Gas Pumping Tips

[57AGIN]

Hi Everyone:

I received the following from one of our fellow 57 Ford owners.  He received it from one of his friend who is in the petroleum business.  It is amazing the things we don't know or think about as we go about doing our routine daily activities, even simple things like pumping gasoline.

Bob
57AGIN

   
    I got this in an email and feel like maybe you all could use these tips.

     I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline....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.

      TIP #1:  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.

      TIP #2:  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.

      TIP #3: 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.

      TIP #4:  VERY IMPORTANT:  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.

It's been a long time since I sat in a science class or thought about the specific gravities of fuels varying with temperature and I don't crew for a AA Fueler, but I found the tips  interesting and they make sense.  Just thought I'd pass it along

[JimNolan]

Bob,
  That was neat. Jim