Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Would you add this pump to your collection?

Seriously, if you found one of these would you add it to your collection?



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Jack Sim

No

No also.

I don't care for them either....But our kids will.. I remember when you couldn't hardly give a Tokheim Interceptor away.

Wow put a globe on that and I'd park it right beside my Wayne Greek column!!! Lol.......SCRAP IT!!!

Yes, as it would make a good contrast between the present and the past..Of course the price would have to be right.....

Probably, if the price were right ............... Ed Shaver

Indeed I would.

That's what people in the 30s through the 50s said because pumps didn't have value and look where that went. Take it and save it it will be worth something when cars are running on electric and some other Scifi materials.

Quit Dreaming John

That would make a heck of a mail box holder down there at the end of the road leaning up against moms trailer. Is it in the mead washinton area by chance?

There is enough weight to warrant taking it and driving right to the scrap yard. There is no comparing today to the 50's

Someone will be looking for it in the future.
My late 97 year old Grandfather said we collecting gas pumps & oil cans is a waste of time.
Look at this hobby today..

Right now I would say no but maybe in the future. I told myself I was not going to have any short pumps in my collection and currantly have five. I am willing to get more and had five others that left the collection.

No only because I like things older then my generation.

No.

I don't think so..

Things have been a little slow here in this section that I thought I would have a little fun.

That is a picture taken from a Tokheim sales bulletin.

In 1985 I was buying pumps that were made in 1960 (300s etc), they were 25 years old. This pump was introduced in 1980 it is almost 35 years old. Something to think about.

Jack Sim

What if you had it in a collection of old to new.Its still a Tokheim.

Every time I fill up the tank I look at these and wonder, will someone collect a pump like this? Not me, but I can see it in a history row of pumps.

The transition in pump design from 1960 to 1985 was dramatically different and made the older ones stand out significantly.
The transition in pumps made from 1985 to 2013 is not as much.

Which all means gas pumps of today are due for a new facelift..i.e. electric charging stations.

If you have PLENTY of room. Just for historical value-there is no real attraction. We spend very little time at a "gas station" today, so we have formed no relationships with any part of them, and in fact have probably not even noticed enough to recall any specific features of any part of them two minutes after we depart from one. In contrast, many of us spent many hours in or around service stations and service station people growing up, thus our affinity towards them and the various parts and pieces that comprised them. In our fast paced, disposable world, I don't see that repeating itself.

No at least not within the next 50 years.

A little off the subject but in line with a few of the comments, but as I'm pumping gas I always try to find the manufacturer of the pumps. I'm happy and surprised to see that I only find manufacturers from decades, almost a century ago. No Chinese or other foreign manufacurers popping up along the way, but IDK who actually owns these companies now.

As far as I know, Gilbarco, Wayne and Bennett are stilling making pumps. I believe Bennett's market is mostly Europe. When you can find a ID tag it is usually Gilbarco.

Joe or somebody can probably help out with this information.

Jack Sim

No on the one pictured at the beginning of the thread , at present, but things change.

I bought this pump a few years ago because it was in good shape, I liked it, it was cheap, and it reminds me of ET. I bought one of these pumps fifteen or so years ago at an auction for 15 bucks. It ended up on someone else's truck by mistake. Rather then unload it I told the guy to just give me the 15 bucks. I did not really care. Too new for me at the time.

I can remember waving down a junk man and giving him a Gasboy I had paid 15 bucks for, just to get the piece of junk out of my storage. I have bought a dozen since them to make a few bucks on. I still have no interest in keeping one. That might change someday ?

I have a few notes on this topic.
-The pump in the first picture is a tokhiem 333 series. These were made in the early 80s. I would not want it in my collection because I hate working on them. They are junk and are very hard to work on. A few are still in service, but it's still over 30 years old and obsolete for a modern station.
-The Gilbarco is an old Highline, with high voltage display. It's mid 80s, and is obsolete because it won't interface with the new Passport register systems. It was replaced by the Legacy series. They look the same but are totally different electronically.
What I'm getting at is that this "modern" equipment is already a dinosaur. Those pumps are useless at a modern station. This is the reality for a modern station. As soon as it's on the island, it's out of date. Us techs are constantly racing to update the electronics in pumps to keep up with credit card companies requirements.
I thought about what the future will hold for gas pump collecting, and I think that in the future there will be VERY FEW of these pumps around because once they are taken off the island, there is no more use for them. Years ago, an old pump retired from a service station was still a useful machine for farm service, trucking companies, industrial use, or any other low volume use. Keep in mind that modern "pumps" don't pump. The actual pumping unit is in the tank, and the thing that fills cars is a "dispenser". What use is a dispenser to anyone without the complicated pumping unit and all the other support equipment to make it work? This is why almost all modern equipment goes straight to the scrap yard after the island. It has no use after commercial service.

Good point Mike! Most of the pumps that I find, have been repurposed at some time for another use, so they were in effect "saved". Of course, there are the "hoarders" that never discard anything , and that may save a few of them, but I tend to think you're probably right. They have to actually "be there", to be found in the future! LOL

Gilbarco and Wayne are the big 2. Like Ford and GM. Gilbarco had a stranglehold on the industry from about 1990 to 2005. Wayne came out with the Ovation series which seriously undercut Gilbarco's price, and Wayne is taking over.

Tokhiem went out of business in 2003. There is still a lot of their equipment in the field, but in the last few years there has been a race to get it off the islands because parts and service for tokheim is getting to be few and far in between.

Bennett almost went out of business in the 80s or 90s. They are back with the new Pacifica dispensers. The Pacifica is a Wayne Ovation knock-off. All of it's parts are made in China, and it's assembled in Muskegon, MI. Bennett can't give these things away. No one wants them for a number of reasons. They use a third party's card reader, and they don't interface with most cash registers' operating systems just to name a few reasons.

First of all, I posted this because I wanted to see what the reaction would be. Since there is some consideration of me writing a third edition of the Gas Pump book I wanted to get a feel of how far I should go in years. The first two books cut off at about 1965, I was just trying to get a feel of what you might like in the book.

Mike618b:

Your comments do not make sense. None of us are restoring pumps with the idea we are going to make them work. Just because they are pieces of junk doesn't mean someone in the future isn't going to restore one of them, they will care less. Also you state that "modern pumps" do not pump gas. When did "modern" begin? Are you aware that the first remote pumps were introduced around 1917? Also that just about every Mae West is a remote pump, era 1917. The Tokheim 199/200 (1920) was a remote pump. In the 1950s just about every pump company was selling remote pumps.

Your comments are a good history of the pump business after 1980, but have nothing to do with the original theme of this post.

Jack Sim

Great post Mike, you articulated logical reasons why the modern pumps will probably not be collected on a massive scale. Very much in keeping with the premise of the thread.

Even more good reasons why you should keep the original pumping guts in your gas pumps.
They are few & far between.

~"Keep in mind that modern "pumps" don't pump.The actual pumping unit is in the tank,and the thing that fills cars is a "dispenser".What use is a dispenser to anyone without the complicated pumping unit and all the other support equipment to make it work?This is why almost all modern equipment goes straight to the scrap yard after the island.It has no use after commercial service."

~"In the 1950s just about every pump company was selling remote pumps."

Sorry Jack, I thought this was about weather or not modern pumps are or will be collectable. The point I was trying to make is will modern stuff even be around in 20 to 40 years?

I understand what you were trying to say, Mike. Makes sense.