Date:         Wed, 5 Sep 2007 20:46:16 -0500
Reply-To:     John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject:      Fuel Knowledge
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

This came by way of my brother. I don't know where he got it. But I
found the information to sound reasonable.

Maybe others will also.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver

> >>>>>
Most likely a lot of you already know all this -- I did not - I only
knew #1 - so I learned 3 new things today, assuming all to be true.

 I've been in petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currently
working for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose, CA.  We deliver
about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period from the pipe line; one day
it's diesel, the next day it's jet fuel and gasoline.  We have 34
storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.  Here
are some tricks to help you get your money's worth.

 1.        Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature
is still cool.  Remember that all service stations have their storage
tanks buried below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the
gasoline.  When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up
in the afternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not
exactly a gallon.  In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and
temperature of the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other
petroleum products) are significant.  Every truckload that we load is
temperature-compensated so that the indicated gallonage is actually the
amount pumped.  A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for
businesses, but service stations don't have temperature compensation at
their pumps.

 2.        If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time
you want to buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the
tank is being stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be
transferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car's tank.

 3.        Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty),
because the more gas you have in your tank the less air there is and
gasoline evaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm.  (Gasoline
storage tanks have an internal floating 'roof' membrane to act as a
barrier between the gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation.)

 4.        If you look at the trigger you'll see that it has three
delivery settings: slow, medium and high.  When you're filling up do not
squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the high setting.  You should be
pumping at the slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you
are pumping.  Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as
a return path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been
metered.  If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline
contains more vapor, which is being sucked back into the underground
tank so you're getting less gas for your money.

 Hope this will help ease your 'pain at the pump'.

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