Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2017 15:56:56 -0700
Reply-To: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Friday NVC, Chevron gasoline
In-Reply-To: <CACvdLxM-yKw0mKEmLz-UvhwtzHm=hv1aU=XZ1As8VtULXSaiSA@mail.gmail.com>
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Well, all the gasoline in the northwest comes from one of two refineries, BP in Ferndale and Shell (Tesoro) in Anacortes. They both refine north slope from AK and Bakken crude from ND.
Years ago Tesoro in AK was a client of mine, and I visited their lab frequently. They would refine a base stock to a specific octane rating, and tested it in an actual firing cylinder that had adjustable compression. They literally found the knock point. Then they added the additives each brand required and shipped it out to the vendor's distribution centers.
Your station owner may well be right, but there is no way to know for sure. Those trucks have multiple compartments, so they can carry several different fuels. As long as it's a modern station with double wall tanks and decent sales volume you should be okay, it's water in their tanks that causes real problems.
The only difference in gas brands is the ethanol content and additive package. The "Top Tier" fuels have the highest amount of detergents in them, and that's a good thing. Even Costco is Top Tier now: http://www.toptiergas.com/licensedbrands/
Stuart
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of David McNeely
Sent: Friday, October 20, 2017 2:52 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Friday NVC, Chevron gasoline
Had this experience this week. I found myself in need of fuel, and in sort of a bind. I pulled into a no-name gas station, and went ahead and, with trepidation, filled up. I used to use whatever gas was cheapest, but in recent years became convinced that Chevron (and Texaco, same-same) were better. Perhaps my psyche has a placebo response, but I seemed to get better gas mileage with it (not a controlled experiment, just NOTICED the difference).
When I went inside, on a whim, I asked the clerk what kind of gasoline the place sold. No name stations have to get their gas from some one. He said, "Chevron." Now, this place was 15 cents per gallon cheaper than any Chevron station in the area. I pointed that out, and he said, "That's because we don't have the right to display the Chevron name since we aren't a Chevron contractor." I asked him if it was identical to the fuel sold at Chevron stations, and he averred that it was, and further told me that wherever I buy gas in Spokane, WA, it is Chevron gasoline, identical to the branded Chevron fuel, and delivered by a Chevron truck. He then said that there are exceptions, that Exxon branded stations here do indeed sell Exxon gas, and that a few non-branded stations may also, but that 90%, regardless of brand, sell Chevron. There are a 76 and two Conoco stations within a block of that place. He claimed that they sell Chevron gas, and that he has seen the Chevron truck deliver their fuel, the same as his.
Now, years ago, when I lived in Big Spring, Texas I used to watch all sorts of trucks, Conoco, Phillips (the two have merged now), Gulf (now Chevron), Texaco (now Chevron), you name it, they all filled up their delivery tanks at the American Petro-Fina refinery in Big Spring.
What do the rest of you know about this? The claim back then was that, yes, they took delivery there, but that different additives were put into the fuel at the time the truck filled up, depending on the truck's brand.
But if the same truck is delivering to all stations, that would not be the case. That expensive Techron is going into Cenex, 76, Conoco, you name it.
I remember when Shell marketed their gas as having a substance called "platformate" in it. At the time, virtually every refinery anywhere had cracking towers containing platinum as a catalyst. Shell just trademarked a made up name related to the process, and then marketed it.
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