Does anybody else find these modern gas pumps a real "pain" to deal with when you want to fill your gasoline tank "FULL"? And some of these gas pump nozzle safety devices are harder to deal with than others. The one thing they all have in common is that NONE of them work very well in filling Model T gasoline tanks!

To get the tank completely full, it's usually kind of an awkward "three-handed job" to hold the pump nozzle, operate the "trigger" portion of the nozzle, and hold that silly spring-loaded collar up high enough so that the pump doesn't shut off way before the tank is full. Anybody got any helpful "tips" for dealing with this situation?

I sent for a rather expensive "extension" thingie that is supposed to be of some help with this problem in filling my Model A cowl tank, but frankly, I feel that this device is only "semi-successful. And it doesn't fit in the '27 Model "T" cowl tank filler at all!

Luckily, we don't have all the BS "Save the World" regs here in rural GA. I've not seen the device you are talking about, but I have seen the attachments that are suppose to capture vapors escaping the tank as you fill. I can see where they would be rather troublesome on a T tank.

Many years ago, I was in the Atlanta area and they had some sort of deal on the gas pump that when it automatically shut off when the tank was full, it would not allow you to 'top off'. The valve wouldn't open back up. Bad thing was.....the tank wasn't full! I had to go back inside twice before I could fill my tank (This was years before 'pay at the pump'). They had to restart the pump to get it to pump any more gas. Thank Goodness this idea didn't catch on! Had to be some tree hugging genius' idea. Looked good on paper, I'm sure.

I have no idea what you are talking about, how do you fill a gas can?

Tim Moore

The under seat tanks are easier to fill because you don't have to reach up while filling. I have 2 1926 T's with the cowl tanks. I use one hand to pull back the suction device and the other hand to hold the trigger. If I put the end of the nozzle just inside the filler, I can use the leverage to hold in place. Sometimes it is easier if I raise the hood and put one foot on the running board and the other on the hood sill. Anyway, it can be done.
Norm

Harold, move to Kansas. No recovery system here.

And even available without ethanol in Wisconsin!

No recovery system in Fla. and you can buy your gas without alcohol

Their necessary & mandated for modern vehicles. Like Tim says: How do you fill a gas can? It stops a lot of half wits from spilling fuel on the ground which is a good thing in the long run and probably went a good way in developing that type of nozzle. I guess you'll just have to grin & bear it. I don't think I'd move to another State because I couldn't get that last inch of gas into my T's tank.

Non alcohol fuel in my part of Texas is about 30- 35 cents higher than the 10% stuff, but the little priming bulbs on the 2 cycle stuff are about $4.50 and a month of alcohol dose them in. Texas dose not have the recovery snoots, at least around here.

This is something that has never crossed my mind. I've never thought it was problem. It's good to know you can walk off from your car, come back, and the nozzle will have clicked of when your nearly full. Its nothing new and been around for years.
I don't do that but some will.

John,you can't do that in California and some other states. Nozzles there are fitted with a vapor recovery system which requires you to hold the nozzle tight against the opening to make the pump operate.

Well, as a California native, I have lived with the @#@!!! system since it was installed, and now they are even putting a similar thing on our gas cans! But, you can use the auto-fill still on most cars, that way you can wash the windows and check the oil (does anyone do that anymore?) while the tank is filling.
BUT, if you're filling your model A, or T or other gas container with no filler neck, you have to hold the vent seal up and not stick the nozzle down into the tank, or it will just shut off, making things at least a two-handed project, if not three-handed! I suspect more gas is spilled doing this than if they didn't have the system; at least in areas with recreational vehicles in regular use.

David - Thank you! I was considering trying to explain the awkwardness of this gasoline tank filling procedure as it appears that there are folks that live in states where gas station pumps are no more difficult than in previous years. However, you have explained it very well. I guess it's one of those things that you have to "experience" to understand. Suffice to say, these modern nozzles are designed to be inserted into a gasoline tank fill pipe which is located at approximately "waist high", and Model "T" and Model "A" Fords do not have a fill pipe,.....they just have an opening in the tank, and it just doesn't work very well, especially with a cowl tank.

Actually, those that can't quite grasp the awkwardness of this situation might re-read Norman Kling's post above. He describes actually climbing up on the car to fill the cowl tank to make it easier,....if you can visualize that! Be careful Norm,....that really doesn't sound too safe, especially for old guys like you and me!

Only around Atlanta, Ga do the stations have the recovery systems..Tim

Check with the model A guys someone makes a clip thingy that holds it back.
Last thing I saw was a piece of pic witch sat on the filler neck of the tank

Not sure how they missed this one but I found it in oregon with no recovery snout.

From the thread title I thought this would be about buying gas in New Jersey! LOL

Well, well, well! We're finally getting some nice weather here in the PNW after a run of not such nice weather, and look what (who) the sun brings out! Hello Erich,....where ya' been lately??? We've missed ya'!

Another nasty part about the California nozzles is that if you have tender skin you have to wear special gasoline and alcohol proof gloves when you pull back the silly collar in order to fill up. One wonders how much fumes it protects, that silly collar that is ? Now we look forward to no latches.


SACRAMENTO -- Filling up the tank at some gas stations in California soon may get a little less convenient.

The state fire marshal has ordered about 3,000 gas stations -- a third of all stations in the state -- to remove the latches on gas nozzles that allow people to fill up their tanks while keeping their hands free.

State fire officials say the hold-open latches on at least 13 gas nozzles manufactured by Vapor System Technologies failed, spewing gasoline on people or the ground.

State fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said most of the incidents were minor, but ONE person had to be taken to the hospital after getting gasoline in his eyes and respiratory system.

Note by Frank . . . so the pumps at 3000 stations have to be modified because one person got splashed. Hey we get splashed every time we fill up our Model T's. Perhaps they will make us install modern vapor proof gas tanks with recirculating pumps and warning lights together with automatic reporting to the E.P.A. if we fail to stop spilling.

The station owners must remove the latches by Oct. 15.

Vapor System Technologies is working on a new nozzle, but it is not clear when that will be available.

Big government is going to protect ourselves from ourselves. Oh Bother!
Actually most hold-on devices are not readily noticeable by most folks, you have to know where to look for them and how to lock them on (not difficult, really); but most folks don't have a clue. . . .
Being a former member of "Petroleum Transfer Engineers local 108" I am aware of most of them (OK, fancy term for gas station attendant, or "gas jockey" for short. Some 38 years ago I made up a certificate reading like that and hung it in our family gas station)