How to pump your own gas, step by step

Motorists fill up their own tanks at a Fred Meyer gas station in Wilsonville on Monday, March 30.

Those who have not ventured out of Oregon face uncertainty on their next visit to a filling station, as a new law has gone into effect allowing drivers in the Beaver State to pump their own gas for the first time in decades.

For millions of Oregonians, this will be their first time handling a gas pump.

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This is the octane level represented by different numbers. Regular is generally 87, the higher the number the higher the octane and the higher the price.

Rest the metal tang in the ridges on the bottom of the the pump handle to lock the pump in the open position.

Self-service gas in Oregon has become a reality.

Pumping gas is not without its hazards. Listen closely to these two admonitions:

1. Do not smoke … anything … while pumping your gas. Gasoline and gas fumes are flammable and explosive in the quantities present at a gas station.

2. Do not confuse the green pump with any other pump. This is some serious stuff. The green pump is for diesel. Diesel will ruin a regular engine. Regular gas will ruin a diesel engine. While the diesel nozzle is too large to fit into the receiver of a car that runs on regular fuel, it is possible to insert the regular nozzle into the receiver of a vehicle that runs on diesel fuel. One attendant we spoke with witnessed a woman put regular fuel into her husband's brand new pickup, ruining the engine. No word on the status of the marriage.

House Bill 2426 is excluded from list of potential vetoes by governor. Aug. 5 is the earliest it can take effect, but it still requires full service for half the pumps at a station.