There are many factors to calibrating correctly. Going too fast is not an option especially with the newer blend dispensers. Allowing 1 cubic inch on every 5 gallons would cost $680.00 a month or $4,080.00 in 6 months. In the past few years regular gasoline has become the fuel of choice. Sales for mid-grade fuel have never been popular. So with the need for more regular gasoline, most service stations removed the mid-grade product from the 3rd tank with regular doubling the capacity. As a result, the oil companies installed dispensers that blend regular with premium to get the mid-grade or 89 octane. It is this blending process that also creates problems. The dispenser blends 66% regular and 34% premium to get the middle grade product. This new designed dispenser has far more electronic components than the old ones. It measures product in pulses. Calibration consists of “teaching” the computer to learn how many pulses it counted during a “teaching mode” or “calibration procedure”. After each teaching lesson the meter is checked for accuracy. Meter pressure is also an issue for the accuracy for the pulsars. Dirty filters make the dispenser run slow, and that too can cause the calibration to be off.
Testing the different grades of fuel is never performed for calibration. The midgrade must be analyzed on each dispenser. Because this technology exists, another concern prompts the testing of premium. Why? It was reported in Virginia that some unscrupulous station dealers altered the electronics to reduce the amount of premium gasoline and add regular to the mix, cheating the customers. This equipment consists of a special computerized analyzer utilizing optical lasers to measure the molecules in the testing jar of gasoline. It also tests the level of Ethanol. More than 10% can damage the car. This too is part of a proper calibration.
With the introduction of this new product a few years ago by EPA, more problems developed for gasoline stations. It seems that any devise that was working but worn out and was subjected to this new 10% Ethanol blended gasoline, needed to be replaced. The first problem was the corrosive effect on all surfaces of metal and rubber. On observing nozzles and hoses on the dispenser that are leaking is easy. You can see the leak. One of the side effects to Ethanol was its ability to clean. This caused serious problems. Prior to the introduction of Ethanol, older tanks, pipes, valves and meter parts were lined with a thin layer of varnish. This was a normal by-product of gasoline. Most high end Premium had less varnish than regular gasoline because of it cleaning additives. Over time this alcohol causes the varnish and dirt from the linings of the tanks, pipes, and valves to break free and score the inside chamber of the meters. These groves will now allow extra fuel to pass undetected.
All fuel nozzles pump gasoline on high speed. A worn out meter at this speed showed no signs of failure during a calibration test. This cause of this problem went undetected for 2 years. The problem surfaced when after numerous stations, who had repeated calibrations showed no improvement. Their shortages continued at 300-900 gallons a month.
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