If you want to save money at the GAS pump, please read!!!

Some very interesting information I found, hopefully this will help some people save money!!!

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.


If anyone has anything else to add, please do so!! My intentions are to help everyone save money, so let's put our brains together.

By the way, this information was passed on to me, I do not live in California, just something I thought everyone would enjoy reading about.

thanks a lot, this is very informative.

reply to post by 4th horseman


No problem!! I hope other people can add some money saving tips to this thread. I really hope this attracts a lot of attention and makes everyone change their habits of pumping gas to save money!! We all need to help each other because nobody else seems to care other than regular people to regular people!! I appreciate the comment, and I am glad this helped you out.

I know how to save even more money.
Get some fake registration plate's and some blutak and attach them over your real number plate's.
Then go to the petrol station fill up and drive away.


(only joking)

Some good tip's you've got there, petrol prices in the UK have gone through the roof.
So I'l be trying some of these tip's out.

Cheers.

reply to post by Roguesheep







This is a good one also!!

reply to post by Chrisfishenstein


Sorry, OP. Not "entirely" true.

Snopes

The news story video in this next source is very informative.

Gas Saving Myths Debunked

Actually, if you go to Yahoo and/or Google and do a search for "gas saving myths"... you will see tons of articles, supporting the above two I mentioned.

The fact of the matter is, it comes down to basic "proper" driving skills and common sense.

reply to post by UtahRosebud


I started this post to see if people have other ways to save money also. And even if everyone puts their two cents in that aren't "entirely" true, at least everyone can pick and choose what they want to do. If you read the articles you posted, it clearly does not say that anything on this list is not true. Which through my eyes does not make your statement "entirely" true IMO.

Empty all extra weight out of your trunks or backs of pickup.
Slow down to 90 or 100 KM. (55 mph or 62 mph)
Make sure your tire pressure is optimum.
Reduce use of air conditioner in hot weather.
Plan your trips ahead, making the most direct routes to destinations.

Every bit helps, they're telling us these prices aren't likely to come down any time soon.

I will add something, the harder it is to roll your car down the road, the more GAS you waste.

Over 25 years as an automotive technician, I have found the best gas saving method of all, keep your tires inflated to the proper pressures, I put 36psi in most cars, SUVs, I will go to 38-40, most tires nowadays have a max pressure of 44psi, the higher the psi, the less rolling resistance you have.

Talk to a Qualified tech to get the MAX pressure for your particular vehicle weight and tire design.

Again, 36psi tire pressure seems to work very well for most cars.

DONT buy crappy tires, they can wear out quickly and offer more rolling resistance, costing you at the pump.

Check your tire pressures often, tire pressures change with temperature, and tires will lose air over time.

I hope that helps

Peace

Everyone, this is great information for people. Let's keep the thought process rolling along. Thanks so far for everyone's input.

reply to post by UtahRosebud


No, sorry to you, friend, and snopes is owned and operated by only two people, so they do not know everything like people think. Having worked in the automotive industry for a great many years, I can attest to the truth of the OP's post. I wonder sometimes why you people fly in and do this, and you didn't offer any tips yourself. Why is that? Do you really think that simple logic computer board that runs your engine is smart, and automatically adjusts to your driving habits? Think again. I have a 1990 Chevy van, 350 TPI. I hacked into the ECM wire with two adjustable, variable rate resisters. I can turn the amount of gasoline down to an acceptable level over the default settings, which are ultra rich. Using my HHO generator, I can turn it down some 30% on the high side, and 15-20% on the low side. Don't attack posts you have no knowledge of, please.

reply to post by autowrench


I appreciate the back up. I am glad some people understand the logic behind this, it isn't for me to act like I know all or anything like that. All I did was receive this information and pass it on, hoping others out there had some input also. This whole thread is about people helping people and look what happens.....It is just irritating sometimes on this site, I love it for the most part, but people like that just need to go away!!

Back when gas was really insane, I learned of different driving techniques (a lot of coasting, pulse acceleration, etc.) that REALLY made a big dent in how much gas I used. With a little patience (and driving a little slower), I saw a real difference in my pocket. Don't put your foot on the gas when coming to a red light...coast. Instead of steady pressure on the gas pedal, you can "pulse" it to burn less.

You'd be surprised how easy it is to become second nature. I don't do it when passengers are in there (just to avoid the discussion), but alone, I save a bit of gas doing just these techniques.

Also, keep nothing in your trunk other than a spare tire and jack if possible. Everything else adds weight and reduces your gas mileage. Keep up with your oil changes that helps too. If you can work from home 1 day a week.

There was an email going around that had this information awhile back.

Thanks though!

Thanks for the tips. I have also found that I do not need premium in my cars even if it is recommended. I have been using regular for the past 10 years on all my vehicles, with the exception of one that has very high compression, without any negative effects.

Here's a thought on how to drive prices down maybe:

This method will force us to go to the gas-station more often, but it will hurt the gas companies profit margin in the long run.

A little bit of background first.
Gas is typically refined and then shipped out to regional storage facilities, from these facilitites, a tanker comes and fills up to distribute gasoline to the different stations, this is done either daily or every other day, depending on the demand.

There IS a way to reduce demand. Simply buy gas 1/2 tank at a time.

Obviously, most of us purchase less gas than normal if we cap it off at 1/2 a tank, therefore there is more gas left at the station that we could've bought, but didn't.

The next time the tanker comes to fill the station up, it does not unload as much gas.
If every station has gas left over in their reserves, then the tanker must return to the storage facilities still carrying gas in it's tank.
The gas company will notice this and interpret it as a drop in demand. If enough people do this (and sadly, it would have to be in the millions) we would see gas prices drop, but we would have to keep doing it until they go below $0.99/litre (sorry, I'm in Canada, we do it by litres here ). I know way too many people who now believe gas @ $1.20 is cheap and will horde and fill up all their vehicles, this urge will need to be resisted.

So, to summarize: More gas left over at the station = more gas left over at the tanker = more gas left over at the regional storage facility = less gas needed to be shipped in from the refinery, and ultimately hurting the bottom line of the oil companies.

Just my 2 cents worth.