Manual gas pumps unable to keep up with prices

State officials say if gas prices surpass $3.99 a gallon, some rural stations may have troubles at the pump.

Bill Walsh, with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, said some gas stations are still using manual turning pumps, instead of the digital ones.

He said the manual pumps tend to stop at three ninety-nine, and will not go any higher. Walsh said stations do have a couple of options, including purchasing a conversion kit. He said that costs several hundred dollars and may not be easy to get.

"Because of the gas prices nationally going so high, they're in high demand. And so there's a backlog that's going to take several months before a gas station owner can get one of those kits. So, beyond the cost of it, there's also an availability problem getting those kits," Walsh said.

Walsh said stations could also cover up the "price per gallon window" on the pump, and just leave the gallon meter going. He says the cashier will then have to do the math.

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