tips on pumping gas

[Pattyhm73]

I wonder if this is true...watcha think?

I thought this was interesting.
TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

I don't know what you guys are paying for
gasoline....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 through 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 t he
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 pick
up some of the dirt that normally settles on the
bottom.

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

[Michelle Allmon]

sounds good to me!

[rogerfsmith]

Snopes.com has this under investigation to see if it is another urban legend or legit. Here is another version of the same story

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp

My suspicion is that the savings would be so small as to be not worth the effort --- since you would have to fill up more often and it would take longer each time to fill up. So if you save a penny per fill up was it worth the extra 10 minutes to do it?

Cheers,
Roger

[Michelle Allmon]

Damnit, I can't believe I didn't check snopes. I'm always the one to go straight there. I guess my radar didn't go off since there are no kidnappings or myspace killers mentioned, hahaa!


I'm slippin'........

[mjdmike]

Interesting. Some of it is technically true, but as Roger states, the savings would be tiny, and probably not even measurable in a 20 gallon tank.

Some points to consider:

• A gallon of liquid is a gallon of liquid. You're paying by volume.
• The temperature in the underground storage doesn't change that much.
• The vapor rate of a liquid is a function of pressure and temperature, so it doesn't really matter how fast you pump it. It's going to evaporate at the same rate.
• The floating roofs in tanks are for safety and environmental reasons.
• There is dirt and some moisture in those tanks I'm sure, but not alot. Plus there are filters at each pump, so even if it was picked up, it would be caught in a filter. If it were a problem, I think it would be widespread, as there are fuel deliveries weekly at thousands of stations.

[carrbowl]

I got this awhile ago. My husband has worked in the "gasoline" business for 23 years....while it is true, he said the time and effort is so minimal it is fruitless. Sorry...the bad news continues to be until we stop being gas hogs the price will not go down. As I keep saying...start looking for Moms to say "no" to driving their kids to school and making them take the bus...that will be the sign people are tired of high gas prices!!!

[a2rob]

I "try" to fill up late at night before the prices jump or early in the mornings after they hit the ceiling. I saw on TV once, that it suppose to help the environment.

[kenw]

Mike's points are correct. The most important is that the gasoline is stored UNDERGROUND where temperature varies by extremely little and almost none during the course of a single day. The difference in filling when the AIR is cold or hot is miniscule. Do note however, that if the ground is cold and the air hot (Spring), the gasoline will expand in your tank so overfilling is more of a concern at that point. Even so, most fuel tanks take this into consideration and have "expansion" capacity built in.

And the filtration on modern pumps is very very good, filling your car while the truck is delivering is just fine.

[testvp01]

Intersting read. I'd have to agree with Roger, are the monetary savings more than the extra time, effort, and energy spent?

[CCGamer]

One bit of hard truth worth following in this though is: don't fill up when the gas truck is refilling the underground tanks. That's one bit of advice I've always followed.

[Supermanny]

Great info. I'll remember these tips next time I fill up my Hummer.