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Old pumps not equipped for $4 gas
Those mom-and-pop service stations scattered around the state are running into a problem with their old-fashioned pumps: Some can't register more than $3.99 a gallon. That's a problem when gas prices approach $4.00. For more than a half century, Mike's Complete Auto Care has stood at the corner of Rice St. and Rose in Saint Paul. The gas pumps have been there almost as long. On Tuesday, Ray Andresen put stickers on his old pumps to let customers know the pumps are only charging customers by the half gallon. He had to adjust the prices because his pumps have the same problem - they don't go past 3.99. Andresen said, at the cash register, he'll double the price on the meter. "People understand," he said. "They know it's not my fault." There are about 6,000 gas pumps like Andresen's left in Minnesota. They still use the spinning, old style mechanical dials. They were made in an era when no one ever thought a gallon of gas would cost more than 3.999. Replacing old pumps with the new digital variety can cost upwards of $10,000 a piece, too much for most mom-and-pop stations. "If this (pricing) stays, which it looks like it will, I'll have to upgrade," Andresen said. He is contemplating less expensive upgrade kits, which will make the old pumps capable of reaching $9.99. But there's a 12-month backlog on those new parts, because there are about 8,500 other stations nationwide, like Mike's Complete Auto Care, charging today's prices on yesterday's pumps. The state commerce department is urging other gas stations with the same problem to just cover up the part of the pump that calculates price. That means, at some stations, you'll have to multiply the gas you pump by the price per gallon and just settle up at the cash register.
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