Gasoline Saving Tips.. for boat and car

[fishbum]

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 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 pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

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

[fishbum]

I should say I got this as an email.. I did not write it..
Jim

[MsgMills]

Thanks for posting these useful tips, this will help out most people who didn't know about it.

[MsgMills]

Thanks for posting these useful tips, this will help out most people who didn't know about it.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

the floating roof is something i don't understand why the auto manufacturers don't put this in the tanks,i car pool to work and notice i loose an1\8 of a tank or about 3 gallons in the week i don't drive,due to evaporation.

[DaveR]

I don't believe much of this is technically justifiable.
Take for example the floating roof info, most gas storage tanks in our KY fuel stations are horizontal mounted cylindrical shaped (with half spherical rounded ends). The floating roof would have to be really small when tanks were full and largest when the tank was just below half full becasuse that is when the maximum surface area (of the gas in tank) would be exposed.

Next, ground temps 10 feet below surface don't vary at all in KY based upon time of day.

If your auto fuel tanks are getting low without use, and you really believe it, you might try adding a drain to your tank and storing all your gas in your red plastic gerry jugs that your lawn tractor gas is kept in. Those don't have that problem, then you can just fill up your truck when you need to use it.

Just feeling funny this Sunday afternoon. : )

[RoadToad]

It sounds reasonable, but then again, so do a lot of things that just aren't true. My favorite place to check the voracity of email chain letters such as this one is snopes.com, and they currently list the status of this one as "Undetermined."

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

[Fishin_4_Fun]

You would probably save 10 cents on a fillup. The difference would be almost negligible.

Properly inflated tires, slowing down when on the road, and driving the boat just fast enough to keep up well on pad, will save a gigantic amount of gas compared to the pump tips mentioned.

[MrSplitshot]

Properly inflated tires, slowing down when on the road, and driving the boat just fast enough to keep up well on pad, will save a gigantic amount of gas compared to the pump tips mentioned.

Agreed.

[buzzking]

These gas saving tips will equate to approximately $0.15 per year

[fishbum]

These gas saving tips will equate to approximately $0.15 per year

Ok, fine.. I passed them on, they make sense.. and YES 10 feet down you will find temps of around 55 degrees in most places not surface temps..why is your basement floor COLD to the touch?.. so pumping UP through the ground WARMS the gasoline.. (Remnants of the Ice Age) and decreases what you get..
This will not save you a ton, it will save some and what you save will NOT GO TO SAUDI ARABIA or to the Gasoline Companies.