Who actually pays for the fuel in the hose pipe ?

M

mercman

Guest
This is an Interesting query. If a delivery of Oil is made, whether it be Fuel Oil or Heating Oil and when the tanker senses the Tank is full, it automatically stops pumping. The pump stops when the Hose is full of Oil. Are Consumers being billed for the Oil that remains in the Hose Pipe which is driven off for the next fill or replaced back into the Tanker (which I have seen been done). There could be a fair few gallons left in the Hose Pipe which is being billed to the Consumer !!

Anybody have an idea of this ??
 
I guess it's the same for every delivery so you're not really losing out as it's built into the price of the fuel. In any case how else would you propose they meter the oil? I don't think it's something to get bothered about? Your mind works in mysterious ways.
 
Bronte said:
Your mind works in mysterious ways.
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?????? So obviously you do not use fossil fuels or you simply do not mind been ripped off. You may not think it is worth getting bothered about but I do. Could be paying for 50 gallons of Oil which hasn't been delivered.

Do you work for an Oil company or in the Industry? How many local Oil companies do you ever see go out of business because of direct bad trading.
 
mercman your theory would only hold true if you felt that the oil left in the pump was sucked back into the tanker after each delivery. It's a fair question to ask, would be interested in how it works meself. Another possible answer is that the meter only starts once the oil leaves the pump nozzle, not the tanker. Actually this would make more sense now that I think of it!
 
Ceist Beag said:
Another possible answer is that the meter only starts once the oil leaves the pump nozzle, not the tanker. Actually this would make more sense now that I think of it!
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No the meter kicks in at the tanker side before the fuel enters the hose. I saw this happen when I was having Road Diesel delivered and the driver emptied the hose back into the Tank, as there was agricultural Diesel in the pipe.

It is an interesting one but they are all at it and this is why it might take an age to get to the bottom of it. I do not mind paying for what was delivered. However I will be damned if I am going to pay for supplies that weren't delivered.
 
perhaps, if the truck holds multiple deliveries then you are getting a hose full of fuel for free at the beginning of your delivery, as long as you are not the first delivery.
 
No chance. It is for this reason that the meter is located at the tanker side and not the nozzle side. It is not just me. This matter occurs with any person that has delivery of il or Liquid Gas.
 
might make sense to ask for say,900ltrs rather than a fill so you pay for the amount you get
 
The oil is metered as it leaves the truck.

But - The hose is constantly full (and holds approx 80 litres). The customer does not get charged for any more than what passes through the metre.
 
QED said:
The customer does not get charged for any more than what passes through the metre.
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Is this a hope or definitive statement, as from where I am it does not look as clear as you make out.
 
QED said:
The oil is metered as it leaves the truck.

But - The hose is constantly full (and holds approx 80 litres).
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Don't think this is correct, as pointed out by Mercman some wagons carry more than one type of fuel (kerosene/diesel/agri fuel) and sometimes have to suck fuel in pipe back into tanker.
 
seantheman said:
Don't think this is correct, as pointed out by Mercman some wagons carry more than one type of fuel (kerosene/diesel/agri fuel) and sometimes have to suck fuel in pipe back into tanker.
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- The hose is always full even when the tanker is empty.
- There is always fuel coming out the nozzle of the hose if the meter is turning (and vice versa).
- The last 80 - 100 litres that passes through the metre does not make it to the customers tank. However, the first 80 litres that the customer got was past the metre when it was reset to zero before the delivery.
- If the next customer wants another product, the change must be made at just the right time to ensure that the current customer gets only the correct product.

My family have a small oil distribution business.
 
Ah this old chestnut...I've explained this to many many people...

The hosepipe on the truck is never empty. It is full when the truck arrives and it is full when the truck leaves. Even if the tank on the truck is completely emptied the hosepipe remains full. In fact the only way to empty it is to disconnect either end and manually drain it.

In the case of the truck arriving with the wrong product in the hosepipe it is not emptied - it is replaced with the correct product. Then, and only then, should the meter be reset so that the amount put into the customers tank is the amount on the meter.

BTW my father has run an oil business for over 20 years and I myself have worked part time delivering for over 12 years.
 
QED said:
If the next customer wants another product, the change must be made at just the right time to ensure that the current customer gets only the correct product.
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Now we are getting somewhere. So if Customer A wants Agri Fuel and Customer B wants Road Diesel, they are both paying for for a Hose full of Fuel but not neccessarily receiving it.
 
TKK - Are you me??

(Although I don't think I'd ever say 'Ah, This Old Chestnut')
 
TKK said:
The hosepipe on the truck is never empty. It is full when the truck arrives and it is full when the truck leaves.
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I dissagree as I have seen where the pipe was emptied of Agri Diesel. Then and only then did the operator commence pumping the Road Diesel. Then the Driver was travelling to another property to deliver more Oil. Did not change over the Oil when at my property.

So therefore I have paid for a Hose full of Oil which I didn't receive.

The Tanker had different sections in it carrying different types of Oil.
 
mercman said:
Now we are getting somewhere. So if Customer A wants Agri Fuel and Customer B wants Road Diesel, they are both paying for for a Hose full of Fuel but not neccessarily receiving it.
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The customer only pays for what they receive.

Customer A wants 1,000 L of Agri Diesel. The truck arrives with with the the hose already full of Agri Diesel. The meter is set to zero and the filling is started.

When there is 900 Litres filled, the driver will change the fuel to a compartment containing Road Diesel. This Road Diesel will run through the metre into the hose, pushing the Agri Diesel into the Customer A's tank.

When there is 1,000 litres filled, Customer A will have received 1,000 Litres of Agri Diesel and the Road Diesel will be at the nozzle of the hose for Customer B.
 
Maybe, but in the real world it does not work that way. In my own case I saw him empty the pipe with Agri Diesel, saw the Road Diesel been filled and the Pipe remaining full when he left. I have asked the questions to my suppliers and have not received ANY answer. So in essence I have been paying for a Hose full of Oil which I have not received.

I'm not in the Fuel business (it shows). Just another quirke for Oil companies to get richer at the Punter's expense.
 
I can see how the system works as explained above regarding not being overcharged, but this does not explain what happened in mercmans case..

I wonder how many times this happens and i wonder how long you will be waiting for a reply???
 
How did he empty the hose ?.If he pumped it back into the truck,it had to be replaced in the hose by what he was changing to,as the hose is always full.So he should only put your invoice into the metre after he has changed over to road diesel,so he starts your fill with a full hose the same as every delivery.
As explained earlier each hose holds approx 100 ltr,which is always full as there is a spring loaded valve at the delivery end of the hose which closes when the meter trips off,or when he closes the delivery gun.In normal circumstances the driver would change over to your fuel approx 100 ltrs before the end of his previous delivery,but sometimes an order comes in beside the one your at,even though it may be for different fuel and it wouldn't make sense to drive past and have to return again.
I was an Oil delivery person for 22 years,now retired from this work and would have no reason to try and mislead you or stand up for any one in the trade.We always carried three different products,road diesel,agri diesel,kerosene on the one truck,so we were always changing over from one product to another.
 
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