Filling petrol or diesel in our vehicles is a common routine for automobile owners and these tips could help you ensure that you don’t get ripped off at the petrol pumps.
A famous YouTuber shares tips that could help you prevent getting ripped off at the petrol pumps while filling fuel in your vehicles. This applies to cars, as well as bikes. Going to a petrol pump is a common phenomenon for all of us. Yet, you must’ve heard so many stories related to frauds being committed at the petrol pumps. Some workers at petrol pumps come up with unique ways to steal fuel or not fill the exact amount of fuel in the vehicle. These tips could help you avoid such situations.
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7 Tips While Filling Fuel At Petrol Pumps
- Density of the fuel: This is a common and easy way to judge the quality of petrol or diesel at a petrol pump. Every petrol pump is required to have this number displayed on the machine, although not a lot of people bother to check it. For petrol, this number should range between 720 – 775 kg/m3 and for diesel, between 820 – 860 kg/m3 according to Indian standards. Avoid going to the petrol pumps where this number is not mentioned or is something other than this.
- Check ZERO: This is a point we are too familiar with and that is precisely the reason why we could take it for granted. Before filling petrol or diesel in your vehicle, make sure that the machine reads 0.
- Jump Trick: This is a bit specific and you need to be attentive while at the petrol pumps to avoid this. Petrol pumps owners have calibrated the machine in such a way that when the filling starts, the reading jumps from 0 to 20 or above directly. This is a common way to steal fuel using the machine. In regular circumstances, this jump should not be more than 5. This means that after 0, you must see the amount less than Rs 5 to consider the machine normal.
- Wrong Figure Trick: The modern petrol pumps have installed digital and automatic machines but there are many areas that have the older machines. In such machines, the operator could calibrate the machine in such a way that it displays the correct amount but does not release the corresponding fuel. To tackle this, make sure that you ask them to fill fuel for some random number like Rs 124 and not a round number like Rs 200.
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- Ask for receipt: Asking for a receipt, is a great way to have a record of the exact amount of fuel filled in your vehicle, the density of the fuel and a written record of the transaction in the case of any misunderstanding or malice intention from either party.
- Ask the operator to fill the fuel manually: This is a bit difficult to perform but it could help you avoid encountering any unfavourable calibration that the petrol pump owner might be using. Ask the operator not to feed the amount of fuel to be filled at the beginning, rather fill the petrol directly. This ensures that the machine doesn’t get any chance to fabricate the numbers. For this, make sure to have Rs 2-5 in coins. This is because when done manually, it is almost impossible to stop at exactly the number you asked for. To avoid inconvenience to the petrol pump operators, you could carry spare change to pay the extra amount.
- No need to choose a particular petrol pump: Some people think that Indian Oil is better than Hindustan Petroleum or Reliance is better than Indian Oil, etc. However, all these petrol pumps essentially use the same fuel that is delivered to them from their nearest oil refinery. Refineries are not different for different oil companies. The oil is manufactured according to the stands set by the government. So, don’t waste time and fuel on finding the petrol pump of your liking.
