KAHULUI — The state Department of Agriculture still hasn't been able to recruit a resident measurement-standards inspector for Maui, but O'ahu inspector Loa Hagmann gradually is checking the gas pumps on the island, according to The Maui News.

So far, it looks as if customers are getting more than they pay for. Not much more, but more.

At noon Monday, Hagmann was testing the 12 gasoline pumps at Lloyd's Kahului Chevron. His machine measures cubic inches of fuel, not ounces, and at one group of pumps the first two came in at plus 1.5 cubic inches (in favor of the customer) and plus 2.5. The third pump was dead on.

All three were well within the 6 cubic inches per 5 gallons that the department's Measurement Standards Branch allows.

Hagmann was not surprised.

In June, he made his first trip to Maui with the department's test truck, traveling on the Hawaii Superferry. He had four complaints and one routine check to make.

Customers had complained they were getting short measure, or that the pump didn't start at zero or that the meter started clicking before the gas flowed.

Hagmann was unable to confirm any of those complaints.

He did issue some notices of violations for maintenance issues and was preparing to issue another to Lloyd's.

On one side of a pump, the sunlight had crackled the plastic covers over the windows that show the price per gallon, a common problem, Hagmann says. Customers are supposed to be able to read the gauges, so that's a write-up.

Operators have 30 days to fix problems, so in August he will check back, and later this week he will visit the stations he wrote up in June. On Friday, he'll take the ferry back to O'ahu.

In his 14 years checking pumps, Hagmann says, compliance with such notices always has been high.

But checking back takes time, and it takes two to four hours to test the pumps at a four-island station like Lloyd's; so in a week on Maui, Hagmann can inspect only around eight stations.

At that rate, it will take him half a year to visit the 48 retail gas stations he has identified. Some haven't been inspected since April 2003.

And he isn't inspecting any weight scales or other measuring devices on Maui that the Department of Agriculture is supposed to inspect. He does this on O'ahu, along with taxi meters and packing-and-labeling machines.

The department has been recruiting continuously for the Maui position, which opened when an inspector retired, but it has been unable to find anyone.

Hagmann says his truck makes the pump tests easier. In the old days, the inspector pumped gas into a calibrated bucket. "It's like a big measuring cup," he says.

Actually, three cups, for low-, medium- and high-octane gas. He tests each pump twice, at fast flow and at slow flow, running 5 gallons through each time.

A glass tube shows the amount, to within half a cubic inch. A cubic inch is about half a fluid ounce.

After the test, he drains the fuel into a holding tank and later back into the operator's underground tanks.

Newer pumps take less time to test. Lloyd's pumps are a few years old, "but they are in pretty good shape," he said, and the testing went rapidly Monday.

Hagmann also looks inside for bare wiring, corrosion, missing safety plugs or anything else not standard. He also checks the outside for clear and accurate labeling, damage to the hose and so on.

The older the pump, the more likely it is to favor the customer, he says. "I guess more gas slips through the older meters."

Here's a tip: No matter how high the price per gallon goes, you cannot squeeze out a few more ounces by lifting the hose and draining it.

That worked in the old days, but today's pumps have a check valve.

The department does not give a copy of the report to pump operators if there are no violations, although Hagmann says they are welcome to make a photocopy of his work sheet.

If the pumps are old and they are all close to, but not over, the 6-cubic-inch limit, Hagmann says he'll usually mention to the owner that his meters are reading low.

"If there are 300 or 400 cars a day, it adds up to quite a bit of gas," he says.

Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com. Additional Maui News stories are posted at www.mauinews.com