Posted by Bernice/CA on 6/2/08 8:18pm
Msg #249764

O/T - When using Debit/Credit Card at Gas Pump

You’ve seen the news reports of people having gas siphon from their tank….this is something resent that happen to a friend of mine.

Like normal, she went to the gas station to purchase gas, used her credit/debit card at the pump, pumped the gas, received receipt and left station. Couple of days later, she checked her bank statement and noticed two $50.00 charges added to the purchase. Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the CLEAR BUTTON at the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use my friends card number to purchase gas for him/her own gas !

To keep this from happening to you, after you get your receipt, take a moment to press the CLEAR BUTTON on the pump terminal or your information can/will be stored in that pumps computer until the next customer inserts their card.

Remember, besides the gas station attention watching you, others may be also.


Bernice

Reply by LKT/CA on 6/2/08 8:34pm
Msg #249766

I stopped using my debit card for anything but withdrawals and deposits at the ATM. I don't like stores messing with my cash. Credit card, I don't care as much as when my cash is tied up, I get testy.

Once I paid for automated parking (no attendant, completely self help machine) at a hotel I would attend conferences at and my debit card was charged three times for days I was never at the hotel. The bank canceled the card and credited me back for the charges.

Another time I bought something at an office store that was brand new and their system wasn't working. We had to switch registers and clearly on the screen the transaction didn't complete but the money was sucked out of my account via the debit card. Took 3 days to clear it up. PITA so if I don't have cash on me, I use the credit card and pay if off.

Reply by CaliNotary on 6/2/08 9:48pm
Msg #249770

Wow, how amazing that your friend's story turned out to be practically word for word the same story that's shown on snopes.com!

http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/clear.asp

Reply by MichiganAl on 6/2/08 10:02pm
Msg #249771

Yeah, that happened a few weeks ago

Someone posted a letter they said came from their client who owns a gas station with all these great tips on saving money at the pump. Too bad the letter was actually a form letter that's been circling e-mails for a year.

Reply by Joan Bergstrom on 6/3/08 1:34am
Msg #249793

I owned a 7-11 Store at 290 S Main in Orange CA for 14 years

I don't know if what I posted about gasoline is what Michigan/Al is referring to and I haven't owned the 7-11 since 1992; but some of the points about saving gasoline are almost as true as when gas was installed at my store in 1980. The 7-11 Store in Orange Ca was opened in 1978 and gas was installed in 1980.

1. Never pump gas with the full pump handle ; always use the pressure at 1/2 pressure. This will put more gas in your tank and less vapor.

2. Try to never pump gas when the temperature is hot in the afternoon; pump gas early in the morning because you will get less vapor in your tank when it is cold outside.

3. Don't believe because you drive a Chevy Truck that you need "premium gas" instead of unleaded; This is a guy issue: I almost never saw a woman put premium gas in a car that didn't need premium grade gas.

4. The basics: accelerate slowly, turn your car off when you idling for more than 1 minute, keep the tires inflated.
Cheers

Reply by MichiganAl on 6/3/08 3:06am
Msg #249795

Nope, not what I was referring to n/m

Reply by PAW on 6/3/08 2:09pm
Msg #249863

About idling vs restarting

This article can be found at http://tinyurl.com/6opdr5

IDLE VS. RESTART

The myth we are trying to investigate is the one that says it is better to let your engine idle because shutting it down and restarting it wastes more gas.

The ASME Florida section members were asked to perform a simple experiment with their vehicles equipped with a miles-per-gallon meter. By using this meter and a special technique, we could determine the gallons used per minute of idle with only about 5 minutes of actual idle. The preliminary results with a V6-equipped vehicle and $3-per-gallon gas are as follows:

Idling with no air conditioning on: 0.5 gallon used in 90 minutes ($1.50 in 90 minutes). Idling with A/C on an 88°F day: 0.5 gallon used in 60 minutes ($1.50 in 60 minutes).

Restarting uses approximately the same amount of gasoline as idling for 6 seconds with the A/C on.

One researcher reported experiencing approximately 10 minutes idling at stoplights when driving 25 miles round trip to work in stop-andgo traffic. These stoplights required anywhere from 15 seconds to as much as 1 minute of idling.

If you could conveniently turn off your engine at a stoplight (similar to hybrid vehicles) and restart it just prior to when the line of cars gets moving, you would save only 25 cents of gas per day, assuming you average 10 minutes sitting at stoplights.

If you believed the myth that restarting takes more fuel than idling, the myth is busted. Our research showed that a V6 restart takes about the same fuel as 5 seconds of idling. We expect a V8 to save more and a 4-cylinder less.

But just because you might save gas by shutting off your engine instead of idling, should you shut off your engine at stoplights? Based on the minimal cost of gas saved, probably not. And there are other reasons.

Restarting your car with the automatic transmission in drive is prevented by a lockout switch. To restart, you must move the transmission to neutral, restart the car, and then place the car in gear to get moving. Plan on at least 4 to 5 seconds to get ready to move again. After a few traffic lights, you will get tired of this or likely forget. Hybrid cars have intelligent computers that sense your speed and your foot on the brake pedal to do this. Your vehicle was probably not designed for such frequent restarts, about 10 times or more than what was anticipated by the manufacturer. If you save 25 cents per day in gas but have to replace the car battery or starter, you could likely wipe out a major portion of your savings with the cost of a major repair.

And let's not forget the fact that your A/C won't be cooling you during that 1-minute stoplight. Normally, your A/C air is at 50°F to keep you cool and dehumidify the air. Tests showed that even if you turn your ignition back on without restarting the engine and let your A/C fan keep running, the blowing air gets warm quickly. Within about 23 seconds, your A/C air will be at 70°F, which won't feel very cool in a hot car. And it will take about a minute, even at 2,000 rpm after the restart, for the A/C to get back to 50°F. And running the A/C fan while your engine is stopped will definitely load your battery even more, so plan on replacing it sooner.

Note that the above discussion is true for normal vehicles. Hybrid cars have been designed from the beginning to use this strategy of shutting down the engine at stoplights. The electric motor/battery stops the vehicle by recovering the energy of the moving vehicle. The batteries used are designed for frequent charge/discharge and have the capacity to run the A/C when the car engine is stopped.

Just like the Mythbusters from the Discovery Channel, the investigators are trained mechanical engineers. Do not try this at home.

ABME FLORIDA secTION

This article was originally published on the ASME Florida section's Web site, http://secaons.asme.org/florida. You can reach the section by e-mail at [e-mail address].

Copyright American Society of Mechanical Engineers Jun 2007
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

Reply by JanetK_CA on 6/4/08 2:14am
Msg #249924

Re: About idling vs restarting

Thanks for posting this. I've been wondering about this. One thing I didn't see addressed is whether or not idling consumes less gas than leaving the car in gear while sitting at stop lights. (We have some doozies in my areas. I clocked one at two minutes once and I'm sure that wasn't an aberation.) Any opinions on that?