Controversial video leads to questions about Chattanooga gasoline station; employees insist they did the right thing

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF) — There’s a controversial video on social media suggesting one gas station in Chattanooga is purposely withholding fuel during a time when many people have struggled to find a place to fill up.

When News 12 first saw the video, it was easy to think the person who shot the video and posted it to twitter was on to something.

Adding to the suspicion were messages  from people who thought employees running the Smile Fuel station on Jenkins Road were up to something devious.

That gas station became the center of negative attention on social media after a man who goes by the Twitter handle UnaVerSoul Kng  posted a video of himself pumping gas from a pump that was covered with plastic bags.

“The price says $2.19 and they got bags on all of them. I actually took the bag off and I’m getting gas. You can call it price gouging but this isn’t cool,” he said in the video.

“No one including the employees were disputing the fact there was still gasoline available while pumps were covered with bags. Employees at the gas station said there’s a legitimate reason why they didn’t want the gas pumped.

“A lot of the time, air can enter the pumps and it might damage the actual motor so just as a precaution, we just have to shut it down; not that we’re completely dry of gas itself,” said Smile Fuel’s Spokesperson Jay Chaudhari.

News 12 consulted with a fuel technician who worked for another major gas station chain. He asked not to be identified.

According to that technician, when the volume of gasoline gets below a certain number, and continues to be pumped, more air enters the sub-pump which forces the entire machine to work that much harder to pump gas. The result is a burned out machine which either requires repair or replacement, both of which are expensive.

“To all customers out there, if you see gas pumps with bags on them, please take caution and do not try to pump gas on your own,” Chaudhari said.

The recent issue over fuel consumption began last week when a pipeline leak in Shelby County, Alabama led to decreased deliveries of fuel to gas stations throughout the Southeast. The result of that fuel leak has led to higher gas prices or no gas at all at many stations.

The good news is that relief is coming soon.

According to Colonial Pipeline, fuel shipments have already arrived to Atlanta and will soon be trucked into Tennessee.

Video by UnaVerSoul Kng: