are we getting the gas we pay for?

[waterninja]

over the years i have often wondered if when you buy gas for your vehicle if you are actually getting the amount of gas that it says your getting. how the heck can you tell? many times iv'e thought about pumping a litre of gas into a glass beaker, but lets face it, that would be silly. the other day when i was in calgary i saw for the first time ever a govt. truck doing a surprise test at a local husky.i asked them what happens if the pumps are not dispensing correct amounts of gas and was told that at present they simply inform the owners to get it fixed, cause it's to costly to take them to court and they don't have the authority to issue a fine. the odd time that it appears to be obvious fraud they would lay charges. wonder how many pumps out there are out of whack?

[Dick284]

Have a good look at the pump, there is a govt sticker on it saying when the pump was last calibrated.
Remember volume is corrected to 15C!

Relax, there are far bigger worries out there.

I think foil is on sale at Superstore BTW.

[Dacotensis]

Govt sticker as well

I'm constantly filling gas cans for small engine and trucks.
I have yet to notice a shortage.

[Walleye Willy]

Last week I went to a local gas station to fill up my 25 liter gas can for my quad. I wanted to leave it down a few liters to make it easier to pour. So I was watching the gas in the can and stopped at what I thought was about 20 - 21 liters. The pump showed 25.02 liters. My gas can has a mark at the 25 liter level. I thought that was odd. It looked to be out about 20%. I took a picture of the gas can and my receipt and sent it to the customer help website. They checked with the manager of the local station who replied that his pumps were all accurate.
OK, so I figured I would check with another gas station, so I emptied my gas can and refilled it across the street and lo and behold I got the same amount of gas in my 25 liter gas can.
So, either my gas can is not marked accurately or both gas stations are ripping us off.
I figured it was my can so I dropped it....but??? 20% off?

[Dacotensis]

Originally Posted by Walleye Willy

Last week I went to a local gas station to fill up my 25 liter gas can for my quad. I wanted to leave it down a few liters to make it easier to pour. So I was watching the gas in the can and stopped at what I thought was about 20 - 21 liters. The pump showed 25.02 liters. My gas can has a mark at the 25 liter level. I thought that was odd. It looked to be out about 20%. I took a picture of the gas can and my receipt and sent it to the customer help website. They checked with the manager of the local station who replied that his pumps were all accurate.
OK, so I figured I would check with another gas station, so I emptied my gas can and refilled it across the street and lo and behold I got the same amount of gas in my 25 liter gas can.
So, either my gas can is not marked accurately or both gas stations are ripping us off.
I figured it was my can so I dropped it....but??? 20% off?

Iirc most large cans are marked at 20 litres but you can squeeze in 25.
Is it possible this is the case?
If not then I would be conducting more tests with evidence/ video over several weeks. If your findings supported your original suspicions then I would take every receipt from the past time frame from when the pump was last certified and I would present my case to the owners of the station. ( are you using the same pump or different ones?)

You would have to be 100 percent sure.
If they did not offer you a rebate or gift card to cover the diff and future losses included then I would be calling some advertisement pros and get the ball rolling on operation clean sweep.
But that's just me.

[ErikTheAngry]

I have experienced a faulty pump before (it apparently dispensed 52 litres of fuel into my car which was only half empty... which according to the owners manual has a maximum capacity of 47 litres lol). Went and told the clerk, got a free refill out of it (since they had no way of knowing how much they actually gave me).

However as said by others, they're all calibrated and regulated.

If you want to check, an easy way (other than just using a can) would be to run your vehicle till it's running on fumes, and go for a full fill-up. If you exceed your maximum capacity, you'll know it's off.

[Dacotensis]

Not an accurate means to check.

There are lines that take up volume as well. You might be surprised how much more gas fits into some of these.

[Ken07AOVette]

The only confirmed faulty pump I ever saw was UFA wainwright. I put 32L in a 20L Jerry can.

[mxz1997]

Pumps all get checked once a year. And that's beside of surprise government visits. A Jerry can is about as far from accurate as you'll find. Leave it in the sun with gas once and it holds 5 more liters. Also, most people forget its volume corrected to 15 celcius. At plus 30 you get over a liter, at -40 you only get about .9 liters

[roger]

with the temp correction equation aside (or wait till outdoor air temp is 15*C)
if you reason to be concerned, take a clear glass two liter, four or 10 liter container with milliliter increments, as your filling the rig, stop the pump on an even liter number and pump in what the pump says to be two, four or 10 liters. Then take your measurement at the meniscus.

Then divide the overage/underage by the size of liters in the container.

the larger the sample your taking is more likely to amplify a discrepancy.


it would make a huge difference on a 18 wheeler taking on a days fuel load especially at the end of the year.

[brslk]

Originally Posted by Dacotensis

Not an accurate means to check.

There are lines that take up volume as well. You might be surprised how much more gas fits into some of these.

Wrong. There are no lines that take up volume until the car is started.

[CanuckShooter]

Most pumps read 'may contain up to 10% ethanol'....so the answer is no you are not getting the GAS you are paying for.

[CaberTosser]

A distant relative did that exact job, and he may still be working for the gov't but whether or not he's still in the field I don't know, we're distant after all!

[Bonescreek]

3.15 a gallon down here it's on sale.
A new store openend up.

[leeaspell]

I was in camp once and bought fuel from the camp. I had a 200L tidy tank. The campie was filling it when he told me that's it no more diesel. I asked him how much did he get in. His reply, 250 L. When I told him it only holds 200 he said, if that's what it says, if you don't want it give it back lol now that's gouging

[Gust]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

A distant relative did that exact job, and he may still be working for the gov't but whether or not he's still in the field I don't know, we're distant after all!

How distant is he? Like 25km or 20km? I'm sure he has it figured out.

[colin455]

I have thought the very same thing. I have put 125L in a 120L fuel tank at Husky when I have had little more than 1/8 showing tank on the gauge.
Friday my low fuel light came on the way TO work. Bummer. Managed to make it back to town after work, two needle thicknesses BELOW the empty line and it only took 96L at Shell. They had run out of regular and midgrade and were selling the premium at regular price. Even pulling the nozzle most of the way out of the tank didn't help. It was full, full.
Over the course of a year it would be hard to calculate how much Husky's pump would have scammed from me if it was really out 30%.

[jim summit]

Originally Posted by CanuckShooter

Most pumps read 'may contain up to 10% ethanol'....so the answer is no you are not getting the GAS you are paying for.

[antlercarver]

At Extra foods pumps I was filling a jerry can and saw numbers on the pump spinning before I heard any fuel in the jerry can.

[Trap Shy]

When I check I usually stop on 1 liter and again on 10 it should match the price . $1 a liter $10 for 10.

[Hunter65]

Weigh it, that usually doesn't lie.

Here's a link to help you out.

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-liquid-weight.shtml