New gas tips
 

This came through my email today. What do you think; is if good advice ot fluff as usual?

Subject: New gas tips

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I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline....Here in
California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gal. But my line
of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some
tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we
deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and
premium grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of
16,800,000 gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the
ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations
have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground
the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so
buying in the afternoon or in the evening.....your gallon is not exactly a
gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the
temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other
petroleum products plays an important role.

A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this
business. But the service stations do not have temperature
compensation at the pumps.

When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a
fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)
stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on
low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you
are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping
on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes
vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground
storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is
HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in
your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates
faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal
floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and
the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service
stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature
compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the
storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up--most likely the
gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might p ick
up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

BS: The ground temp is nearly constant so it won't matter. Fuel is filtered going in and out of the trucks, so there shouldn't be a problem. Also, the lines from the tank are filtered and they are at the bottom anyway!

Finally, gas tanks these days are sealed, the gas doesn't escape, except when filling. You transfer the vapors to the gas station when you fill. So if you fill 10 gallons, you transfer 10 gallons of vapor. The evaporation is based on the temp, not on the available space. If you fill twice as often, you'll transfer 1/2 the amount, but twice as often. Net result, the same.

You canna change the laws of physics.

BTDT on this thread.
Doing all those things MIGHT save you a quarter per fill up. Working for a pipeline company does not imply expertise. It implies that he has seen a pipe before.

Driving more mellow will save you 100 times as much.

Unless on the track, drive as if you had a raw egg between your right foot and the go pedal.

There are little signs at gas pumps that say "Fuel amount is adjusted to 15C." I think that means recalibraton at the pump. Besides, stations lower the gas price at night by at least a few cents, so there's probably more savings in that than to beat the pump by a few degree's difference in temperature.

Using your cruise control will save you the most gas.

That's the dumbest advice I've ever heard. I tried it and went through two dozen eggs in a week and didn't save a dime on gas.

Yeah, moneyguy, everyone knows you have to cook the egg first. Duh.

Is said egg from an African or European swallow?

There is truth to this to the point that, I think, Canada requires the gasoline be held to a certain temperature upon delivery. Can any Canadians verify this?

Yes, it might save each person only a quarter (I've heard as much as a quarter gallon) with each fill. How many quarters does this make the greedy gasoline suppliers? Another few million dollars a year profit? Screw them!

Whoops, sorry I missed your post. This confirms my fragmented memory anyway. :)

Wasn't this here on PPOT just a few days ago? Then, it was a woman who authored the article. I think most of it was dismissed as impractical if not bunk.

I heard something about the gas expansion by someone (maybe an earlier OT topic?) that calibrated the pumps. He also mentioned that how you pump the gas, affects how much you get. Although, it was not very substantial, it seemed that it would add up over time.

Dave

Just imagine for a second if the opposite was true. That we were getting a drop of free gas. The oil companies would spend millions to correct that in a heartbeat.

It's not a coincidence that the coldest part of North America is on a more stringent scale for gas delivery. Chances are Canada was benefitting from the colder climate and getting that free cup of gas with every fill.

I don't believe those at the equator will be getting their monies worth for a very long time.

Now where the heck did you comer up with that bunk?
The oil companies work on such a large scale that a gallon here or there wouldnt even show un on the radar screen. You made that up.
Now the station owners, they might tend to be a little more careful with that drop or cup or gallon.
Anyway, the fuel in in the ground. The ground temperature is fairly consistant. It doesn't vary as much or as quickly as air temperature. The amounf of expansion is minimal.
Why get all fired up over a nothing issue?

The well-insulated tanks in the ground will tend to keep the fuel at the temperature it was delivered from the tanker truck, not the temperature of the ground. The fuel is not in the underground tanks long enough to benefit much from ground temperature.

Some reports say filling up in Phoenix could short you a quarter gallon per tank over the same fillup in Minnesota. Sure it's trivial if you only consider one tank or one person, but consider the millions of tanks and 125+ billion gallons sold last year in the US.

Now if I could only get every person in the US to send me a measely dime.... :)

That's how I have managed to average 28 mpg in my 996 over the last 1400 miles. It gives me an extra day driving to and from work between fill up's.

Cindy served cheese covered cauliflower last night. Phew! Talk about gas! Enough to drive to Omaha...:D

Seriously, motion is right, cruise control does help...problem in this state is finding a low traffic density in order to use it...

I drive 63 miles each way to work with a combination of interstate, highway, and back roads in VA. and NC. I average 51mpg in a Jetta TDI. I use cruise control and my speeds go from 45 mph to 75 mph. I do run 40 psi in the tires.

I had a driving instructor at Summit Point tell me about the egg under the gas pedal, but I was driving a supercharged Saleen, No traction at all.

I'd like to see that report.
It's obvious they took the extremes in temperature across the nation, Phoenix vs. Minnesota, but i'd bet they were taking the hottest day of the year in Ariz (prolly around 120 degrees) and the coldest day in Minnesota ( well below zero).
If that is the case, then a 125 or so degree swing means 25 cents which still sounds excessive and slanted.
Just pretending it has merit, lets look at the temperature of the gas in the morning vs afternoon where we live. Prolly a difference of 5 degrees or so max (tank is underground). That would mean you would save one penny per gallon. Cool, whatcha gonna buy with all that extra cash? ;)