I know it was 15 degrees the other day and my new vehicle has a 25-gallon tank and I was on "empty", but, man, did that gas pump take forever to fill my tank. Yes, it's all relative, I understand that, but do some pumps pump slower than others?

Gas station attendant at work
Minerva Studio
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I know the guy in the picture looks happy, but I wasn't. Is it a Massachusetts thing? Is it a safety issue? What is going on, here? I almost sat in the car while the gas was pumping now that Massachusetts has those stop-click things on the nozzle lol.

We opened this up for discussion on the air on Monday morning to see if listeners had any input or an actual reason why some gas pumps pump so SLOW. Some potential reasons included the following...

  • The pumps are too old
  • Too many people pumping at the same time
  • The filters are dirty
  • The owner of the gas station regulates the speed of flow
Aaron Savage, Townsquare Media
Aaron Savage, Townsquare Media
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While all are good answers, what I found out is that the FUEL FILTERS are to blame.

The most common cause of slow flow is clogged filters.  Filters can clog due to the age of the filter.  Although filters do not have a shelf life, as a general rule they should be changed once per calendar year. If you dispense over 100,000 gallons per month, we recommend changing filters every 6 months. -evora-group.com

So, unless you wanna walk your butt in the store and talk to the owner about the age and/or level of clean the pumps' filter is, I suggest you find another gas station and call it a day!

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