Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:25:08 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Gas Saving Tips
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
This came from a friend's friend in CA. Dunno the efficacy of it but
seems reasonable. Hope it helps us all.
John
*****************
TIPS ON PUMPING GAS
I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in
California we are paying up to $3.75 to $4.10 per gallon. 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. You should be pumping on low mode,
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. 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.
To have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas
buyers. It's really simple to do.
--
John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com