Oregon Bans Topping Off Fuel Tanks - Acura Forum

**Duckdog** · 07-02-09, 03:45 PM

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Starting Wednesday, Oregon gas station attendants can no longer "top off" gas tanks because of new state environmental regulations.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality created the ban to reduce benzene and other toxic air pollutants from gas stations and other gasoline storage and dispensing facilities.

Topping off is when a gas station attendant continues to fill a gasoline tank after the nozzle clicks off.

However, according to a DEQ news release, topping off the tank does not equal more gas in the tank. Most modern pumps simply return the fuel pumped after the pump clicks off back to the pump, which means drivers are paying for gas that does not get into the vehicle's fuel tank.

Moreover, topping off can cause gasoline to spill and release benzene, a known carcinogen, and other toxic air pollutants into the air, the DEQ said. And in some cases, overfilling a gas tank can cause a vehicle's vapor control system to clog and stop working, which can require costly repairs.

The Environmental Quality Commission, DEQ's rulemaking and policy advisory board, approved and adopted the no topping off regulations in December, 2008. The new rules also require all larger Oregon gasoline storage and distribution facilities that dispense an average of 40,000 gallons per month or more to use vapor capture controls similar to those the state requires to use in Portland, Medford and Salem areas.

The new prohibition on topping off involves an educational period for businesses and customers. The DEQ has a free poster and flyer about the ban available for printing at Oregon DEQ: Gasoline Vapor Recovery Program.

DEQ's regulations follow on the heels of an Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking last year that tightened air quality regulations for fuel dispensing facilities nationwide. The federal standard does not address topping off at the pump. The DEQ said Oregon's tougher standards go beyond the federal rules to reduce benzene by an estimated 28 tons per year and volatile organic compounds by an estimated 1,610 tons per year.

No self service. Now this.

Valkyrie · 07-02-09, 03:49 PM

I never try to add more after it clicks off.

Dc5wha? · 07-02-09, 04:06 PM

oh gee, whats next... can only pay in cash...

Ska · 07-02-09, 04:25 PM

Have fun with that.

*S2K2K4* · 07-02-09, 05:05 PM

I don't bother topping off either. Its not really doing anything for me.

SuperTramp · 07-02-09, 06:40 PM

Maybe I'm just strange, but after it clicks off, I have to take the price to the nearest 5 cents or "0" cents mark....otherwise it just bugs the hell out of me...

Like if it stops at $34.47, I gotta take it to $34.50...if its at $33.22, i'll make it go to $33.25....however, if it stops at something like $34.88, I'll just go ahead and take it to $35.00...for me the double goose egg dollar mark is like the payoff money shot in pr0n...

**Duckdog** · 07-02-09, 06:55 PM

The Olds Bravada we had would take another 1.5 gallons after the initial click. I've noticed, though, with all the Hondas we've had over the years, they are pretty much done when the fuel pump clicks off.

Ska · 07-02-09, 07:15 PM

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Originally Posted by SuperTramp

Maybe I'm just strange, but after it clicks off, I have to take the price to the nearest 5 cents or "0" cents mark....otherwise it just bugs the hell out of me...

Like if it stops at $34.47, I gotta take it to $34.50...if its at $33.22, i'll make it go to $33.25....however, if it stops at something like $34.88, I'll just go ahead and take it to $35.00...for me the double goose egg dollar mark is like the payoff money shot in pr0n...

There's a word for that where I come from...it's called OCD!

Dc5wha? · 07-02-09, 07:18 PM

SuperTramp · 07-02-09, 08:57 PM

I wouldnt call it OCD so much as I would an "intense preference"

NobelTL · 07-02-09, 10:57 PM

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which means drivers are paying for gas that does not get into the vehicle's fuel tank.

Im so glad I never top off... I read somewhere that you don't get as good of gas mileage if you top it off because your leaving less air in the tank. It listed off a bunch of ways to get better gas mileage

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Originally Posted by duckdog

No self service. Now this.

Its ridiculous, I hate going to the gas station and having to wait till someone "jogs" over to pump my gas and they're all sweaty because its over a hundred out. I feel like such a dick having them do it when I could easily do it myself.

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Originally Posted by Dc5wha?

oh gee, whats next... can only pay in cash...

That ampm next to walmart in gp.. i went there on fumes and they only take debit or cash. And nobody came out to the car to tell me that so I waited in it for like five minutes. Then got out and pretended like I was going to pump it myself and someone came right over. They told me to go inside to pay with a card and I wait in line for another five minutes watching all these creepy people buy 40s and then finally get to the counter and he tells me only cash or debit. Had to leave and go to rogue fiver, the only other place open... I hate that ampm

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Originally Posted by SuperTramp

I wouldnt call it OCD so much as I would an "intense preference"

I was like that too when I pumped my gas in cali or wherever but then after reading the topping off thing stopped

Cloud_Walker · 07-03-09, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperTramp

Maybe I'm just strange, but after it clicks off, I have to take the price to the nearest 5 cents or "0" cents mark....otherwise it just bugs the hell out of me...

Like if it stops at $34.47, I gotta take it to $34.50...if its at $33.22, i'll make it go to $33.25....however, if it stops at something like $34.88, I'll just go ahead and take it to $35.00...for me the double goose egg dollar mark is like the payoff money shot in pr0n...