Friday, November 22, 2024
Getting what you pay for
WSDA Weights and Measures Program
As the holidays approach, many families are feeling the pinch of increased costs for groceries, gas, and gifts. While there isn’t much we can do to help with the last on the list, our Weights and Measures Program is working to ensure you are getting what you pay for at the pump and grocery store.
Frank Fox places certified weights on a digital scale to test its accuracy. It passed!
Ensuring accurate measurement has been a problem ever since humanity began to measure. Even ancient texts have multiple references the just use of scales. As long as there have been scales, there have been reports of people in the marketplace — intentionally or not — using inaccurate measuring devices. And the Weights and Measures Program is one of the oldest programs at WSDA.
Frank Fox is part of a small but dedicated team of just six inspectors continuing a long tradition of making sure that commercial measuring devices are accurate so that consumers are getting the amount of product they pay for. This is no small task, considering there are a whopping 80,000 registered devices in the state. I met up with him in Port Angeles this month to get a behind-the-scenes look at testing scales and fuel pumps at a combo fuel station and convenience store in the area.
Grocery store scales
While a convenience store may not jump to mind when you think “grocery store,” if it sells a product by weight, it must use certified scales which are subject to periodic inspection by the WSDA Weights and Measures team. Both scales at the checkout stands as well as scales in food preparation areas are checked.
Once it passes inspection, each scale gets a new sticker indicating the last time it was checked.
Frank wheeled around a grocery cart that toted his precision certified weight set and computer — no doubt a back-saving trick learned after years of working as an inspector. One by one, Frank added the weights to the scale and ensured that the scale was accurate as each weight was added until he had 30 pounds of weight on the scale. Then, he removed them one by one, again ensuring that the scale was accurate as weight was removed, too.
The scale passed with flying colors, and Frank logged the inspection and passing mark into his database. The final step: adding an updated Weights and Measures inspection sticker to indicate when the scale most recently passed inspection.
Fuel pumps
Frank Fox closely watches the fuel pump while filling certified fuel measuring canisters.
After wrapping up inside, we headed to Frank's work truck to return his weight set and retrieve tools for checking the pumps. Rather than measuring weight, this time Frank checks for volume. Frank wheels out two certified canisters that precisely measure five gallons each.
On this trip, Frank started with the diesel pumps. The number of pumps tested is based on the number of fuel pumps at the station. Normally at least 15% are tested, but should a pump fail a test, additional pumps will be tested. If another pump fails, all pumps will be tested.
Frank carefully watches the fuel pump as it fills. He also inspects the hose and handle for leaks and makes sure the display includes the require information: price per gallon, total gallons, and total price.
As it approaches five gallons, he gives several quick squeezes of the fuel handle until it lands on exactly five gallons (playing a game many of us have played to get an exact number of gallons or, more likely, an exact price). He then checks the glass tube marking the precise amount of fuel in the canister. The pump is just a bit shy. “They are allowed to be plus or minus six cubic inches for five gallons,” Frank explains. The pump passes.
He moves on to another pump and goes through the same exercise. This one is right on the money.
This fuel pump was about three cubic inches below five gallons, which is within the +/- six cubic inches allowed by law.
“If the pump is under-fueling and not within the allowed margin of error, a notice of correction will be issued,” Frank says. The station has 30 days to correct the error, and the program will return to ensure it is fixed. If a pump is over-fueling, the station will be notified but no corrective action will be required.
Once both fuel canisters are full, we head to the in-ground fuel tanks, where the fuel is carefully returned. No fuel is wasted in the testing of the fuel pumps.
Fuel measured as part of the inspection is returned to the underground tanks so none is wasted.
Fuel pump stickers
When inspecting fuel pumps, Frank will check the diesel, regular, premium, and any special fuels, such as ethanol-free gasoline. Unlike the grocery scales indoors, the fuel pumps that pass get not one but three stickers.
Look for WSDA fuel pump stickers to ensure the pump has been inspected and has not been tampered with.
The first sticker covers the point where the fuel pump opens. An unbroken sticker indicates the pump has not been tampered with since the last inspection. Another sticker indicates the year that the pump was last checked and passed a WSDA Weights & Measures inspection. The final sticker (for gasoline pumps) is added to clearly indicate that the fuel contains up to 10% ethanol.
Not just volume
Before I head back to my car and a warmer location, Frank goes to his truck and pulls out an astoundingly long measuring stick. I watch with curiosity as he pulls out a tube of some whiteish substance that he then smears on the end of the stick.
Inspectors check underground tanks to see if water has contaminated the fuel.
“This is to check if there is water in the fuel,” Frank explains.
We head to the in-ground fuel tanks. Frank sticks the smeared end of the measuring stick into the tank and carefully unfolds the stick until it is fully extended and reaches the fuel, then reverses the process, bringing the stick back up. As I look at the end, it looks just as it did before being put in the tank. Very anticlimactic.
“Now watch this,” Frank says.
He put the end of the stick in some water that had accumulated outside of the tank. The substance on the end of the stick turned a fluorescent purple color, indicating the presence of water.
“If there had been water in the stored in-ground fuel,” Frank explained, “then it would have changed color when I put this in the fuel tank. There isn’t any water in this fuel, which is what we want.”
If water is found in a fuel storage tank, the test stick turns bright purple. (No water was found in the fuel on this inspection. It was placed in water afterward for demonstration purposes.)
Public reports welcome
Checking over 80,000 commercial measuring devices with six inspectors may seem an impossible feat — and it is. But Frank says he loves his job. He gets to know his region well and sees areas he might not otherwise know about. And he likes that isn’t stuck behind a computer much of the time.
As recently as 2010, there were 16 inspectors. Facing budget shortfalls, public reports are important to help find and respond to suspected issues with commercial measuring devices. The program prioritizes public complaints and usually investigates within 48 hours. Complaints about fuel pumps are most common, including fuel pumps that keep charging even after they are no longer pumping or consumers who are charged for more fuel than their tank actually holds.
If you suspect a commercial measuring device is not measuring correctly, the Weights and Measures Program welcomes public reports. You can submit a report to wtsmeasures@agr.wa.gov and include details about the issue you encountered and the location. Photos and videos are also welcome.
Visit agr.wa.gov/wm to learn more about WSDA’s Weights and Measures program.