Vapor Recover Nozzles Rant

8/3/2005

This is a simple rant about a poor design.

Prelude to The Rant:

Gas stations in my area feel compelled to upgrade themselves every 2-3 years.
Lately this has involved upgrading the vapor recovery nozzle as well (something most likely required by eco-friendly California). UPDATE 3/2008: Turns out the problem is NOT limited to Emco Wheaton, but to about 75% of the newer recovery nozzles.

The Rant:

One of the vapor recovery nozzles getting installed is the Emco Wheaton model. They annoy me so much that I find myself having memorized their name. Anyway, this vapor recovery nozzle is the thing that also auto-shuts off the pump when your tank gets full. It's also the thing that is supposed to shut the pump off when you remove the nozzle from your gas tank.
Well, the problem is, THE EMCO WHEATON VAPOR RECOVERY MODEL DOES NOT WORK. I have run into this nozzle at several different gas stations in my area...always with the same result. I have chosen to stop going to those gas stations now. Let me define does not work by illustrating my last fill up at a Chevron station.
I insert the nozzle into my car and start filling up my tank. After less than one gallon of gas has been pumped, the gas stops flowing. I re-insert the nozzle a little more firmly and try again....for another 1/2 gallon. I try different angles and the bloody thing keeps stopping. In fact, the only way for me to pump more than a half-gallon of gas at a time is to use my entire body weight to compress the nozzle while holding the nozzle at a 45 degree angle. This is done by leaning my back against the car and "curling" the nozzle upward and holding very still. Any motion on my part, and the bloody Emco-Wheaton POS goes "click" and gas stops pumping.

To Summarize:

There are so many things wrong with this scenario that I figure I would list them.

(#1) By stopping the gas flow prematurely, I have NO IDEA when my tank is actually full. The end result is that (after 12 premature degasulations) I have been trained to simply keep trying. This means that I end up accidentally over-topping off my tank and spilling gas out into the environment---the same environment the Emco Wheaton POS is supposed to protect.

(#2) It is physically difficult to hold the nozzle in a position that works, and to do it for the entire fill up. I could not imagine a person of lesser stature being comfortable with the methodology I have had to employ.

(#3) The Emco Wheaton POS fails to stop gas from flowing when it self-ejects. That's right...I said that it self-ejects. I have heard a first hand account of someone trying to use the click-stop to auto-fill their tank. As this person went to wash a windshield, the super-strong Emco Wheaton nozzle spring EJECTED the nozzle from her gas tank and gas continued to flow out onto the ground. Sounds pretty stupid.

(#4) The Emco Wheaton POS must never have been tested on real cars. I cannot imagine how this design is being implemented at gas stations when it simply fails to work in real world conditions.

Post Rant:

If you are a gas company, gas station owner, or somehow involved in the industry, please STOP INSTALLING THE EMCO WHEATON VAPOR RECOVERY NOZZLES. They simply do not work (at least not for Ford Explorers or Ford Mustangs). They make it miserable to pump gas, and have convinced me to go to other out-of-the-way gas stations with alternative recovery nozzles.

Post Rant #2:

So, I've come to the realization that Emco Wheaton may not be the only culprit (although they do tend to fail more than others). Which then leads me to question whether it's my Ford gas tank inlet. Don't know, don't care --- vapor recovery nozzles that fail are still a prickler in my privates.

© September 5, 2008
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