I got this little blurb from my wonderful GG in Fort Worth. There are some good tips in here, but there are also some misleading ones, too. My comments will be in italics. Full disclosure: I used to drive a fuel truck for a truckstop in northern Arizona. No, it wasn’t Little America in Flagstaff. It was called the Bellemont Truck Center, outside of Bellemont AZ, across the freeway from the Navajo Army Depot on I-40, west of Flagstaff.
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. obviously, this was written a while ago. everyone knows that California pays more than $10.00 a gallon, because McCain is going to be president
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. this kind of threw me for a loop – I never knew that all these different types of fuel were delivered through the same pipeline
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. point of order – and a physics lesson. the underground storage tanks are like thermos bottles. the ground around them insulates the contents, so the temperature of what was delivered will mingle slightly with the existing temperature, and hold steady; unless the surface temperature of the ground is highly different from the product (more than 35 degrees) the ground temperature will not overtly affect the fuel temperature due to the tanks being below the frost line to prevent heaving.
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. unless you are in Canada or Hawaii, this is true. in Canada the fuel temp is below 60, so the fuel company wants to get paid for what they pump. Hawaii has common sense laws in this area. the rest of the US is out of luck, since the average fuel temp is above 60 and will then pump less than what you are paying for
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. the debate here is whether the vapors are really being produced at a rate that it would make a difference on how fast the gas is pumped; over a year’s time is it worth YOUR time to double the amount of time spent pumping gas?
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. “half full or half empty” – that sounds like a philosopher’s conundrum. again, it’s a matter of what your time is worth – do you want to spend twice as much time pumping gas as normal, considering that vapors in your tank are going to stay there unless you do fill up? and, having installed the underground tanks, i can assure you they have no floating roof – only the above ground, tank-farm storage facilities use the floating roofs, and then to keep the vapors to a minimum so as to avoid flash fires.
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. between the filters in the tanks, on the pumps, and in your fuel line, what little bit of dirt that might be stirred up when a load is delivered is not worth worrying about. heck, what’s to say the truck didn’t leave just before you pulled up, and the fuel is still swirling around from being delivered?
Now, if you are REALLY concerned about not buying so much fuel, let’s look at ways that have been proved to increase your fuel economy:
1. Keep your vehicle tuned and maintained.
2. Check and correct your cold tire pressure weekly.
3. Drive like there is an egg under your right foot.
4. Anticipate the stops and let off the gas earlier.
5. Most cities have the traffic lights timed. Get on the rhythm and reduce the number of times you need to accelerate or brake.
6. Carpooling reduces the amount of fuel YOU buy. Share a ride with one person – cut your fuel purchases in half. Share with three people, cut your fuel purchases by 75%.
7. Use public transportation when practical.
8. Walk or ride a bike for short trips where practical.
And, from a world view point, research where the gas comes from at your favorite station. If you are buying from a station that gets most of it’s crude from Middle Eastern sources, think about the impact that is having on us as a country.
Write to your representatives, and badger them – er, I mean, ASK them about revisiting the drilling and refining of our own oil, as opposed to using foreign sources so much. There is no completely energy-independent country in the world, but reducing our dependence on foreign sources only strengthens our sovereignty.
Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!
