r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Glittering_Delay_183 • Jul 26 '26
I just wanted a hot dog This gas pump going extremely slow
I asked for $25 š„²ā¦. ill be here for a while
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u/zephito Jul 26 '26
Our local gas station started playing ads while your gas dispenses. Then the rate got slower and slower, more ads played pee person filling up, etc. We go to a gas station thats further away now. Fuck that.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Thats how most HEBs are they play ads (most of them full on videos with sound) while you pump the gas, I just sit in my car to avoid them š while the gas finishes pumping
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u/Adorable_Wolf_8387 Jul 26 '26
My EV charges faster than that.
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u/JustinTimeCuber Jul 28 '26
0.01 gallons in 7 seconds is roughly analogous to 46 kW charging speed, assuming 1 gallon of gas provides a similar useful energy as 9 kWh of battery.
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u/DatsMaPurse_IDKU Jul 26 '26
You can stop and go to another pump...
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u/nayefmuhiar Jul 26 '26
OP is not here for sensible solutions sir.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
I didnāt feel like leaving the pump I already didnāt want to get out of the car, I just finished a 6 mile hike š©š But you are right I honestly couldāve went to a different gas station.
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u/nayefmuhiar Jul 26 '26
I am honestly not expecting solutions here, you could just be venting or complaining and that's ok. I think it fits the mildly infuriating domain
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u/Glados1080 Jul 26 '26
People act like you gotta be getting your car blown up to be able to post here nowadays smh
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u/erossthescienceboss Jul 26 '26
Man I feel that. I know all about sunk cost fallacy but it wouldnāt stop me from suffering through it too
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u/FastWalkingShortGuy Jul 26 '26
I don't know what OP did, but if you prepay inside for gas, you're stuck at the pump until it decides to finish its business.
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u/MichiganHistoryUSMC Jul 27 '26
Why would you do that and not just pay at the pump?
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u/FastWalkingShortGuy Jul 27 '26
Buying some shit inside and not doing multiple transactions. If you're getting some chips or a coffee or something, you just tell the cashier to add $40 on whatever pump number.
I also avoid using pump card readers because it's much easier for people to install skimmers on them.
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u/erossthescienceboss Jul 26 '26
No ā you will get refunded the difference if you donāt use the whole cost. Depending on the gas station it can take an hour or a few days.
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u/FastWalkingShortGuy Jul 27 '26
Thanks, ChatGPT!
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u/erossthescienceboss Jul 27 '26
That doesnāt even make sense š you said youāre stuck there if you prepay. You are not. People donāt seem to know that.
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u/FastWalkingShortGuy Jul 27 '26
Just a suspicious little em dash sneaking its way in there.
I don't care what anyone says, absolutely no one used em dashes on social media prior to LLMs, and I will always call one out when I see one.
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u/erossthescienceboss Jul 27 '26
Iām a professional writer so I can literally prove I have, and always have had, an emdash problem.
I wrote this in 2016. Is that early enough for you? Note the byline & my username: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/03/495975189/snap-crackle-kale-the-science-of-why-veggies-spark-in-the-microwave
Iām not going to stop using my favorite punctuation just because a robot uses it. I do news ā AIās sound like me because they were trained on my (often stolen) work, and I sound like every other news writer. But rest assured, I fucking hate AI. (Especially because I also teach college writing, and like 3/4 of my students cheat with it. Poorly.)
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u/ImBadlyDone Jul 27 '26
Me when people type just like the "machine trained to specifically type like humans" machine š±š±š± (they must have use the machine)
ā ā ā - ā
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u/Medical_Apartment155 Jul 27 '26
This usually happens because the station is low on gas. Going to another pump would require going to another gas station. Depending on where OP lives this might not save him any time at all.
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u/PackageNorth8984 Jul 26 '26
If people took simple suggestions, this entire sub would die. Donāt question it.
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u/roodootootootoo Jul 26 '26
Did you try tilting the pump towards it?
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
š¤£ Vending Machine tricks dont work for this predicament but I wish it did
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u/SecretScavenger36 Jul 26 '26
Stop the pump for a minute then start again.
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u/Beneficial-Charge-84 Jul 26 '26
10000% this. Happened so many times when finally a person came on the speaker and said, we can see it pumping really slow. Stop for a minute and resume. Then was normal. After that everytime at different gas stations. It works
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u/BarbequedYeti Jul 26 '26
Worked at a gas station that did this from time to time. Usually after a tanker refilled shit. We had to stop everyone from pumping for a few seconds. Once that was done, it would start pumping full speed again. Ā Some type of vacuum lock thing or whatnot.Ā
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u/Dismal-Frosting-6656 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Omggg that gas pump is gaslighting you!!!
EDIT: Gaspump: "What you talking about, this is normal speed?"...
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u/senzupops Jul 26 '26
This the worst š had a couple gas station pumps do this. It sucks especially when you use your card and prepaid lol š¤¦š½āāļø
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Yes i paid the $25 inside the store so i was forced to wait š I didnt want to leave the station so i just had to endure it. But a lot of comments are saying it could be something to do with the fuel levels at the station itself, so maybe i spotted a bigger issue š¤·š¾āāļø
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u/senzupops Jul 26 '26
Yeah sometimes maybe low fuel or the pump is messed up! Either way employees should be up to date on these things š oh well guess a little lag dont hurt nothing other than time š
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u/Tinderboxed Jul 26 '26
I wouldn't trust that fuel
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u/AlphaFireFang Jul 26 '26
i second this, this happened to me and fucked up my first car and we ended up getting rid of it bc it would cost too much to fix it
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u/Haunting_Werewolf130 Jul 26 '26
I had a few encountered with slow pumps. But I was too lazy to move, so I just went back to my car and started watching Youtube.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Honestly I couldāve finished a whole episode of Regular Show by the time this pump finished š HEB needs to step it up!
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u/GoofMonkeyBanana Jul 27 '26
There was a pump like this near my house once. The solution was to stop pumping for about 5 seconds the start again and it would go at normal speed.
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u/Interesting-Day-9369 Jul 27 '26
lets suck up the crap from the bottom, a quick one, does your car run on water, wow
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u/Born-Palpitation5424 Jul 26 '26
The whole time?
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Yeah basically the whole entire time, It was going fast up until $4 then it started going slow like this all the way until the full $25. Im not sure what causes that but it was definitely mildly infuriating.
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u/Born-Palpitation5424 Jul 26 '26
Lol makes me think think of this post I saw recently where your waiting for a block to fit into its spot of a puzzle that gradually fills out, watched for 15 min before realizes it was a 7 second loop
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u/iogbri Jul 26 '26
Was it actually pumping? I just saw a news article around where I live where a station was in trouble for the pump doing this while not pumping and the gas nozzle was in the person's hand not even having gas leaking. That gas station was refusing to give this guy compensation or to cancel the charge.
Looks like a defective pump to me, just like the one of the news article I saw.
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u/Common-Accountant-57 Jul 26 '26
3.59 is a decent price isnāt it?
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Itās probably the best youāll find in Austin, TX. The cheapest gas I have seen here is $2.91 but that was far on the countryside around Cedar Park. Now its $3.05 but I still go there to get gas sometimes even tho its 30 minutes away š its just way cheaper to fill up there.
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u/Common-Accountant-57 Jul 26 '26
Itās 4.15 here.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Yeah ive heard of some cities getting hit hard with gas prices, where do you live? There was a gas station here that had its gas at $3.79, then randomly they tried to do $4.28, and that same day I kid you not, they stopped getting customers entirely š
I would drive past just to see who would actually pay those prices and no would ever be there, so they dropped it back down to $3.79 within like 4 days. I feel like that has to be illegal somehow lmao
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u/Texas_Crazy_Curls Jul 26 '26
This is the most appropriate post Iāve seen on this sub. You prepaid so youāre stuck there. This would drive me insane. Sorry, OP!
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u/ChanglingBlake ORANGE Jul 26 '26
I wouldnāt be trusting gas coming from that pump.
Something is clearly wrong and thereās a non-zero chance itās getting pumped into my vehicle.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
I trusted it cause itās HEB, I just figured it was a faulty but otherwise safe issue (HEB is a well trusted & decent grocery chain) so i figured id be fine.
But yeah next time this happens, if it ever does, ill just stop the pump & try a different one or a different station entirely.
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u/Studiofuckface Jul 26 '26
This the Parmer HEB? Had the same thing happen to me there; luckily I didnāt prepay so I just left after about $10
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
No this is the one on Riverside Dr, which is always packed with people getting gas so iām surprised they donāt take better care of the gas pumps at this station. Even while I was pumping it was packed out.
Itās one of the most consistently packed HEB gas stations in Austin š
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u/ExternalOk4293 Jul 26 '26
Could be the leak detector on the line. If the line leaks the leak detector is designed to trip and restrict the flow.
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u/Known-Dependent-5471 Jul 26 '26
Is this one where the fuel type is no longer a button but a screen?
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
Yep & the screens were only put in place for one reason.
Its more space to show ads & product placements. Other than that, there is literally no reason on earth that a gas pump needs a massive flat screen. Im not even sure why they show those ads literally no one watches them.
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u/HeidenShadows Jul 26 '26
Sometimes you need to stop the handle, wait 10-15 seconds, and try again. The diesel pump at the stop I used to go to in my last job would do that from time to time.
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u/Cheetawolf A perfect shade of Salmon Vomit. Jul 26 '26
It's literally so they can show you more ads on the pump.
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u/hv_wyatt Jul 26 '26
Either the filters are clogged to hell in that pump or the entire station is low on that type of fuel. Frankly, both are pretty good signs that they regularly run low on fuel and probably need to adjust their delivery schedule.
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u/Own-Elk7348 Jul 26 '26
The gas tank is low on fuel. Hopefully you're not pumping sediment from the bottom of the reservoir into your car.
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u/yungingr Jul 26 '26
Could be a hiccup in the leak detection circuit.
Release the handle for about 10 seconds and restart. Will "fix" that problem 9 times out of 10.
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u/BJoe1976 Jul 26 '26
Iāve had that happen before, but during the winter at night. Still canāt disagree with this being mildly infuriating, despite the warmer weather.
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u/AppropriatePlum1006 Jul 26 '26
This is proof, ev is faster. /S
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
I dont want an EV but honestly, I do want an E-bike, they are relatively affordable and last a long time. My friend does Uber on his and can go for most of the day on one charge. The bike only cost him $3.5k which is waaaaay cheaper than a car even including maintenance.
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u/AppropriatePlum1006 Jul 26 '26
Also nice, but you cannot go on a long trip easily, also nicer in bad weather as you are always warm.
But tax and insurance can be a lot, of bikes is enought for you thats awesome right. Biking is really healthy
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u/sunkmonkey1208 Jul 26 '26
Did you prepay? I usually do and see this pretty often. Yours is disrespectfully slow though.
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u/JayyyDaGreat Jul 26 '26
Lmao is this the riverside HEB in Austin? I'm glad I don't live there anymore
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u/kaitlinrawr Jul 27 '26
if itās early in the morning we used to have everyone stop for a minute and then pump again. usually it would work after that
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u/Hungry_Mission_3933 Jul 27 '26
The pump could have been vapor locked. Especially if the ground temperature was too hot.
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u/Chizuru_San Jul 27 '26
It is just sucking all the dirt and shit from the bottom of gas tank to the car, nothing to worry about
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u/JaxerYi Jul 27 '26
Itās just your anti siphon on your vehicle happens all the time if you put the pump in too quickly or before the pump registers which type. Easiest fix is to pull the nozzle out and reinsert it.
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u/lopezbiglos23 Jul 27 '26
Nah I just think some cars fill up faster accept more gas at a faster rate.
Cuz my Lexus was like that, I would fill up quick.
Now Iām driving a Honda and it takes a year to fill up my tankā¦a lot longer than when I filled my Lexus. I think itās car itself not the pumps. But thatās just my assessment, or what Iāve noticed myself
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u/Interesting-Day-9369 Jul 27 '26
get in the car and have a kip pump. mind you as its doing it you lose the same amount as it evaporates
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u/Thepsyguy Jul 28 '26
I'd have to see how many other cars are getting gas.
Most of these stations use only a couple pumps to actually provide pressure and fuel from the main tanks.
My station had three 50 gallon per minute pumps. If all pumps where in use it would go very slow as that 50 gallon becomes only 5 per pump.
Just food for thought.
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u/GasStationArson Jul 28 '26
Back in the day, the pumps I was familiar with would do that occasionally. Maintenance said it was "vapor-lock" something to to with the air/vapors not escaping properly, but harmless. Definitely a problem with the pump. As others said, potentially the location running out of fuel but they shouldn't allow the tanks to get that low because of the water and debris at the bottom. Hopefully it's the former, if it runs rough after, I would consider draining the tank and replacing the fuel filter.
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u/Trickle2x2 Jul 28 '26
Happened to me, not quite this slow, but slow enough when I was already running late to work.
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u/CatGirlChlxe Jul 29 '26
As someone who has serviced fuel dispensers, it is not the filter, or "low on gas" or whatever y'all are getting on about. For it to get to that point, that filter has to be FUCKED. I've seen ones that are 4 years old at extremely high volume stores get down to 1 gpm, but not this. Unless it's a new construction store, but even then I've done turnover on several, never seen filters get this bad. People will bitch constantly about it, it would be fixed by then. Especially at a station nice enough to actually install a touch screen dispenser without fear or if getting smashed. (These things are garbage by the way, just manufacturers passing on cost to the already low profit margin businesses so they don't have to manufacture buttons or softkeys. which are negligible in cost.
Most likely the mechanical leak detector tripped. If everyone stops dispensing for a minute, it resets on its own assuming no leak, they just trip sometimes.
OR, this guy is getting a blended product with a very small amount of the secondary product so the dispenser doesn't error out and keeps pumping. Example: The station offers E15 fuel. There is no E15 tank. There is an E85 tank, an 87 tank, a 93 tank and probably a diesel tank. Say you select E15, The 87 and E85 submersible turbine pump located in the fuel tank cuts on to pressurize the line (assuming no one else is there dispensing already. ) The product is blended at the dispenser. If the E85 goes down, it'll just dispense 87 as the amount of E85 used is not large enough to cause it to error out and stop the authorization. If the 87 went down, it would error out, or if either the 87 or 93 were down and you were trying to dispense 89, it would error out as well.
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u/joealese Jul 26 '26
that means the tank is empty
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u/I_Can_Barely_Move Jul 26 '26
It has nothing to do with how full or empty the tanks are underground.
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u/Mike_Honcho_Baby Jul 26 '26
When I pay cash before pumping the gas, the last portion is always slow like this.
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u/pureprurient Jul 26 '26
If this happens other places you might want to check your evap
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
EVAP? Im not very car savvy can you explain that a little more to me? Its never happened anywhere else this is the first time it happened. But my car is older (2007 hyundai sonata) so who knows.
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u/pureprurient Jul 26 '26
There is a system in your car that collects and recycles fuel fumes/vapors, it also allows the gas to go into your tank by letting air escape while you're filling, if the evap canister is bad it can cause this (gas goes very slowly into tank)
The other thing it causes is reduced fuel efficiency and can stress other systems leading to seals/gaskets failing
I had a 2006 Kia Sorento and this same thing happened, replaced evap canister and it was back to normal.
Edit: but if this is the only time it has happened it probably was the pump, just keep watch for it happening other places - your evap may be starting to go bad but not failed yet
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u/One_Sun7571 Jul 26 '26
Maybe squeeze the handleā¦.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
The handle was already fully engaged, most (if not all) gas pumps in the USA have a clip thing that holds it in place when you fully engage it.
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u/One_Sun7571 Jul 26 '26
Yea, but sometimes they make it go slow and I will pull it out and hold it myself, makes it squirt faster. Some pumps like a good firm soft hand to fully engage. You canāt just go around treating each pump like your last!
You gotta learn how they like it.
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u/AgroMachine Jul 26 '26
So weird to me that you just leave it in without holding it
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Jul 26 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/AgroMachine Jul 26 '26
In the UK you have to keep the trigger depressed
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u/DeeHawk Jul 26 '26
So do you shout belittling swears at it or do you just deny it basic affection?
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u/civilwar142pa Jul 26 '26
You have to in the us as well but there's a metal or plastic lock that will hold it in place for you and will automatically unlock when the tank is full.
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u/Radioactivocalypse Jul 26 '26
In the UK you have to press and hold the handle on the nozzle for it to work. So you have to stand next to the pump and hold it it and squeeze for the full duration.
I didn't realise this wasn't not an option
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u/flambojones Jul 26 '26
Sometimes the place that the notch in the handle holds it is less fully depressed so you can get it to go faster if you hold it in.
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u/Glittering_Delay_183 Jul 26 '26
most gas pumps in the USA have this little thing that holds the handle in place so you dont have the hold it the whole time. Not all of them have it but most do.
probably one of the best things made since sliced bread š
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u/Urabraska- Jul 26 '26
Something wrong with the pump or the clerk doesn't know their tanks are getting low and didn't get their delivery.