Posted by
Conservative2008 on Tuesday, May 06, 2008 5:58:06 PM
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 thatgoes 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, DO NOT
fill up if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks
when you stop to buy gas, 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.
(This is written by Pete Santos from CA.)