New Pain At The Pump-Water Found In Gas

Alabama Mobile If the price of gas these days isn't enough to make you mad imagine filling up only to find out that 61 dollar tank of gas you bought ends up costing you about a thousand bucks. That's exactly what one couple says happened to them while visiting the Gulf Coast. News 5's Kimberly Curth investigates.

by Kimberly Curth

Published: Wed, May 28, 2008 - 9:00 pm CST

If the price of gas these days isn't enough to make you mad, imagine, filling up only to find out that 61 dollar tank of gas you just bought ends up costing you about a thousand bucks. That's exactly what one couple says happened to them while visiting the Gulf Coast. News 5's Kimberly Curth investigates.

Martha and Bruce Sorensen say their vacation was ruined after filling up Sunday at the D.I.P. Food Mart on Dauphin Island Parkway in Mobile, "well we we're going to be here for four whole days and we sat in the hotel for two whole days without transportation," said Martha Sorensen.

At more than 4 bucks a gallon, they filled up with premium and were on their way, "as soon as I started the car and pulled out into traffic the car started bucking really hard. It was hard to shift and so I did, it stalled," said Martha Sorensen.

The Sorensens say their 61 dollar gas purchase ended up costing them about a thousand dollars in car repairs, "they had to drain the tank, they had to refill the tank, clean it, refill it, change filters," said Martha Sorensen. According to the Sorensen's car repair bill, the fuel quality was tested and a large amount of water was found in the fuel.

We went to the gas station and found an inspector from the Alabama Department of Agriculture there. He didn’t want to go on camera but confirms he was there to investigate whether water was in the fuel. An out of order sign was placed on some of the pumps. The gas station manager who also would not go on camera says they were ordered to do that by the inspector.

We talked with the State Department of Agriculture. Steadman Hollis tells us the inspector did find a small trace of water Wednesday in the premium gas. But, says it was nothing that was out of the ordinary. And, he says the out of order signs were removed because all the pumps were in compliance. The tanks were not tested this weekend. He says they will keep an eye on this gas station.

There is good news to report. After talking with News 5, the gas station manager tells us they will reimburse the Sorensens for their expensive repair bill.

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rosepetal Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 12:48 pm

asda but make sure the tanks are up to date with adem so if there is a problem with the current tanks it will not cost you to clean up the trust fund fee will pay if its in good standing

asda Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 12:38 pm

rosepetal thank you for the information. I have been talking to a real estate agent about a gas station that is not in business currently and that was one of the questions I asked him and he had no idea.

rosepetal Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 12:18 pm

asda it would be so expensive to replace those tanks i am positive i am talking big bucks no way would anyone do this

rosepetal Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 12:04 pm

asda i was told that you would not have to install new tanks but there is something you have to do at the pump with very little cost

asda Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 11:54 am

rosepetal - You seem to know quite a bit about gas stations so I have a question for you.—If you wanted to start carrying a new type of fuel like Bio Diesel or Ethanol would you have to install all new tanks or could you use already installed tanks and just clean them?

rosepetal Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 11:03 am

let me perfectly clear water in the tank is rare most stations have a high water alarm and get rid of the problem before it can reach the customer but sometimes it does happen the other trash is caught at the fueling dispenser by the filters at the pump

carl Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 10:52 am

It seems the distributor would put an additive in the tanker truck to blend with the water so it could be burned and not leave the stations and customers wondering if this fill-up is going to be the one that gets you. As a customer or a station owner , I don’t think you would like to be paying these high prices for water.

rosepetal Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 10:20 am

all dispensers have filters in them to catch the trash but not water no matter what grade one time when i kept having to change my filters i was told the trash had to be coming in from the truck delivering it but still the trash never made it to the customer because of the filters at the pump

MeAmerican Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 9:42 am

Being so close to sea level don’t help matters for the station operater.

There is no filter at the pump since the pump is submerged in the tank. The pump is normally 2to6 inches depending on conditions and installation crew.

The only difference between supreme and the others is that it is used less so things tend to settle for longer periods of time because that tank takes on fuel less often, therefore when they do get a “drop” in that tank and whoever happens to be putting in “The Good Stuff” they are actually getting healthy dose of the bad stuff. Very well good be the case here

BamaBob Says:

Thu, May 29, 2008 at 8:33 am

Glad the station did the right thing. There is no way for a customer to know the condition of the fuel before they pump and they can only expect to get what is advertised.

Is this problem more common with the premium fuels? I doubt that many people are using premium these days, so it may be more vulnerable to atmospheric changes. Maybe?

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