Points to ponder!
How
many times do we, as motorists, keep a vigilant eye on what goes on
during pumping petrol into our cars at filling stations in Sri Lanka? We
are always in a hurry, be it while driving or trying to fill up. A
national weakness or a contagious disease, I would like to think,
because of the irrationality and the impatience that is paramount at all
times - as if there is no tomorrow!
Just try and get into a ‘safer’ lane and drive carefully with
consideration to other drivers in a disciplined manner, and what do we
get? Constant blasting of ear piercing horns from bus drivers coming
from behind who drive as maniacs as if they are on a race track, or
vehicles following you at rocket speed trying to intimidate and let them
overtake you at whatever cost. Are people stressed out so much all the
time to such an extent? I sometimes wonder.
Civilised behaviour
Same goes when it comes to filling of petrol at service stations. One
never sees civilised behaviour or a proper queuing up system as
motorcyclists and three-wheelers exhibit impatience and creep in from
all sides.
Self-service operation
A few seconds delay in pushing your credit card back into your wallet
after paying, or a minute’s time lag for a written receipt to arrive,
the irritated driver behind you will stare daggers at you! You are lucky
if he does not become impatient and start biting his nails until you
move out. Of course, it’s completely a different kettle of fish in a
foreign land where most of the time it’s an orderly, self-service
operation and a receipt is automatically printed out at the cashier’s
kiosk when payment is made.
No proper queuing up system at petrol filling stations. File
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I was taken by surprise recently at a Colombo filling station where a
motorist who kept a vigilant eye on the meter of the operational pump
suddenly went straight to the jugular of an attendant who was right
behind the petrol pump in action. Shouting at the ‘idling’ member of
staff in the cream of Sinhala, the motorist wanted to summon the Police.
While petrol was being pumped by one attendant, the one behind the
pump had suddenly manipulated a button which apparently, according to
the motorist, ‘played him out for Rs. 250’! To cut a long story short,
without involving the Police, the motorist drove away with a bonus of
extra Rs. 500 worth of additional petrol as a settlement.
To those around, the motorist warned the public to be vigilant when
pumping petrol at filling stations even though the meter is turned to
zero at the beginning, as some foul play seems to exist in certain
stations.
Petroleum industry
To coincide with this story I received an email originated from a Sri
Lankan in Melbourne giving more tips on petrol which I am sure might be
useful for every motorist. The guy who has been working in the petrol
industry in Australia for nearly 31 years gives us some ‘tricks’ how to
get the maximum out of what motorists pay for every litre.
He begins by saying that, where he works in Melbourne the pipe line
delivers approx 4 million litres in a 24-hour period - “One day it is
diesel, the next day it is jet fuel, and Petrol, regular and premium
grades from 34-storage tanks with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres”.
What is his advice to the consumer? “Fill up your vehicle only in the
early morning when the ground temperature is still cold.
National feeling
All petrol storage tanks at filling stations are buried under ground.
Colder the grounds, more dense will the petrol be. As it gets warmer,
petrol expands which means that filling up in the afternoon or evening
what the consumer gets is not exactly a litre for a graduated litre”!
In the petroleum industry specific gravity, temperature of the
petrol, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an
important role which means that rise in temperature by a single degree
is a ‘big deal’ for the business!
He further advises that service stations do not have temperature
compensation factor at the pumps, as such, when filling up ‘never to
squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a faster mode or let attendants do
it.
It appears that the trigger has three set positions - low, middle and
high. Motorists are always advised to pump on the ‘low mode’ to minimize
the vaporization while pumping. Since all pumps are built with a vapour
return mechanism, fast rate pumping will make the liquid to vapourise
and automatically get sucked up into the underground storage tank making
the consumer not getting his money’s worth. One of the most important
tips in filling up is said to be when the tank is HALF FULL, the reason
being more petrol in the tank means less air occupying the empty space.
He further states that at the distribution centre where he works,
every truck that is loaded is temperature compensated so that every
litre is precisely a litre.
Zero clearance
Evaporation takes place in petrol line faster than one can imagine.
Petrol storage tanks have an internal floating roof to give zero
clearance between the level of petrol and the atmosphere.
This anonymous Sri Lankan in the petrol retail industry all the way
from Melbourne, says that he is sending this ‘tip’ to about ‘ 30 people
and if each of them sends it to ten more and those 300 send it to
multiples of 300 and by the time the message reaches the sixth
generation of people, we will have reached over millions of consumers
and become a multiple operation educating millions of people.
What a comforting thought to feel that we, as Sri Lankans, wherever
we may be scattered around the world, have one thing in common - to
think about our own people and to harbour a national feeling.
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