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I would suggest.................

Go back to the gas pump rep and ask for any documentation on the pump from the manufacturer as to warranty, life expectancy, etc. If he is your only source and will provide some information on paper, this will have to satisfy your supervisor. If it doesn't, ask him/her for concise direction as to where to obtain this information.

Happy Trails

I have done a few claims like these and the predominant thinking is the life blood of ANY fuel dispenser is the flow meter and the number one killer of flow meters are fuel sediments and diesel fuels (type 1 and 2) by far have the most contaminants. Hence the average flow meter lifespan in modern dispensers (manufactured and installed in the last 5 years) is approx. 20 years (with diesel dispensers that lifespan can drop from 6 to 10 years)

Check out the following link which is the largest manufacturer of fuel dispensers in China:

      http://www.chinahongyang.com/PartDi...U103A.html

 

 

Robby Robinson

Robby and Larry both give great suggestions. I would suggest finding a mechanic that does this work a lot. The parts distributor might be able to tell you the name of somebody who buys that part frequently. If a mechanic frequently replaces factory installed fuel distributors on 10- 15 year old vehicles that means that the life span is about 10- 15 years for OEM PARTS THAT FAIL. Be sure to ask him what percentage fail, not just how old they are when they fail. Remember mechanics see the cars that breakdown, and the cars that keep driving don't come into the shop as often. So maybe 30% of the OEM parts give out at about 10 years, and 70% don't. Just an example. Maybe 90% of the parts on vehicles with over 150,000 miles fail. Ask the question if the failure relates to mileage or some other factor, like brand of fuel. Also if the ones that fail are aftermarket parts, installed a few years earlier because of a bad tank of gas, that would skew the answer. What I am getting at is that maybe a lot of the parts fail after 10 years but on trucks with low mileage that use quality fuel the pumps last 20 years.Again, just an example.

When you ask a random person these kinds of questions you can first explain that you are trying to help an insured by settling their claim. After all, the mechanic probably never gets these kinds of questions. Make a friendly introduction and the person will be more likely to help you. After they tell you what you want ask them how long they have been in business etc. Always try to get their last name etc. because if you need to mention them in a report in looks unprofessional to say "Bob at Diesel Mechanics Inc. said these pumps last an average of 12 years". It looks better to say "Mr. Bob Smith, manager and state certified expert mechanic at Diesel Mechanics Inc. said these pumps last an average of 12 years. Mr. Smith has been repairing diesels for 22 years and estimates that he has replaced this part at least 300 times."

Ooops, I just noticed that you were asking about a pump that is NOT on a vehicle. But the gist of my suggestion is still correct- find the guy who replaces them and ask him.

Thanks for the inisight, guys. My supervisor decided to just go with what the rep told us to begin with. Sometimes I wanna bang my head against the desk. =)

I'll be 41 next week, I've owned two diesel transfer pumps in my lifetime. It's time for a new one.

That means that they have an average lifespan of twenty years, give or take....

tell them I said so!

You must have been quite the baby, operating a pump from your crib!