On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 11:13:48 +0000, Richard Conway
wrote:

Chris Bacon wrote:
Matt wrote:

the minimum amount dispensed from
most petrol pumps has to be 2 litres IIRC.


That's the minimum you may buy (used to be 1/2 a gallon), by
law, due to metering inaccuracies in the pump, so that you
get what you pay for. The minimum amount a pump will dispense
is a tiny squirt.

Really?

I thought that too. I bet no one, especially the millions who fill up
their cars with fuel anywhere on the planet knew that. I've been
filling up in precise 2 litre lots for years. If it didn't quite fit
in the tank I just dispensed it on the floor and lit it with a petrol
soaked rag ;-)

Modern fuel pumps can dispense extremely precise amounts accurately,
the "minimum amount" is purely an anachronism dating back to
mechanical fuel pump days. Trading standards seem to quite regularly
check the accuracy and a few years ago after watching one of them do a
check the error (in 10 litres I think) was in the order of a few ml
(over dispensing) although I think they do a more accurate test back
in the office.

That'll explain why when I went to a pay-at-the-pump Tesco
forecourt a few weeks ago and it dipsensed about 4-pence worth of petrol
and then stopped, that it never debited my card.

But one way of avoiding paying for your fuel, 4 pence squirts - A Viz
top fuel saving tip if ever I saw one!


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