At my local Safeway's petrol station today I noticed a lorry parked at one of the normal pumps filling up with diesel.
However, the driver was walking round his lorry cleaning the lights whilst leaving the nozzle in his tank. I am assumin this was pumping diesel into his tank at the time.
If so, how did he do it? You normally only see these things in American movies? I know that you can get such pumps in dedicated HGV fuel stations but in your bog standard Safeway forecourt?
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Some sort of clamp that belongs to him which he applied to nozzle lever I guess. Seen many truckers who do this. The reason being that it takes so long to fill up truck tanks.
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I thought that was what the filler cap was for; jamming the pump open whilst you wander around checking lights and cleaning your windscreen.
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I have always found this strange. When I was in America filling with Gasolene, all the petrol pumps had a mechanism for locking the pump on. When full, the lock trips and it stops filling. Any reason why it is not used here?
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You will often see the lock on the nozzle, but the pin it latches to is missing, you just need s thin nail - allen key etc.. to put in the hole.
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When I was in America filling with Gasolene, all the petrol pumps had a mechanism for locking the pump on....
They used to do the same here, but I believe they were removed for "safety". If you look at a lot of the older pump nozzle levers, there is a small spring loaded lever at the back of the main lever. You used to hook this over a pin that went through the handle body. The holes you see at the back end of the nozzle body was where the pins used to be.
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You are correct DD it is for "safety". With a latched pump if the nozzle falls out then the fuel continues to be pumped out all over the ground. Not too much of a problem with a truck as they normally have rectangular tanks with the filler at the top which makes the nozzle pretty secure, but with a car with an often vertical filler the nozzle falls out very easily. Hence latched pumps are no longer acceptable.
Mark
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Thanks for your suggestion guys, don't think he had used the petrol cap as I would have noticed that as I was looking over. However, a small clamp type thingy would be a possibility.
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Looking at the recent filling station thread caused me to do a bit of research on nozzle operation,I came across this and,as I have the answer, I have dragged it out of retirement.
Diesel pumps at commercial stations can have the latching mechanism operational,it is disabled for petrol because holding the nozzle earths it.If it is let go of then returned to a static discharge can take place,with obvious consequences.
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