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cws
Jan 31st, 2008, 7:30 pm
Received this email from a biker friend today, its obviously been doing the email rounds. Is it fact or fallacy??? Any truth in the substance at all, or is it so inconsequential to the normal motorist that it would take a lifetime to save a few dollars....?
Thoughts?

(Note... US$3.50/gallon is about US92.5c/litre, or AU$1.03/litre. In Sydney we are paying around AU$1.45 for Premium Unleaded (95 RON) or $1.36 for E10 (95 RON)

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Subject: Tips

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... but here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. 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.
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. 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 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, DO NOT fill up if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas,--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.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

meese
Jan 31st, 2008, 8:47 pm
Most of it seems reasonable, but trivial. You can get much more significant and immediate results by:

1) Driving smoother with less hard acceleration and braking.

2) Maintaining proper inflation in your tires.

3) Driving less by walking more, carpooling, or combining many small errands into one trip.

4) Trading for a smaller car with better mileage.

All these are thing you can do yourself, and with the exception of the last one all are basically free.

It's kinda like that email that says we should all boycott a certain oil company on a certain day - it just doesn't work. Real results come from a conscious, sustained change in our driving habits, not from some easy gimmick copied and pasted by well-meaning but ultimately ineffective folks. :)

DaveDragon
Jan 31st, 2008, 9:50 pm
Most of it seems reasonable, but trivial. You can get much more significant and immediate results by:

1) Driving smoother with less hard acceleration and braking.

2) Maintaining proper inflation in your tires.

3) Driving less by walking more, carpooling, or combining many small errands into one trip.

4) Trading for a smaller car with better mileage.

All these are thing you can do yourself, and with the exception of the last one all are basically free.

It's kinda like that email that says we should all boycott a certain oil company on a certain day - it just doesn't work. Real results come from a conscious, sustained change in our driving habits, not from some easy gimmick copied and pasted by well-meaning but ultimately ineffective folks. :)

Oh you Liberal You! http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

You know good & well the email tips will save gas.

Why I'd be surprised if in a full 10 gallon load on the GS Adventure, filled at Dawn on a cold morning, as slow as it will pump, with no tanker on the lot; that I would get an extra half thimble of the good stuff if I held my right foot off the ground while chanting "Hare Chrisna" alternating between Zulu and Yiddish!

Don't ya think?

andy
Jan 31st, 2008, 9:57 pm
... I would get an extra half thimble of the good stuff if I held my right foot off the ground while chanting "Hare Chrisna" alternating between Zulu and Yiddish!

But that half thimble you only get if the moon is in the right phase, otherwise it it be up to 5/8 or down to 3/6 of a twick.

DaveDragon
Feb 1st, 2008, 10:02 am
But that half thimble you only get if the moon is in the right phase, otherwise it it be up to 5/8 or down to 3/6 of a twick.

I stand Correctedhttp://www.bmwlt.com/forums/images/icons/icon10.gif

fenixroyale
Feb 1st, 2008, 10:17 am
A friend of mine invented a very cool device he guarantees will save a lot of fuel, no matter what type of car you are driving. It's simple:


Take a 16 oz styrofoam cup.
Fill it to within 1/4 inch of the rim with blistering hot coffee
Set the cup on the dashboard right in front of the steering wheel
Drive so as to not spill the thing into your lap.
Apparently fuel savings of 20 - 30 percent are not uncommon.

This is the same friend who invented a device for preventing many automobile accidents. This one is also amazingly simple.

Make a spike about 12 to 15 inches long, sharpened to a needle point.
Mount it on the steering wheel, with the point facing backwards, directly at the center of the driver's chest.
Drive as carelessly or carefully as you think appropriate.

Hope these ideas help someone. I don't think my buddy has patented them, but they seem to have potential. Maybe I'll call Ronco.

T.

hallzee
Feb 1st, 2008, 11:39 am
Actually, the gas tempurature theory is correct - you do get less on a hot day. However, it's minute. Also, in order to make a differince the ground must be heat saturated - such as a prolonged period of heat; say Phoenix in July, August, and September.