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Question: What are the regulations regarding calibration of gasoline pumps? I went to Sam’s Club to get gas and I noticed that the meter on the pump registers 25 cents to 40 cents before any gas starts coming out. If you stop and start again, there’s that same lag.
Answer: It may look like you’re being short-changed, but you’re not, according to the state Department of Agriculture’s Measurement Standards Branch.
It knows that because it has sent inspectors out on countless similar complaints and verified that gas is being dispensed as soon as the pump is triggered, said Wendell Murakami, program specialist for measuring instruments.
The anomaly has to do with the design of the pump and nozzle used by most gas stations. Murakami estimates about 80 percent of all gas pumps use this type of system, which appeared about 10 years ago.
"We’ve had numerous complaints about this type of nozzle," in which it initially does not appear to be pumping gas, Murakami said.
"Customers would say, ‘I pull the trigger and see the display going 17, 18, 20 cents, whatever, and no gas is coming out,’" he said. "Then you hear this ‘click’ and then you feel this surge."
People assume that’s when the gas starts coming out. In actuality, Murakami said, gas begins coming out immediately as the trigger is pulled, but it’s coming out very slowly.
Inspectors use a measuring container called a "Prover" to test the pumps, to see if the amount of gasoline pumped corresponds to the amount charged.
After a certain point, inspectors stopped going out on complaints like yours.
"It doesn’t mean that every gas pump is accurate," Murakami said. But based on numerous checks and tests on similar complaints, customers were getting the amount of gas they paid for, he said.
Question: Perhaps some more eye-catching signs need to be put up at Ala Wai regarding the tow-away times. It used to be that street parking was OK after 8:30 a.m., so the other morning I waited until 8:30, parked. Fortunately, someone pointed out that the tow-away time is now 8:30 until 11:30 a.m. With limited parking in Waikiki, is it really necessary to clean Ala Wai Boulevard for hours every day?
Answer: Ala Wai Boulevard has been designated a tow-away zone 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Mondays AND Fridays, not Mondays THROUGH Fridays, for nearly five years.
Signs saying that are posted every 100 yards or so along the entire length of the Ala Wai, said Keoki Miyamoto, acting director of the city Department of Facility Maintenance.
"We did notice that a few signs have been defaced with stickers, which will be removed," he said.
A February 2006 news release said the parking prohibition was in response to public complaints and environmental concerns about trash along the mauka curb of the street. The continuous presence of vehicles parked along the curb was said to have prevented proper cleaning.
"In the interest of public health and in an effort to comply with federal and state regulations governing storm runoff, we need to be able to get in and clean those areas," the city said at the time.
Photo Found
I found an 8×10 color photo of what looks like a high school class reunion on Hind Drive near the bridge in Aina Haina. There is no identifying information. — Aina Haina Resident
If it’s your photo, call 529-4773 and leave a message. We’ll put you in touch with the finder.
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Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
