diesel, B2, B5, and B20 buttons. )

Thanks guys--I'm still grinning from the experience!

GCMarx said:

I wish that diesel were back to cheaper than RUG, so you could use the old "it's my dad's, he told me to fill it up with the cheap stuff " trick.

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Just flip it. tell them that your dad wants the high grade fuel.

BB, I had the exact same experience as you this last Saturday at a Shell station east of Redmond (East Lk. Sammamish Blvd & Redmond Way). I drove past the 76 Station that still had gas just to the west, which was jam-packed with lines out onto two streets. Bag that, not going there . . .

The Shell station was out of all three grades of gas, but HAD diesel (heh heh heh, mheh heh heh!). I was driving my '82 Datsun Diesel pickup and I did need to fillerup. Plenty of people came in and drove off in disgust, and I could lip-read the expletives as they passed by.

One guy on the other side of my pump pulled up and asked me: "Hey, is that pump working?"

Me: "Yes . . ." His face lit up. "If you want diesel," I continued.

Crestfallen, he drove away . . .

By the time I was done, there was a Jetta TDI wagon at the pump in front of me and a Dodge diesel pickup on the other side--man, never seen three vehicles at the pump draw a crowd like that! You'd have thought that we just discovered oil or something.

One gallon of diesel: $3.05
Amount of Powerservice added to tank: 8 ounces (double-dose)
Getting to pull right up to the D2 pump while everybody else is looking for gasoline: Priceless . . .

Don't think it's evil, just plain unfortunate that all those other drivers didn't have a diesel!