Gas pump and fuel dispenser may be used to refer to the same piece of equipment but the difference is in the process of getting fuel from fuel storage tank to the vehicle.
When one looks at a gas pump and a dispenser at the gas station, they are similar on the outside and cannot be differentiated from the outer covering. To know whether it is a gas pump or gas dispenser you have to first remove the outer covering (panels).
It is better to understand a gas station pump and gas dispenser before buying and installation of these equipments for your station this is because have pros and cons over each other. There are cases where a gas dispenser is the best option and others a gas pump is the best.
The difference between a gas pump and gas dispenser is in the process by which fuel gets pumped from the underground tank into the vehicle. To understand this one has known the process how they work.
The main difference between gas pump and fuel dispenser is that a gas pump uses suction process involving an electric motor and pumping unit connected together by a driving belt to suck fuel from the fuel storage tank while fuel dispenser uses a submersible fuel pump located in the underground tank to pump fuel from the storage tank to into the car.
Gas pump (Gas station pump)
fuel dispenser
Table of Contents
illustration of a gas pump (suction pipping system)
illustration of a suction pump at a gas station
illustration of a pressured system piping for fuel dispenser
Full form of Abbreviations used STP – Submersible Turbine Pump
together by a driving belt to suck fuel from the fuel storage tank to the vehicle. A gas suction pump can also be called a gas pump.
Total fuel stations use gas pump or gas suction pumps and most old gas stations.
When a fuel station has gas suction pumps, each pump has fuel pipes running separately from the fuel storage tank to it. For example, if a gas pump sales two products (diesel and petrol), it has two separate pipes connected from it to the fuel storage tank.
What is a submersible fuel pump?
A submersible fuel pump is an electrical mechanical equipment where the electric motor is air tightly sealed and close coupled to the pump body that is used to pump fuel from the fuel storage tank to the fuel dispenser. The pumping unit and the electric motor are in one unit. The submersible fuel pumps used for pumping fuel are different from those used for pumping water.
A fuel dispenser uses a fuel submersible fuel pump located in the fuel storage tank.
How submersible fuel pump and fuel dispenser work?
Red jacket submersible pump (stp) used with fuel sispenser
During gas dispensing a fuel nozzle is removed from the fuel dispenser, it sends an electric signal to power the submersible fuel pump. when the submersible fuel pump is powered it pumps fuel from the fuel tank to the metering unit inside the fuel dispenser for measuring, then it is dispensed off to the car. Â
One submersible pump can feed all fuel dispenser on the forecourt with a single product. If a gas station has two products (diesel and petrol) only two fuel submersible fuel pumps are needed to serve all dispenser on the courtyard.Â
This system using the submersible fuel pump to pump fuel to the gas dispenser is referred to as a pressure system because fuel is pumped under pressure to the dispenser.
fuel tank with submersible pump installed, this connects to fuel dispenser
fuel tank connecting to gas pump, (no submersible pump)
Difference between gas pump and fuel dispenser.
No
Gas pump
Fuel dispenser
1
Uses suction pump to suck fuel from the storage tank
Uses submersible fuel pump to pump fuel from the fuel storage tank
2
Gas pump is self-contained with its pumping unit and electric motor.
Fuel dispenser is not self-contained, it uses a submersible fuel pump located in fuel storage tank
3
Uses suction system to deliver fuel
Uses pressure system to deliver fuel
4
low power consumption
high power consumption
5
Low safety requirement as compared to fuel dispenser
High safety requirement because it uses pressure technology to pump fuel from fuel storage tank
Pros and cons of gas pump and fuel dispenser
Advantages and disadvantages of gas pump and fuel dispensers.
When one pumping unit of one of the gas pumps at the forecourt of a gas station fails to pump fuel, the other gas pumps continue working normally because each gas pump is self-contained with its electric motor and pumping unit hence reducing on the chances of all gas pumps failing to deliver fuel at the same time
For fuel dispensers, a submersible fuel pump located in the fuel storage tank is used to pump fuel at high pressure through the dispenser filters to the metering unit up to dispensing, if a submersible fuel pump breaks down due to any fault. All the fuel dispensers at the gas station cannot dispense fuel for one product. For example, if a gas station sells two products diesel and petrol and a submersible fuel pump located in the petrol fuel tank fails, all the dispensers at the forecourt cannot dispense petrol.
For fuel dispensers using submersible fuel pump, the Shear valve and break away are a must use for safety at the petrol station while for gas suction pumps they are not a must use though may be required also.
Many gas suction pumps are more expensive than many fuel dispensers and submersible fuel pumps at the gas station forecourt.
Gas suction pumps at the forecourt of a petrol station make a lot of noise while dispensing fuel while fuel dispensers are very quiet.
Fuel dispensers are easy to do preventive maintenance because of there few components as compared to gas suction pumps with electric motors and pumping units.
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