This
page last modified on Wednesday 6th April, 2008
Get
more for your Money
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 pick up
some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.
An Email received
from one of Doug's Friends 3rd November 2007
