Getting your moneys worth at the pumps

[Allycat]

I received this e-mail today, a few good tips on how to get more petrol for you money.  Just need to try the theory out to see if it does work   s:) s:)  

Only buy or fill up your car 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 fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands,so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, 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 vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapour. Those vapours 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 tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol 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 litre is actually the exact amount.
 
 
Another reminder, if there is a fuel truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT fill up--most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel 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.

[Anonymous]

Someone did the maths on this over on the Lotus forums, and IIRC the extra amount you could get was worth about 0.001p. Nice idea though  s;) s;)

[Anonymous]

My dad got that email about a week ago, just shows how these emails do actually spread!

[spit]

some nice info there that I hadn't thought about before.

I like the advice to avoid filling up while a tanker is busy sloshing all the crud around the tank.

[Anonymous]

My dad got that email about a week ago, just shows how these emails do actually spread around for the twelfthtieth time

Fixed  s;) s;)

[northernalex]

Good ideas ally, however I gotta wonder about makign sure your tank is more than half full all the time.. You'll actually use more fuel if you do that because you're carrying more weight around.

Great other ideas though  s:) s:)

Alex

[Anonymous]

Would the same principle apply to alcohol served in a pub?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[northernalex]

Would the same principle apply to alcohol served in a pub?   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

lol.. yep.. but you always have to keep the glass topped up!

[enid_b]

im likin this train of thought ally, and nice one for bringing it to our attention.

my first thoughts are a mirror of alex, full tank = lots of weight (1/2 a passenger)

besides, there would be no fun playing petrol light bingo if i only got to half.

as ste said, sloshing at fill up time will now be avoided.

new group buy - floating roof fuel tank,

1, enid

[kanujunkie]

nice idea this but the tanks in the ground are fairly well insulated and the temps on a mass of fuel like that thats buried about 10ft down wont change enough to make any difference. Base SG btw if anyone wants to play with no's is around 0.82. I have seen the effects of this at work recently though. When a B747 refuelled outside our office window, the fuel had been moved underground and was relatively cold still, they loaded it to the gunnels and after about 30mins the sun had got on the wings and hey presto instant fuel waterfall as the expanding fuel started to come out of the expansion vents, by the time it stopped, enough fuel had vented to run a diesel for well over a year, the pan was more like a swimming pool

[aaronjb]

Ahh so that's why BA keep putting the fuel surcharge up  s;) s;)

[kanujunkie]

its ok we just sweep it all under the carpet

[northernalex]

its ok we just sweep it all under the carpet

you have carpet in the hangers  s:) s:)

[kanujunkie]

not that i work in a hanger, but its the finest carpet called concrete