What Happens to Gas Pumps During Minnesota’s Coldest Days

I am pretty sure I experienced a new level of hell in Minnesota.  You know how most cars give you a little "ding" when they get low on gas, well, it appears that someone in my house can't hear very well.  As I started my car to go to work, I see that someone left a generous amount of gas in my tank - I get to go a total of 24 miles.

Yep.

If you weren't aware, we have a huge list of schools and organizations in Southeast Minnesota and Iowa that are closed on Friday, January 23rd due to the "Dangerous Cold" that the National Weather Service has been warning us about.

As wind chills reach close to 50 below zero on Friday morning, it is suggested by the National Weather Service to "Keep gas tank at least 1/2 full".  It's the first thing on their list under Extreme Cold Safety Tips for Vehicles...and we are already failing at my house.

Unfortunately, if your gas tank is on the low side, like mine, there could be a challenge filling up the next few days.  I've lived this horrible reality before - just a few years ago when temps were plummeting to -20 and I was standing at a gas pump wondering why it wasn't working right.

READ MORE: 30 Reasons People in Minnesota Hate Winter - And You'll Relate To Them All

CAUTION: Gas Pumps May Freeze During Extreme Cold Temperatures in Minnesota

As I was freezing outside trying to fill up my gas tank, I got to $1.58 and the pump stopped.  I try squeezing it again and after a few more bucks, it stops.  I was only at about 5 gallons but that pump was done. It was a fight just to get the little amount of gas that I had.

After I got back in my car and warmed my fingers back up, I did a little Google search and learned that I wasn't the only one who has had this happen at a gas pump.

Gas pumps so slow took me 3 mins to pump $0.43 of gas
byu/model-citizen95 inTucson

While gasoline doesn't freeze easily, the pumps that we use at a gas station can have some huge issues when "dangerous cold" starts showing up as warnings. Here are a few things that the slow pump might be experiencing:

• frozen water in the fuel lines
• frozen water in the filters
• equipment could be failing due to the cold temperatures
• the display at gas pumps can also malfunction during freezing temperatures

If you've got an engineering brain and would like all of that summed up in words that are a bit more advanced, check out this AskEngineers Reddit page or alibaba.com.