Things that annoy me in the UK #383: petrol stations

[karohemd]

No or only very few petrol stations have buckets with (soapy) water, a sponge and a squeegee for cleaning the windscreen. In Germany, every petrol station has them, several of them, usual one between every two pumps. It might even be a legal requirement as an insect-encrusted or be-birdshat windscreen is a safety hazard.

Also, on the continent, you can lock the pumping lever on the nozzle in position so while your tank is filling up, you can clean your windscreen, check the tyre pressure etc. It automatically unlocks when the pump stops when the fuel level reaches the nozzle. Here, you not only have to keep the lever pressed but also breathe in the fumes (in most other EU countries you have a system that catches the fumes (it sits flush on the tank) and pumps them back into the storage tank.

Comments

[xambrius.livejournal.com]

Be-birdshat? That has to be one of the most creative acts of linguistic engineering I've encountered in a while. :)

--
Tim Harris
The Seeker
Time Lord

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

*grins*
Why, thank you.

[nina321.livejournal.com]

Ok, so the locking the pump thing, is possible as far as I'm aware.
Maybe it's only at the station I frequent.

Also, it's a legal requirement in the UK to have screenwash in your screenwash tank. If you have a crash and they find your screenwash tank to be empty the insurance will not pay out as you have been driving illegally.
Hence, the soap and water are redundant.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

As I said, I haven't seen any locking pumps. Some have the little lever in the back of the handle but no catch on the bit you press.

Hence, the soap and water are redundant.
No, they aren't! Have you tried washing off insects/birdshit with screenwash/wipers? It'll only get worse because it smears all over the windscreen (and isn't good for the wipers, either).

I'm quite certain that having a filled screenwash tank is a requirement elsewhere, too.

[nina321.livejournal.com]

If you actually have wash in them rather than just water then I've never had a problem washing things off.

Even tree sap. It takes a few squirts, but it gets there in the end.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Oh, it will eventually but it doesn't do the wiper blades any good.

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

For once I have to agree with you on this aspect of the crapness of British life. It really can't be that difficult to keep buckets of water filled with a squeegee on a rope tied to them. The pumps are a different matter. You can usually get the pumps to stay on with the simple additon of either a matchstick or the filler cap. Either works and you notice truck drivers doing it all the time. In fact their pumps still have the locking-on mechanism in them. To the best of my knowledge they were gradually removed in the UK becasue the cut-off sometimes works a bit late and you end up with a splash of fuel on the side of the vehicle and on the floor - I know I've done it. Brits will probably kick up a helluva fuss about this.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Oh, I need to try that with the filler cap.
Many truck pumps on the continent don't have the lock, actually, because they fill at a faster rate so the switch-off wouldn't be fast enough.

I've never seen a kickback happen, just another example for the British bodge...

Brits care about splashed petrol? That's news to me...

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

They will piss and moan like crazy if they have to pay for what doesn't end up in their tank!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Ah right, that sounds more like it.
I thought you meant they cared about petrol getting into the water supply etc. because that would be totally out of character (for the average Brit).

[whotheheckami.livejournal.com]

Hell no, only about 1 in a 1000 are sandal-wearing beansprout-botherers ;@)

[whiskeylover.livejournal.com]

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/gesellschaft/0,1518,422515,00.html

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Heh, I saw that yesterday. :o)

[ua-meruti.livejournal.com]

If you don't like it, feel free to return to Iran and try your luck with the Ayatollahs!
Sorry, couldn't resist a Red Ken moment there.

The petrol thing is a pain in the arse, though that said I find most petrol pumps tend to not work if I pull the trigger right back thanks to that wonderful system that was supposedly designed to stop you putting 4 star into an unleaded engine (the hole is a bit smaller on the unleaded tanks or something - the net result is you can't put the nozzle right in and therefore it thinks you've got a full tank even if you haven't).
I suspect it's also because if you spray petrol everywhere by accident, then it could be really rather dangerous (you ever seen the explosion when a petrol station goes up?)

As for the squeegee thing... even if it was there, I wouldn't use it cause all the cack and muck will get stuck in the squeegee which could scratch the windscreen. If it bothers you, you can always keep a squeegee in the car and get water from the station. Seems a better idea to me.

What should piss you off about petrol stations is the horrendous price of the petrol!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

(*blinks* the comment didn't go where it was supposed to go...)
:oP

On the continent, you can't fit a 4star nozzle into an unleaded tank (well, one that is about 15 years old or younger, it'll work on older ones) at all because the unleaded nozzle is smaller than 4star or diesel.

That's why there is a sponge for removing the muck as well as a squeegee.
I actually do keep a squeegee with a sponge on the other side in the car.
Hm, I need to try and ask next time if I can have a bucket of water. However, I suspect I won't get more than odd looks.

It doesn't really because there isn't much difference in petrol prices between here and the continent anymore.

[queenortart.livejournal.com]

There are vapour recovery systems in the petrol pumps. I am not saying they are as efficient necessarily as ones on the continent but they are fitted to (I hesitate to use the word all) pumps because they are mandatory in our legislation.

I could quote the relevant bits of the ADR regulations for manufacturing petrol tankers and baffle specifications and thickness of tanker walls, and inspection date frequency, if only I had a copy at home. Damn how careless of me to have left it at the orifice.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

A vapour recovery system that doesn't completely cover the filler opening is useless.

[mazzarc.livejournal.com]

Yeah, same in the USA re the buckets and squeegees... scraping 5 million dead insects off the windscreen is essential on a 14 hour drive... as we found out :-P

Re the locking thing... Last time I filled a petrol tank (admittedly an awfully long time ago) they did have locking thingies with auto cut off... has this changed in the last few years?

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

In the 10 years I've been I think I've seen one petrol pump that had a lock but it might have changed earlier (see whotheheckami's comment above).

[nannyo.livejournal.com]

I've not seen the locking thingies here, it's one of the things I liked about US petrol stations, and I still look for buckets avec squeegee...

N.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Every time you post something like this you make me want to move to Germany.

[themadone.livejournal.com]

But the fumes are one of the best bits about getting petrol! *yums*