Old Gas Pumps * USA - Prove problematic as prices rise

Some of the older mom-and-pop gas stations are facing a potentially costly dilemma

Grain Valley,MO,USA -The Associated Press/Land Line Magazine -May 15, 2008: -- ... Their old-fashioned pumps with the spinning mechanical dials can’t register a sale above $3.99 per gallon or a fill-up of more than $99.99... As many as 8,500 of the nation’s 170,000 service stations have old-style meters that need to be fixed – or about 17,000 individual pumps, Bob Renkes, executive vice president of the Petroleum Equipment Institute of Tulsa, OK, told ... Many of those pumps are in rural areas where owners are barely scraping by and there’s not much business. Owners will have to either evolve or get out of the business... So, if gas breaks the $4 barrier – and it’s almost there – those station owners, many of whom are barely scraping by, are faced with spending upwards of $10,000 to $15,000 for each new pump. Station owners can buy less expensive upgrade kits, but there’s a backlog of at least four months in obtaining the parts... (Photo from DelsJourney - An old gas station in New Ulm with 15 cent-a-gallon gasoline. Fill 'er up!)