Gasoline pump
The first gasoline pump was invented and sold by Sylvanus Bowser in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on September 5, 1885,[4] pre-dating the automobile industry- It was commonly used to dispense the kerosene used in lamps and stoves.
In the United States this term is now only used for trucks that carry and dispense fuel to large aircraft at airports,[citation needed] but it is still used sometimes in Australia and New Zealand.
When metering pumps came into use, a small glass globe with a turbine inside replaced the measuring cylinder to show the customer that gasoline really was flowing into the tank.
The nozzle on diesel pumps is supposed to be larger so that it cannot fit into the filler pipe on a vehicle tank designed for gasoline.
Also, the nozzle for leaded gasoline is wider than for unleaded, and the fill pipe on vehicles designed for unleaded-only was made narrower to prevent misfueling.
Some have double walls or other structures that provide a side benefit of thermal insulation while pursuing the main goal of keeping gasoline out of the soil around the tank.
Larger outlets sell gasoline rapidly, as much as 30,000 US gal (110,000 L) in a single day, even in remote places.
Canada has lower overall population densities and geographically larger gasoline distribution systems, compared with the United States.
For example, in 2007 Arizona found that 9% of all pumps were off by at least 2.5% (the threshold for fines), evenly split between overcounting and undercounting fuel.
For example, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services conducts regular tests of calibration and fuel quality at individual dispensers.
The department also conducts random undercover inspections using specially designed vehicles that can check the accuracy of the dispensers.
Inspection dates and test results are required, by law, to be displayed to consumers on a sticker on gasoline pumps.
However, virtually all pumps that fail inspection in Canada do so for general calibration errors caused by use over time.
[22] Technology for communicating with gasoline pumps from a point of sale or other controller varies widely, involving a variety of hardware (RS-485, RS-422, current loop, and others) and proprietary software protocols.
In the past, this gave pump manufacturers vendor lock-in for their own point-of-sale systems, since only they understood the protocols.
With some software not expected to be ready, some fleet cards not having chip technology available in time, not enough technicians for the installations, and many businesses unable to afford the upgrade, it was predicted the conversion would take until 2021.
At a loading dock at the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Corson observed a worker filling a barrel with gasoline and thought it inefficient.
After developing a prototype with his assistant, Paul Wenke, Corson gave the suggestion to the company who later filed for a patent in his name.
A mechanical valve in the pump handle detects a change of pressure and closes, preventing the flow of fuel.
In the UK, for example, any new forecourt with a predicted throughput in excess of 500 m3 per month is required to have active vapor recovery installed.
For example, in countries fighting corruption, such as Mexico,[30] gasoline pumps may be more stringently monitored by government officials, to detect attempts to defraud customers.
