These would be like drink machines kinda, you put your money in the bowser and thats how much petrol you get, you wouldn't even need a petrol station wich are resembling supermarkets these days anyway, they would be great to put on long outback roads where you need to carry your own fuel.
-- Gulherme, Dec 17 2002

Arco PayPoint http://www.petroret...1/0201/0201tuiv.asp
Baked [linguist, Oct 05 2004]

Oh wow, I misread this as vending machine *browser*. It got me thinking about a halfbakery vending machine...

"Damn you" <kicks machine> "I had almost finished my complex multipart idea, and you just ate my last 10c"

But yes, an automated bowser is a good idea. We could have used one on our last big drive. I wonder if it has ever been done, and if not why not.
-- madradish, Dec 17 2002


Nope. I can't agree to this. It would make redundant one of the few skills I have - filling my car's petrol tank up with exactly 10 or 20 pounds (Sterling). I scoff at others as they go to 10.02 and 20.01. I smirk at them when they pay and have to receive change. Meanwhile I can stride confidently into the shop and arrogantly throw my notes at the cashier.

Oh all right - it makes sense. Except the whole possiblity of electricity in proximity to petrol and nobody to look after it.
-- Jinbish, Dec 17 2002


So it's a very small coin-operated filling station with the tank above ground? Why? How often are you planning on re-filling it?
-- angel, Dec 17 2002


Baked <link>
-- linguist, Dec 17 2002


I'm sure I've said this before, but here goes.
Many filling stations in the UK have one or two pumps where you can insert your credit/debit card and fill up. Payment is automatically deducted from your account. There is a limit to the amount of fuel that can be delivered, usually £40 (about 3 litres-worth at UK prices). So the idea is sort of baked in that real life has produced a more advanced version. Retro-baked?
-- egbert, Dec 17 2002


As a nod to the impact of Super Mario on popular culture, I acknowledge that when I first read the title I envisioned a vending machine disguised as a giant, spiky, cartoon turtle monster.
-- Pharaoh Mobius, Dec 17 2002


I assumed that the tanks would be above ground because [Gulherme] states "you wouldn't even need a petrol station", which to me implies the absence of a permanent structure. If the tank is, in fact, below ground, what distinguishes this from any coin-op filling station?
-- angel, Dec 17 2002


I was thinking of bowsers at the side of the road, they could have underground tanks and could be filled back up at regular intervals throughout the year, There are many long drives in Australia and in the rest of the world too that require you to carry your own petrol. people have been trapped in the desert because they are too stupid to carry their own fuel or somthing has happend to the fuel they are carrying, some people have even died. Placing coin or note opperated petrol bowsers in such regions might make the trip more appealing to some people who otherwise wouldnt make it and help those who make it regularly.
-- Gulherme, Dec 17 2002


I've seen unmanned card-lock systems around since I was old enough to notice them.

Roughly late 80s/early 90s.

Maybe the gas companies just haven't gotten around to updating the remote stations in the outback?
-- rapid transit, May 20 2003



random, halfbakery