This was forwarded to my email, just thought I’d post it here through these hard times at the pumps.
TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
I don’t know what you guys are paying for gasoline… but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. 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. 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 pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.
DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!
Think you guys might try it out? I’m gonna try tomorrow morning and see if I don’t pay as much! Good luck.
Haha. No problem. Hey Phonso, are you saying you do it and it works? If you say its so retarded, I’d still bet any money you’re gonna try it. what’s to lose?
i guess that makes a bit of sense. but still. in the end probably would make fu<k all of a difference in the end…? at the same time all that was said could be done easily regardless so why not try.
“In the summer gas expands and in the winter it shrinks,” says Mr. McNeeley. “It doesn’t matter if it is minus 30 or plus 30 - the pump corrects that.”
The gas pump doesn’t change the temperature of the fuel: A temperature probe takes a reading and the computer compensates in the volume it provides.
“You’re getting the same amount of energy no matter what time of year it is,” says Mr. Maxwell.
1234
If any of these things were true several companies would have billions of dollars in lawsuits against them by now.
You won’t notice a damn thing. With my gas mastercard, the most I’ve ever saved on a fill up was $0.10/L. On my receipt it tells me I saved $6 or $7 for a fill up.
To me, thats hardly worth it. Saving maybe a loonie or two for pumping at 1/2 the speed is NOT worth it to me.
Anyone agree? or is all of SON penny pinching transforming cockroaches?
Pretty sure the company is called Spar They’re one of my clients.
Regardless, just because he’s a chemical engineer, doesn’t mean his comments on the topic at hand are accurate. I for one believe it is far more likely that the pumps compensate for density, because the fact that density varies with temperature isn’t exactly a big secret. If it were the case, it wouldn’t be a few guys at NASA knowing about it, and the rest of the world being ignorant. You learn this shit in high school for crying out loud.
Some of the other stuff seems decently credible, about the vapour point of gas, but I don’t actually know what it is, so I can’t vouch for it. It just doesn’t seem as silly as the temperature argument, that’s all.
temperature 4 feet down is consistent… overnight the change will be nothing. (Summer to winter sure… day to night hell no)
Your tank is a closed system, the vapors you develop will be minuet. The gas you loose to vapors is so tiny its not even worth mentioning to the average “joe”.
Last what the hell are fuel filters for, and station pumps have them as well.
They’re one of my clients.