The answer is yes. You can pay at the pump with a card and pump your gas.

I thought for sure it wouldn’t work because that has to be some sort of safety violation. No one manning the emergency shutoff has to be a fire code violation.

Whatevs, I made it home.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
The answer is yes. You can pay at the pump with a card and pump your gas.

I thought for sure it wouldn’t work because that has to be some sort of safety violation. No one manning the emergency shutoff has to be a fire code violation.

Whatevs, I made it home.

This is the silliest thing I've ever heard.
I guess you're too close to New Jersey.

Of course you can buy gas at a closed gas station as long as the pumps are on.
The fuel cutoffs are very visible and marked for the common consumer if needed.
At least here in a free state they are..

It's been decades since I had to interact with an actual employee to get gas. It's always been self service with a card swiped at the pump. So the presence/absence of an employee or even the open/closed status of the store building itself has no bearing on that capability.



I've also never been to a gas station where anyone was "manning the emergency shutoff". Must be a PA thing?

There's always one on the outside, conspicuously labeled.

It would be harder and take longer for the employee(s) inside to notice a problem and hit the shutoff than it would for a customer that's already outside to notice a problem and hit the outside shutoff.

I’m saying the place was closed. No lights. Couldn’t even see the slot to put my card in. I had to feel for it.

Every gas station has an emergency shut off at the console by the register. You guys are silly.

It's not all unfortunately. The gas station in my hometown (yes, "the" haha) only started doing this about a year or two ago. Very helpful during storms when I lost power and needed to get more gas for the generator.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeNH:
It's not all unfortunately. The gas station in my hometown (yes, "the" haha) only started doing this about a year or two ago. Very helpful during storms when I lost power and needed to get more gas for the generator.

yeah, I figure the smaller family owned shops close the power down after hours. I was lucky tonight, I was 33 miles from home and the computer said I had 21 miles worth of gas left.

Our farm O-op the next town over has the pumps on24/7 365 with no person on site. I haven’t used it in a couple years but you swiped yer co-op card etc then your payment. Never gave it a thought about being unmanned, just that it was convenient at midnight or 2am if you needed fuel for personal vehicle, semi or off road fuel.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Couldn’t even see the slot to put my card in.

Where was your flashlight?

Whenever I’ve ever paid any attention, all the gas stations I’ve been at have had an emergency shutoff switch located someplace outside and in the vicinity of the pumps.

And yes, I’ve gotten gas at “closed” stations many times, although I don’t recall ever having done that at a place that was completely dark. I’ll keep it in mind that it’s probably still possible, and which of course would make sense.

I poke fun at our tiny town sometimes by telling people they roll the sidewalks up and close the 24 hour convenience store at sundown… They DO leave the pumps on however!

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

Whenever I’ve ever paid any attention, all the gas stations I’ve been at have had an emergency shutoff switch located someplace outside and in the vicinity of the pumps.

Yes, of course. But obviously there are multiple emergency shutoff stations, and one is most definitely inside near the register.

Good to know. I’ve always wondered that as well.

Some yes, others no.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Every gas station has an emergency shut off at the console by the register. You guys are silly.

The shutoffs are accessible by the customers and are located on the outside of the cashiers kiosk at the Chevrons I've been to.

But as to your comment about a closed, lights out station, I've never seen that. I've only seen stations where the lights are on but nobody is working.

Our local WalMart station (Murphy USA) recently added signage and a flag type advertisement identifying that they will now start having two pumps on 24/7.

This just happened in the last two months so prior I think all of their pumps were shut off when they closed. This may be something that they are now doing at all Wal-Mart gas station locations. Not sure but wanted to share because we all are aware that there are Wal-Marts in a lot of towns, big and small.

quote:

Originally posted by sigarmsp226:
Our local WalMart station (Murphy USA) recently added signage and a flag type advertisement identifying that they will now start having two pumps on 24/7.

This just happened in the last two months so prior I think all of their pumps were shut off when they closed. This may be something that they are now doing at all Wal-Mart gas station locations. Not sure but wanted to share because we all are aware that there are Wal-Marts in a lot of towns, big and small.

The one near my place is open 24 hours, I go at like 2AM usually because any other time it's lined up to the street since it has the lowest prices around.

Any gas station I've ever seen in Michigan that closes shuts off the pumps.

In recent years, I have only encountered a closed gas station one time while needing gas. I typically stay on the interstate when I travel. This particular station was off I-75 in Georgia, don't remember if it was north of south of Atlanta, we were on our way from Chicago to Orlando. The pumps were still on so we got gas and then hit the interstate again.

Lately, my stops have been timed to stop at Buc-ee's. I know there are plenty of pumps and plenty of clean bathrooms.

I was sentenced to 12 years (self imposed) at the gas station.

Locations were I worked that were not 24 hour operations had the power shut off and the pumps padlocked.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Couldn’t even see the slot to put my card in.

Where was your flashlight?

...

Yeah, the flashlight was at home on my bed stand, of course.
It wasn’t a planned trip.

I have been to closed stations where the pumps are down, so its a YMMV kind of thing (pun).