12 SEPTEMBER 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® The Slot Machine Gas Pump Adapted from Information by American Oil & Gas Historical Society (AOGHS) Have you ever heard of a coin-operated gas pump? Inventors began experimenting with ways to make user-friendly pumps as soon as gas stations started to appear. One of the ideas for a self-service gasoline pump was a coin-operated one, inspired by penny gumball machines. Lewis Starkey and his wife ran a service station in Fort Collins, Colorado. Starkey was constantly being awakened during the night by tourists who wanted gasoline, so his wife came up with the idea of making a gas pump to dispense gas without Starkey having to get out of bed. This gave Starkey the idea of a coinoperated pump. An automatic pump did not require an attendant. It allowed motorists to insert a half-dollar coin into the slot and turn the crank. This is how it got its name “The Gasoline Slot Machine.” Starkey Oil and Gas company made one of the better known coin-operated pumps which used electricity instead of a manual cranking system. The company produced two models of the coin-operated pump. “Unfortunately, Starkey allowed his patent to expire on one of the key components in his pumps,” Canadian historian K.J. Zeoli reported. The component, a silent mercury switch which prevented electrical circuit sparks, went on to be used by thousands in the construction business.” The company was later sold to Gas-O-Mat Inc. of Denver. Commercial names like Beacon, Gas-O-Mat, and others disappeared in a flurry of patents that could not overcome challenges of coin-operated pumps. Gasoline dispensing automation seemed like a good idea, you could sell gas 24 hours a day without effort, but it was simply lacking in technology to make it work. One coin-operated pump had about two dollars in real currency and $37 in lead slugs, buttons, and counterfeit coins for its first 500 gallons of gasoline. As a result, gasoline filling stations with uniformed attendants continued to expand nationwide. Examples of the gas pump slot machines can be seen today in museums. G&O
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