Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-11-17
GAS BY MILLIONS
OF GALLONS LOST
TOAUTOTSTS HERE
Pump Dealers Deny Faulty
Apparatus Causes Short
Measure
POSSIBLE REASONS CITED

,,...cgynphs tIfnstrntinr this article ap-
,s-r on the pictorial page.
r.,rsvtvnuia autoniobilsts lose 2o0. 0.0oO.-
ssa gal1oDs Of gasoline every year through
- earelesa and sometimes unscrupulous
handling Of measures ana sasohne pumps
81, dealers and garage employees. according
~ an estinlate OF Chief John Nirdin, OF the
s,urcan Of weights and Measures
70 tbe autonrobiiista lose that much. the
.,,,, manufacturers reply u goes on in
ssauor ia spilled out In automobile wrecks
ar ls drunk by riotous chauffeurs and their
eoupanions on JOY rides
,,r,r,, let chief virdin scare you" said
. pbitadeIphia agent Of n pump manufac-
sr.r TODAY. There Is no doubt some loss
~ rasoiile to automobilists, but IL fs ques-
sf.nabIe whether tho amount reaches any
vshere near that much At any rate, IL is
-oe lost through the patented pump. IL
r,av ts stolen by garage employees but II
= doubtful II they could get away with that
much"
THINKS FIGURE TOO HIGH.
- beiIeyr." said J. p. OMEN. manager Of
enc local sales office of 8. r. Bowser q Co,
r,,rrn manufacturers, that Chief Vlrdin's
rS,,res are exaggerated. I like to see the
chIaf show the people that he is on the Job,
but in this case l believe most OF his fg-
,Tes and reports are principally for that
'arhere IN n loss to the automobilst of
troun one 10 4sIh cubic inches of gasoline
per gallon" asserted Chief NirdIn. TN
fefA go per cent of the gasoline sold was
short seven cubic inches per gallon. That
was probably due. however, to the fact
that for thirty years prior thereto there
vns a lack Of inspection. Now that there
A more supervision. the loss has been
Rreatly diminished: but not as much as II
viii be. especially II can get the help
OF the automobIists themselves"
Tn help that Chief Virdin wants Is n
report from each automobilist whenever he
hnds himself getting short measure He
can tell when he is being cheated, Chief
vlrdln says, II he will always carry In his
car a measuring stick marked of to accord
with the quantity OF gasoline his tank will
hold BY dipping this stick into the tank
after the gasoline has been poured in he
can see whether IL comes one gallon high
or fifteen gallons high. And when he nas
less than what he Is asked to pay for, he
should call up the Bureau of Weights and
Measures Immediately and an inspector will
be sent out to settle the question.
He should report the shortage" said
Chief Virdin, land not merely request that
he get full measure"
CAUSE OF LOSS
4 "Another way the automobBist Is
cheated" said Chief Virdin, "is when gaso-
line is pumped into his tank from a point
below IT, He loses the amount of gasoline
that remains In the hose between the pump
and his tank. He should see that this Is
drained out each time
"Still another accounting for loss Is in |
the faulty installation of pumps by garage |
owners and dealers Sometimes the pipes |
2connecting the pump with the tank back |
under the garage is installed so that there |
are several joints in the pipe line as II goes |
up and down and around joists and walls. |
The pump and the big tank should be con- |
nected so that the pipe line drains straight |
back from the pump to the tank"
Chief Virdin explained that this pipe |
should never be laid so that gas pockets |
Will be found in II, causing the automo-
bilist to pay for vapor instead OF gasoline. |
n the pipe has sections that are laid up |
and down, like the letter 'W" for instance,
gas pockets will form in the parts of the
pipe corresponding to the left hand strokes
OF that letter II the movement OF the gaso-
line is from left to right when II is being
pumped. When the pump begins to pull the
gasoline from the tank these pockets of
gas are pulled along with the gasoline and
escape into the air when they reach the
automobile tank. while the pump registers
the gas
q WATCH REGIsTERl
'"rhe gasoline purchaser" said Chief
Virdn "shoutId also see to IL that the man
handling the pump turns the crank until
tho cogbar hits the top and comes down TO
When the cogbar does not go all the way TO
the bottom or to the top the purchaser gets
only part of n gallon, while the pump
registers for him and he pays for full
gallon"
Manager o'Neii. of the Bowser Company,
and Il. NJ. Denton. director OF sales OF the
wayne oil Tank and Pump Company. are
smong the local dealers in pumps who
deny that the loss of gasoline Is through
ne use OF the patented gasoline pump
pumps now" said O'Neil that are as ac-
eurate and as proof against loss as the
iatest cash register. We are Installing
most OF them ourselves. II there Is an In
ennation on the part of dealers TO cheat
which doubt Is as extensive as Chief Vir-
ain believes II is-they cannot do II by the
MANIPULATION OF our pumps And IL the
pump should happen TO be faulty, the dealer
]. nearly always the one that loses. and
not the consumer
Pumps are now made so that a gallon
Nln not register unless thee rank Is turned
uuhtu the cogbar touches the top and the
pouom OF the shaft.
rhey VIII register even a quart, and the
enure amount OF gasoline pumped Is shown
~ ~ register such as the one that shows
e''s mileage covered by an automobile.
Ahe question whether or not the patented
sasohne pump is strictly liquid measuring
1eSlce Is now being considered by the At
seEhey General. II was referred 10 him by
.ae pennsylvania Association of Inspectors
= weights and Measures at a convention
= harrisburg during September,