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For some time, there has been pressure upon local authorities to permit self-service petrol sales to be made from stations in various parts of the country. In the first concept of self-service, it was a question only of coin-operated measuring instruments for the sale of relatively small quantities of mixtures of petrol and oil for two-stroke motor vehicles.
During the past few years only a small number of local authorities had approved such installations under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act, 1928, or, more correctly perhaps, under their Principles or Conditions of licensing premises under Section 1 of that Act. Several rather peculiar situations developed over this offering differing opinion; adjacent local petroleum authorities, for example, hold opposite views. Until 1963 this was the pattern and concept of self-service petrol trading in the United Kingdom.
Earlier this year there came the news that a self-service station was to be opened in Plymouth which was quite unique; it would retail petrol to all types of motorists, and the equipment was of a Continental manufacture. The local authority concerned had agreed to licence the premises using a full self-service system of a type not previously conceived in this country, and certainly not approved anywhere by any other local petroleum authority.
All this proved to be true and at Easter 1963, the first fully co-ordinated, self-service station opened in Plymouth. By this, the concept of self-service was changed from that previously referred to above.
This concept might now be conveniently divided into two distinct solutions. Firstly, there is the new system as installed in Plymouth, employing in this case Swedish equipment, and using conventional-looking “petrol measuring instruments” albeit some of the full blending type. But all instruments have already received approval as to design by the Board of Trade under Section 6 of the Weights and Measures Act, 1904.
The only addition that really shows is a small “signal” button on the side of the unit housing. To each integrating headwork, however, (and these are of the Veeder Root type with mechanical or hydraulic zeroising equipment), there is fitted a small transducer operating so that each pulse of the transmitter occurs with each 1/50 or (.02) of a gallon passing through the instrument.
These pulses are fed to a computer in a central control cabin and as a delivery from the unit is taken, the pulses are at the same time recording on the cabin computer the amount of petrol being delivered.
At the unit, and at termination of delivery, the instrument shows both gallonage delivered and the total price. On the blending pumps (blending is done at the nozzle), two units side by side are employed and seven different grades of petrol can be obtained by personal selection. Whichever one chosen, the selection is recorded on a system of red coloured lights on the control cabin computer. Thus, the controller is aware of the price to charge for a particular blend.
On the computer, for each unit, there are three other lights: one amber, one green and one red, immediately above the gallonage computer. When a customer arrives at a unit (there are nine dispensers on the station in Plymouth, including three blenders, and room for seven cars at a time), he or she presses the signal button. This lights up the amber light on the computer and makes a buzzing noise.
The controller can select that unit on the broadcast voice system and speak to the customer. All the latter has to do is to speak towards the microphone (speaker arranged over the units) and thereby receiving instructions, if required, on how to operate the unit. The controller then presses the “Start” button on the computer panel and the green light appears. The unit is then activated.
As soon as the customer switches on the unit motor, the red light on the control panel comes on. Those two lights remain on all the time the delivery is taken by the customer and, as described above, the gallonage is shown ticking over on the computer.
As soon as delivery is completed and the customer puts off the unit motor switch, the green light on the computer goes off (the red one remaining on) and the unit and the computer’s indications are then “frozen”.
The customer, leaving his car by the unit, goes over to the control cabin and pays the controller. The customer then returns to his car and drives away.
At that time, the controller presses a “reset” button on the computer and the gallonage on the computer is removed and shows zero again. The gallonage indicator on the computer shows tens of gallons, gallons, 1/10 gallons and 1/50 gallons – the latter two, in fact, by decimal indications (i.e. .1 and .02).
The gallonage and price indications on the unit remain until the next customer arrives, when the putting on the unit motor switch zeroises the pump’s indicators immediately.
All the contactors from the computer panel from the “start”, “Stop” and “Re-Set” buttons etc are housed in a room beneath the control cabin on a lower floor. In the cabin there is a main isolating switch, cutting off both power and lighting to every unit.
There are also individual power and lighting switches (nine of each) in the Control cabin to facilitate maintenance etc, enabling safe work on each unit. Near the exit from the station, there is also another main isolating switch which will also cut off all power and lighting to all the units.
The topographical features of this site are such that the underground petrol tanks are two floors down and all petrol passes through about 350ft of pipe-line. Due to this large static lift and length of pipeline, a pump house is provided adjacent to the main storage tanks (3 x 5000 gallons).
Twelve petrol lines run into the pump house which has twelve pumping units and nine electric motors; in the base of the blending pumping units one motor drives two units (100 octane and regular grades).
The pump house is provided with electric isolating switches for all electric motors and the equipment there is flame-proof.
Return lines from the dispensing units due to hydraulic zeroising equipment in some of them, join lines from the vents of the air separators on the top or the pumping units and return any petrol vapour direct to the storage tank. This ensures atmospheric pressure being maintained in all these return and vent lines.
In the pump house, on the pressure side or all petrol lines, there are fitted gate valves and non-return valves. All the petrol lines from the pump house, passing through two floors, are encased in at least four inches of solid concrete.
Since the petrol lines have pressure lines at the base of each dispensing unit on the forecourt, there are fitted impact valves in the line. These valves will close if a unit is hit hard or is knocked, and the petrol is then by-passed in the pump house.
If a fire develops in the dispensing unit, a fusible link on the impact valve melts and the valve also closes.
Special Principles or Construction and Licence Conditions for this particular station were laid down. These were based on an analysis of the hazards etc. on this type of installation and the experience gained in the building of it has proved that those are generally adequate.
Prior to the opening of this station, I was privileged to make a visit, with a party of oil company executives to Sweden and Denmark, travelling via Holland and Germany and I visited nine self-service filling stations in Sweden – five, in fact, in Stockholm and four in Malmo.
I found this type of installation commonplace there; in both of these cities customers I spoke to said they preferred to help themselves and buy petrol a little cheaper by doing so.
The controllers in the cabins always seemed to know exactly what was going on inside, and in no way did there appear to be any untoward difficulty or hazard expected.
From enquiries I made of operators and from the Government Explosives Department which I visited in Stockholm no fire or incidents had occurred on any filling stations in Sweden, of which there are some 300 with over 3,000 dispensing units.
I saw installations with 18 and 15 units operated by one controller and was informed that a four-unit station could sell 2,000 gallons a day and the larger one had sold 9,000 gallons a day. These figures are surprisingly high compared to sales on conventional filling stations in the United Kingdom.
There are several self-service petrol stations in Denmark and in Holland, so it would seem the spread of this type or installation might be expected in the near future.
It is understood that the opening of similar self-service stations in England is contemplated if approval can be obtained from Local Authorities. This would mean a complete change in the present pattern of petrol refuelling and one it is thought that will attract the younger generation.
It is also felt that sales can be considerably increased by self service provided sites are well designed. Most stations in Sweden have small, staggered unit islands, and this or the circular pattern as in Plymouth which seems to offer the most efficient layout.
Doubtless the motorist himself will determine this issue and time experience will only show the success, or otherwise of a new and interesting concept and a bold venture by both developer and the Local Authority.
This article appeared in The Bulletin in July 1963 some 63 years ago and demonstrates some of the concerns that the Petroleum Licensing Authorities had when considering this new phenomena called self-service.
The Association of Petroleum Acts Administration (which was our name then) proved to be a valuable organisation in discussing and coming up with solutions to the public safety concerns the industry was having.
It eventually led to the publication of a code of practise for self-service stations which was published by the APAA all those years ago.
I wonder what the author Mr Billings would have thought about our unattended unmanned stations we operate today?
Jamie Thompson