Had a near miss at a gas station off I-75 that changed my whole approach

I was filling up last month at a Shell station near Macon, Georgia, and the pump handle started clicking and spraying gas all over my hand. Turned out the nozzle boot was torn and the vapor recovery system was failing, so fuel was coming back out instead of going in the tank. Anyone else check pump equipment before you grab the handle now, or am I the only one who got spooked by this?

2 comments

2 Comments

skyler_adams20d ago

I hear you on the fuel filter thing, but I think you might be mixing up two different problems. A torn nozzle boot is a physical damage issue, not something from dirt or water in the tank.

finleycooper20d ago

Hear you on being spooked, but I gotta push back a little. In my experience, most nozzle failures at older stations are from dirt or water in the underground tank, not a torn boot. I've seen guys panic and blame the equipment when the real issue was the station hadn't done a drop test in months. Your mileage may vary, but I just look for a fuel filter warning or a wet spot on the ground before I even step out of the car. Take this with a grain of salt though, I've been pumping gas since I was a teenager and only had that happen once in 20 years.