I've been working on a design to have the Bennett 966 pump I'm restoring to visually work as it did when in service. Here is the progress as of today.

The lights will be activated via the push/pull handle on the side cover. I'll use LED bulbs so the power draw will be minimal. All wiring and porcelain sockets were replaced and wiring is routed through the rigid conduit that was original to the pump.

To enable the pump dials to spin when the nozzle handle is depressed I've added a few components. These include a small AC motor, an AC/DC power supply, an Omron 12VDC relay and a small momentary switch.

The power supply, relay and switch all reside in a 6x6x4 electrical enclosure mounted slightly below the pumps computer.

The drive motor is mounted under the computer on a mounting plate I cut from .125 inch aluminum sheet. This mounting plate is attached to the pump's computer via 3 existing threaded holes in its base. In discussing this design with a friend he suggested that he had the perfect motor to drive the computer. It's a Bodine 60 RPM gear reduction AC motor. It's probably overkill for this use, but the price was right(free).

We machined a small connector piece that attaches to the motors shaft and fits into the computers drive connection.

Fabricating a switch into the nozzle's handle proved to be the most challenging task. I decided to use a low voltage solution to perform this function, thus the above mentioned AC/DC transformer/rectifier. In the event of a short circuit, the low voltage DC current would not be life threatening if the switch fails.

Removing the nozzle from the pump body and raising the activation handle will mechanically close a momentary switch using the pumps existing control linkage and a small adjustable linkage I've added for the last movement to push close the momentary switch.

This monetary switch when held compressed will then energize the AC/DC power supply. One leg of the power supply's 12VDC output will be routed through the pumps gasoline supply piping, through the visual plumbing, out the hose and into the nozzle.

The design is to place a switch into the nozzle so when the handle is compressed it would complete the circuit and energize the Omron relay. The relays' NO(Normal Open) contacts will then close which would in turn energize the AC motor and begin to drive the pump's computer dials.

After considering several options I've decided to fabricate a switch using a combination of the nozzles original parts and a couple other parts selected for the task. To limit the nozzle handle's travel I've installed a small tube over the handle's plunger. This prevents the internal valve body from opening completely and prevents it from pinching the low voltage wires. The low voltage circuit travels through the nozzle body to a contact mounted in a nylon rod machined to fit into the nozzles cap. I've also swapped out the original spring for a smaller diameter and weaker one. It's kind of difficult to explain but hopefully the following pictures will clarify the text.

This pic shows the small tube fitted to the nozzle's handle shaft to limit it's travel.

With the handle depressed the nozzle valve stops short of pinching the low voltage wire headed to the upper contact.

This existing valve body functions as the lower contact so when the handle is compressed contact is made to complete the low voltage circuit and activate the pumps motor.

A nylon rod was machined to fit into the nozzle's cap and insulates one end of the circuit. I made several trial fits to determine the correct size to fit well into the nozzle then cut the nylon rod to size and somewhat rounded the end to fit into the cap.

The wire enters from the side of the spring and enters from the top through a hole drilled through the center of the nylon insulator. The wire end gets bent around to create a contact point.

When installing the nozzle cap with the wire for the upper contact I found it easiest to wrap the wire counter clockwise around the spring 6-8 times and then as you screw on the cap you unwind the wire by pulling it out the nozzle hose end. Then once the cap is secured the wire should be headed out the nozzle hose end and not be wound around the spring to impede the nozzle handle operation.

The other nozzle circuit wire is soldered to a small utility clamp which has the coating removed and gets inserted into the nozzle body, hose end so it creates contact with the nozzle body to complete the circuit.

I've run all the wiring through existing conduit, or in the case of the nozzle switch, through the pumps gasoline supply route and out the hose to the nozzle. I was fortunate that the Bennett I acquired was basically complete so all the internal components were there.

I'll attach a wiring diagram shortly.

Thanks to Tom Buckles for supplying some needed parts and to Joe Maulsby for sharing some photo's and taking time to speak with me.

Here is the wiring diagram:

As a guy who is 80 years old and still have projects to finish, you have too much time on your hands. I wish I had the hours you spent to help me on writing my gas pump book.

Just messing with you, great idea.

Jack Sim

No offense taken Jack. I also have many projects to finish, but since this was my first gas pump restoration sometimes you need to step back and work on things that you really enjoy, versus what you should be doing.:)

I sell a kit that removes a lot of the work you went thru to accomplish this. Its an all inclusive kit that contains all the screws , mountings, and couplings needed to attach to any veeder root ever manufactured. It takes approximately 15 minutes to install without the wiring, and sells for $150 plus shipping , with all new parts.
I have left the wiring part up to the individual pump owners because there is such a diversity of manners in which to activate the drive system, depending on the pump being used.
Your nozzle switch is another good one in a long list of methods available. Several members have used a 12 volt voltage reducer to minimize the danger in the switch mechanism by using 12 volts for that part of the system. Others simply activate the system by using the nozzle rest linkage to activate an on/off switch. There are many ways to activate the drive mechanism, and yours is another welcome addition.

A lot of thought and design went into this . Appears to be a great project.

Very nice setup Kevin, I'm guessing you have a plasma table to cut those mounting plates?

Finding a good way to make the nozzle handle run the motor is probably the most challenging aspect. My first thought was to insert some type of momentary switch but I couldn't find a suitable switch nor a decent mounting method within the confines of the nozzle.

Are you still selling these kits?

Ed, That is very cool. A lot of time and effort went into that and I bet it was well worth it. Are you going to post a video (maybe on YouTube) that we could all see someday? I would love to see it in action, as I'm sure many other here on OldGas would also like to see it.

And also a big THANK YOU, for posting your step-by-step instructions and pictures on how you did it. That was very generous of you to share with the OldGas community. I have one of KW Friths motor set ups and they are a great start to this project.

Great job,
Steve