Do gas stations shut off pumps to order fuel ?

2

2013ecof150

Joined
Sep 10, 2018
Messages
234
Location
Northern va
I stop at an exxon/ 7-eleven every morning to get coffee before work, about 4:50 am. Occasionally I see the digital pump screens saying “ all pumps have been stopped “

Yesterday I was standing in line to pay for my coffee and a guy comes in asking about the stoppage and the lady behind the counter said she has to stop the pumps for 15 mins to get a accurate reading before she orders gas. The guy started complaining and she said she was trained to do this and she’s been in the same location for the last 13 years and has always done this.

I’ve never seen other stations stop pumps. I thought since it’s all automated, they would be able to see what’s in the ground at all times. Seems odd to stop for 15 mins.
 
I have never seen it. However I can't remember the last time I bought gas in the middle of the night, which is when I assume they would do so.
 
Thinking back, my local 7-11 must have done the same thing. Or they did. Used to see cones around the pumps early in the morning pretty often. Never gave it much thought as I rarely stopped there.
 
About 4 months ago I stopped at my regular Mobil station and they were getting a delivery. All the pumps were shut off. It was 2:00 in the afternoon.
 
Ok, here's the deal.
Today, most tanks are not only equipped with automatic level sensors, but also automatic ordering, BUT
For an annual audit, computer adjustments, etc. sometimes the tanks need to be measured by hand. You may have seen an attendant out there with a long stick, marked in inches, all the way down to eighths of an inch. In order to reconcile the readings from the tank level, to the amount the pump says it dispensed, there should be no flow into or out of the tank.
There is also a chance that the automatic system is not working correctly on one or all tanks. In this case, inventory must be done by hand.
Assuming this was in fact an inventory check.
A lot of times, this task is part of the delivery truck drivers duties, but his main concern is whether or not the amount in his truck will fit into the available space in the tank. He normally checks for water at this point, which stays in the bottom of (non-ethanol) tanks.
 
Back in the day, to check the level in the tanks you had to stick the tanks. I know the world has changed as far as automatic level indicators go. The only reason I can think of is, there must be a discrepancy in the amount of gallons delivered , VS money received for gallons sold. There might be a skim operation happening, and the only way to figure it out is to start with a given amount of gas, and balance it against payment received. That's something you don't want to ignore for any length of time, or it could be a mechanical malfunction of the tanks measuring device.,,
 
Last edited:
I opened an Arco station in Chelmsford, MA in the Seventies. There was no business traffic when I tool reading in the morning before 6AM and put a note paper in in the ledger. Only the owner filled in the ledger.

I sticked the tanks in the morning maybe 1x a week - as we were not high volume - and only on the ones that are ready for a fresh load. Looking for water presence mainly. No sensors reporting back then.
I do not recall doing the pump spin on filters either. IIRC they got changed by Atlantic-Richfield corporate regional service or the
State weights and measures guy. Likely the former.

- Ken
 
SC Maintenance said:
However I can't remember the last time I bought gas in the middle of the night, which is when I assume they would do so.
Click to expand...
Business/sales wise it's probably the most convenient time for them to do it, to have minimal disruption on sales and for stations that aren't open 24 hours, it would be easy enough to do it after they close and before everyone leaves (or when someone comes in in the morning before opening).
 
the station attached to the store where I work, that I've worked/filled in off and on for years, all that stuff is automated.
the fuel distributor has online access to our readings, and come when they're needed.
the monitoring system automatically prints a read every morning @ 5am.
the dispensers all automatically restart themselves around 2am.
 
2013ecof150 said:
I stop at an exxon/ 7-eleven every morning to get coffee before work, about 4:50 am. Occasionally I see the digital pump screens saying “ all pumps have been stopped “

Yesterday I was standing in line to pay for my coffee and a guy comes in asking about the stoppage and the lady behind the counter said she has to stop the pumps for 15 mins to get a accurate reading before she orders gas. The guy started complaining and she said she was trained to do this and she’s been in the same location for the last 13 years and has always done this.

I’ve never seen other stations stop pumps. I thought since it’s all automated, they would be able to see what’s in the ground at all times. Seems odd to stop for 15 mins.
Click to expand...
That happens often at Exxon-Mobil stations in South Florida. It is generally less then 15 minutes. For the most part anyway.
 
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