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Revision as of 22:18, 17 September 2008 by Saturday (talk | contribs) (RV, please grow up)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For the automobile part, see fuel pump.
A fuel dispenser is a machine at a filling station that is used to pump gasoline, diesel, ethanol fuel, or other types of fuel into vehicles. Fuel dispensers are also known as bowsers (in Australia)., petrol pumps (in Commonwealth countries), or gas pumps (in North America).
History
The first gasoline pump was invented and sold by Sylvanus F. Bowser in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 5, 1885. This pump was not used for automobiles, as they hadn't been invented yet. It was instead used for some kerosene lamps and stoves. He later improved upon the pump by adding safety measures and also by adding a hose to directly dispense fuel into automobiles. For a while, the term bowser was used to refer to a vertical gasoline pump. Although the term is not used anymore in the United States, it still is used sometimes in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Design
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A modern fuel dispenser is logically divided into two main parts — an electronic "head" containing an embedded computer to control the action of the pump, drive the pump's displays, and communicate to an indoor sales system, and secondly, the mechanical section containing an electric pump and valves to physically pump the fuel. In some cases the actual pump may be sealed and immersed inside the fuel tanks on a site, in which case it is known as a submersible pump. A black handle is used to warn people that the fuel dispensed is diesel. In the United States, diesel fuel pumps commonly use green hoses and green slipcovers over the nozzle, but this convention isn't necessarily universal.
Modern designs
In modern pumps, the major variations are in the number of hoses or grades they can dispense, the physical shape, and the addition of extra devices such as pay-at-pump devices and attendant "tag" readers.
In some countriesTemplate:India (for 2stroke 2wheelers), etc., pumps are able to mix two grades of fuel together before dispensing; this is referred to blending. Typical usages are to add oil to petrol for two-stroke motorcycles, to produce an intermediate octane rating from separate high and low octane fuels or blending of hydrogen and compressed natural gas (HCNG) for ICE.
Flow measurement
One of the most important functions for the pump is to accurately measure the amount of fuel pumped. Flow measurement is typically done by a turbine in the fuel flow. In older gas pumps, the turbine is physically coupled to reeled meters (moving wheels with numbers on the side), while newer pumps turn the turbine's movement into electrical pulses using a rotary encoder.
Communications components
The technology for communicating with gas 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. Traditionally these variations gave pump manufacturers a natural tie-in for their own point-of-sale systems, since only they understood the protocols.
An effort to standardize this in the 1990s resulted in the International Forecourt Standards Forum, which has had considerable success in Europe, but has less presence elsewhere. ("Forecourt" refers to the land area on which the fuel dispensers are located.)
Autocut in fuel dispenser
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Other components
A modern fuel pump will often contain control equipment for the vapor recovery system, which prevents gasoline vapor from escaping to the air.
Manufacturers
Fuel dispensers are made by many different companies throughout the world. In earlier decades, it was common for each country to have several competing manufacturers, but consolidation and globalization has occurred in this industry, so that many formerly well-known names such as Satam and EIN no longer exist as independent companies.
Some of the largest remaining manufacturers are Tokheim, Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Dresser Wayne (of Dresser Industries), and Tatsuno Corporation .
Variations
Early designs
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Petrol pump in Vienna, Austria.
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Antique fuel pump in Quillan, France.
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Display of various antique gas pumps at Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany.
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Antique diesel pump located at Roscheider Hof, Open Air Museum, Konz, Germany.
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Old Soviet Union gas pumps.
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Antique "Mobilgas" pumps, manufactured by Tokheim, located in Wilton, Connecticut, USA.
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Two types of Shell gas pumps at Soulsby Service Station in Mount Olive, Illinois, USA.
Regulations
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Since fuel dispensers are the focal point of distributing fuel to the general public, and fuel is a hazardous substance, they are subject to stringent requirements regarding safety, accuracy and security. The exact details differ between countries and can depend to some extent on politics.
For example in countries fighting corruption, such as Mexico , gas pumps may be more stringently monitored by government officials, in order to detect attempts to defraud customers.
Typically, individual pumps must be certified for operation after installation by a government weights and measures inspector, who tests that the pump displays the same amount that it dispenses.
See also
- Point of sale electronic system connected to fuel dispensers for processing sale transactions
- Rape
- Anal sex
References
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Gasoline pump" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
- Mark Gwynn (2005). "When people become words" (PDF). Ozwords. Australian National Dictionary Centre.
But one doesn't have to be an Australian to enter the Australian lexicon — take bowser 'petrol pump' (in Australia), which is named after a company established by U.S. inventor and entrepreneur S.F. Bowser (d. 1938).
{{cite magazine}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/09/dayintech_0905
- http://www.ifsf.org/Software/IFSF%20Management%20Intro%20-%20V3.01.pdf IFSF Management Intro, sec 1.1 Background history
- Tokheim corporate website
- Gilbarco Veeder-Root corporate website
- Dresser-Wayne corporate website
- Tatsuno corporate website
- Not Quite Measuring Up at Mexico's Gas Pumps - Los Angeles Times
External links
Hosed at the Pumps: an Ottawa Citizen investigation in to Canadian fuel pump accuracy, with a searchable database on inspection records. By journalists Glen McGregor, Jessey Bird, Doug Schmidt, and Barb Pacholik.
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