[ms_rana]

Hi Guys,

I saw a small promotional clipping on Star News from one of their programs in which malpractices at petrol pumps were revealed. They mentioned date and time of the program "sansani" but I could not gather that.

What i saw in those few minutes as really an eye opener. The person whose identity was hidden (face darkened) told that the common practice is to maually intervene and stop flow of fuel a couple of times (even when auto-cut is activated) and deliver fuel in instalments/bursts. He told that stopping fuel 4-5 times in a refill is equivalent of short fuelling 1 litre to the customer. If a person is going in for full tank of fuel then he won't even come to know of this.

Also, it was revealed the more than required length of fuel dispenser pipe too contributes to saving on dealers part. Some of the fuel actually remains within the pipe and when they roll it in the excess is returned back. For next vehicle the pipe is again extended again creating some space.

I was thinking of putting this on site for some time now but managed to do so today only. I sorely missed not watching that particular program in full as it would have shown some other dark practices of this business.

I read at several places that the easiest way of adulteration is by adding Naptha to petrol. It has same density as petrol and does not leave any residue. Interestingly it is by-product of petroleum distillation process and years back I saw on Zee News how Naptha tankers from Reliance Refinery head straight to petrol stations. Naptha cost less in comparison to petrol. Besides selling major part of it for industrial consumption, certain part is sold at premium to petrol dealers and middlemen. Even at inflated cost it is profitable for them to use it as adulterant in petrol. This is one of the reasons why I am always suspicious about quality of fuel at Reliance petrol pumps. Although this does not mean that others are saint

Request you to add your experiences and comments for benefit of all.

Thanks

[panky12345]

Good write up! But, how can you actually curb the bursts/stopping of fuel?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by panky12345

Good write up! But, how can you actually curb the bursts/stopping of fuel?

I mentioned this practice by pump attendants on the forum long time ago. It is simple to curb this - ask him to set the pump for either the amount u want filled (say 1000Rs of fuel) or if u want full tank, ask him to set the nozzle to auto-stop. Then ask him to keep his hands away from the nozzle. Sometimes they will still insist on holding it. A stern reminder helps. I have been doing this for ages.

[GTO]

What i saw in those few minutes as really an eye opener. The person whose identity was hidden (face darkened) told that the common practice is to maually intervene and stop flow of fuel a couple of times (even when auto-cut is activated) and deliver fuel in instalments/bursts. He told that stopping fuel 4-5 times in a refill is equivalent of short fuelling 1 litre to the customer. If a person is going in for full tank of fuel then he won't even come to know of this.

Interesting! My cars get a tankful of gas on Sundays and I never let them fill after the auto-cutoff. Maybe I am safe from this practice then?

[menonrajesh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Interesting! My cars get a tankful of gas on Sundays and I never let them fill after the auto-cutoff. Maybe I am safe from this practice then?

Stopping to fill after the auto-cutoff may not mean we are safe here..As mentioned by SB, it would be better to ask them not to hold the pump/nosle while filling, so that we can not stop it in between to cheat us. However I still wonder what we can do with the extra length of pipes which is also a culprit..

[panky12345]

WOW! Thanks SupremeBaleno; excatly why my car gives a varied FE from 2 gas stations!

[iraghava]

This no longer happens in the Metros due to pressure on the fuel stations from the Oil comapnies for the latest dispensing machines which are virtually tamper-proof. However, in smaller towns it is still a common practice.

Another trick they religiously practice in older machines out here in UP is that they press the nozzle release in such a way that the meter reading shows zero but the fuel is dispensed. They often use this trick if you don't get out of the car & supervise the filling. Cure is to ask them to set it to zeroo before they fill & ensure that the machine resets & the meter shows 8888.88 before starting the refill, this confirms that the machine has been reset.

And of course adulteration is de-rigeur in smaller towns, but with Reliance opening up pumps it's made life difficult for the Petrol pump owners to do too much.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by GTO

My cars get a tankful of gas on Sundays and I never let them fill after the auto-cutoff. Maybe I am safe from this practice then?

GTO, not letting them fill after the auto-cutoff is a good practice.
However, you also need to ensure that during fuelling, they do not stop and start the fuelling process. If they do that in between, it is usually with a wrong intention.

[jkdas]

you may be right! Everytime I fill, I do it for multiples of 100 or so and these guys stop it manually before it shows the round figure! grrrr!

[tsk1979]

I fill up from pumps with the modern machines where such "Fuel in pipe" tricks cannot be employed. Over a period of time I have discovered a couple of good pumps in Delhi and always fill up from there. They have the latest machines and are "Pure for Sure" brand and are extremely popular with even the truckers

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by ms_rana

The common practice is to maually intervene and stop flow of fuel a couple of times (even when auto-cut is activated) and deliver fuel in instalments/bursts.

Also, it was revealed the more than required length of fuel dispenser pipe too contributes to saving on dealers part. Some of the fuel actually remains within the pipe and when they roll it in the excess is returned back. For next vehicle the pipe is again extended again creating some space.

I read at several places that the easiest way of adulteration is by adding Naptha to petrol. It has same density as petrol and does not leave any residue.

I have observed this "stop - start" technique several times and I firmly tell the attendant to backoff from the nozzle while filling the fuel tank.

For the length of the fuel dispenser pipe I've tried to park a little away from the filling pump but the guy insists i park close to it. Any tips on this?

OT: Zippo lighter fluid is naptha.

[prince_pervez]

One more trick i observed is that,
One dude keeps on asking you
whether you have change or not,
confirms 10 times the amount to
be filled, shows u a scratch on
fuel tank and the other dude
with the filler fills and stops at
some magical figure and
resets the meter by hand and
goes to the next customer.

What i practice now is,
after turning my engine off,
chk the meter for 8888.88.
i tell the guy the amount i want to fill.
then open the fuel lid
Wait till the amount has been seen on
the meter.
Close the fuel tank then
turn my head towards the
cashier and pay him the full amount.
If you raise ur voice a dozen
Blue uniformed fillers come to
see what happened.

Remember, no conversation during the
filling process whatsoever is the key.

But the best practice is,
Choose a petrol pump which u know
has good machines, good quality of
petrol, and know will not cheat you.
Then make sure you recursively fill from
that pump nearing an empty tank.
Refill probably every 2nd weekend
or however ur cycle is. Somehow i feel
a full tank is risky and makes the ride
a lil heavier.

Warm Regards,

Pervez.

[benbsb29]

I believe those using Shell are relatively safer from this practice as the attendants start the filling up process, and then proceed to clean the windscreen. I also never fill up after the Auto-Stop.

[akroy]

[quote=supremeBaleno;374012]GTO, not letting them fill after the auto-cutoff is a good practice. quote]
SB, Although I personally never do refuelling after autocut...but why are you discouraging to fill up after autocut even in pumps like Shell which has sophisticated / latest dispensers...
will there be any discrepancy in the reading versus the amt of fuel after autocut...

Abhi

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by ms_rana

What i saw in those few minutes as really an eye opener. The person whose identity was hidden (face darkened) told that the common practice is to maually intervene and stop flow of fuel a couple of times (even when auto-cut is activated) and deliver fuel in instalments/bursts. He told that stopping fuel 4-5 times in a refill is equivalent of short fuelling 1 litre to the customer. If a person is going in for full tank of fuel then he won't even come to know of this

If the petrol bunk fella even holds the fuel pipe while filling and stops the fill in installments using his fingers, will the "METER" also not stop whenever he presses the lever using his fingers to stop the fill??

Maybe i didnt understand this completely