Saving money on gas points?

[Fred in Houston]

I left a question mark on my header because I am not sure this is "fact", but it seems to make a lot of sense.
This is from an email I received from a friend today feel free to disprove it:
(A FRIEND SENT THIS TO ME AND I'M PASSING IT ALONG.)
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(4/23/08). 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 Jos e , 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 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 other 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 or HALF EMPTY. 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 tru ck 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. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON

Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor!

An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.

Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia . Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.

Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill up the tank, I am se nding my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.

I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle East ern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
< B>Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco ............................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo gas is from South America , from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now over $100+ a barrel)

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco................0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
B P/Phillips...........0 barrels
Hess.....................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels

If you go to Sunoco. com, you will get a list of the station locations near you.

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.

Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)...and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) .. an d so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers !!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it ...... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. How long would all that take?

[ToppedOut525i]

sounds reasonable.. kinda neat

[Hari]

It may sound weird, but I don't really pay attention to gas prices. If I did I would not be driving a car that gets 17MPG. Driving is a hobby for me, so any money that goes toward my car is not really counted. Obviously, I like to save money, but I'm going to buy gas even if it's $10 a gallon. Maybe it will get more people off the road so I can have a little more room to open it. :)

[Binjammin]

I left a question mark on my header because I am not sure this is "fact", but it seems to make a lot of sense.
This is from an email I received from a friend today feel free to disprove it:

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.

Ground temperatures are relatively stable. While it's true that liquids will expand and contract with temperature, the earth surrounding the tanks is an excellent insulator. This is why permafrost takes so long to melt, it's why geothermal heaters work so well. The myth of the early morning fillup is just that. How much do you really think the fuel is going to expand anyway?



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 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 other 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.


This is ridiculous, the pumps get certified by the weights and measures division of your state, wherever that may be. Whatever speed the pumps pump at, the pumps measure the same. Yes, the tanks have vapor recovery, but it's not like you're oxidizing fuel that comes from the pump into your car, its more for fuel vapors in your tank. The amount recovered is minimal, and it all works because when you fill your tank, the vapors in the tank already are displaced by the liquid you're pumping in. Rather than being pumped into the atmosphere, they're recovered. You can't burn vapors in your car anyway, so it's not something that's coming out of your pocket.




One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. 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.


Faster than I can imagine? Not likely. Buy a gallon of gas in a container sometime. Go home, get a little dixie cup, and fill it with gas. Put it somewhere safe that pets and kids can't get to, and there are no worries about it igniting. If you have such a place (pretty unlikely) you can leave the fuel and come back in a month, it'll still be fuel. The half tank method doesn't even remotely make sense.

So far as the internal floating roof goes, that's a half-truth. There are tanks that have half roofs, but they aren't at the gas station. You'd find them in a depot or terminal. The reason for a floating roof is to keep the fuel from oxidizing and turning into vapor. Not for the purpose of losing fuel, but to keep a million gallons of fuel from turning into fireworks.


Another reminder, if there is a gasoline tru ck 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. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

Hello, it's called a filter? Not only does the filter trap dirt and debris, it also traps moisture.


DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

Do NOT spread rumors and fallacies.


WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON

Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it. It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American goods. We should return the favor!

We didn't ration gas in the 80's, we did it during World War II. I think he's confusing that with the fuel crises of the 70s. Gas stations limited the amount of fuel customers could buy then, but there were no legal set limits. During WWII gas vouchers were issued. You could only buy so much.


An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.

Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia . Just buy from gas companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.

We only get 11% of our fuel from the middle east. The vast majority of our fuel comes from Canada.




Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill up the tank, I am se nding my money to people who are trying to kill me, my family, and my friends.

This is borderline racist. While it's true that there have been Saudis that have attacked the US (9/11) that would be like saying Americans are trying to kill us because Timothy McVeigh blew up a building in Oklahoma. Saudis may have religious and cultural differences from other areas of the world, but we're not enemies, and in fact we have military bases there. They are an ally, and I'm sure they would resent someone posting things like this directed at them.


I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle East ern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
< B>Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco ............................62,231,000 barrels

These numbers seem impressive, until you realize how out of scale they are. We use billions of gallons a year. The numbers here don't even say what the unit of time is, but let's assume it's a year. We use something along the lines of 140 billion gallons of fuel a year. All of a sudden those hundred million numbers seem to pale in comparison, no? Big numbers out of context are usually used to frighten people, it's an old media trick. Remember that 11% Number?


Citgo gas is from South America , from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now over $100+ a barrel)

There are plenty of people in this world that our government calls dictators. Whether they are or not, they are dictators of sovereign nations where our laws and rules do not aply. If we're doing business with them, do not assume they are the evil that television and newspapers make them out to be. Remember the last time we overthrew a dictator? I think we're still looking for the weapons of mass destruction that were the justification for an invasion.


Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco................0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
B P/Phillips...........0 barrels
Hess.....................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels

If you go to Sunoco. com, you will get a list of the station locations near you.

All of this information is available from the Department of Energy and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing.

I don't know about any of these statistics, but it seems to me entirely suspect. Could this stupid chain letter have anything to do with putting money in the pockets of one gas company over another? That's a bit conspiracist for me this morning, thanks.


But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of gas buyers. It's really simple to do.

Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)...and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) .. an d so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers !!!!!!! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it ...... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. How long would all that take?

Assuming the advice in this letter were valid, (which I hopefully have helped debunk) What would the end result be? You'd be buying less fuel. What happens then, do fuel companies charge less for the fuel? Or do they charge more to make up the difference? Letters like this do nothing to help people on a daily basis. A legitimate letter would give you advice on how to drive efficiently to use less fuel while driving. It would include things like how to effectively coast, how to draft trucks (dangerous), what speeds to drive at, and proper alignment and inflation of tires.

Fuel costs will never be low again, that's a fact we'll need to adjust to. They may eventually drop a bit, but don't count on it. Fuel is still less than what it would be if it were indexed to inflation, although it's getting up there. We still have some of the cheapest fuel in the world, try buying it for four times as much in Europe.

If you really want to reduce your fuel costs, the only effective way to do it is to buy stock in fuel companies. You get paid dividends for every share you own. The more profit they make, the more shares you own, the more money back in your pocket.

Hopefully this helps clear up a few misconceptions!

[daflameking]

Yea. At my local gas station which i bought gas today, I didnt even look at the price for fuel. I just went in and bought. The only way to solve the gas prices crisis is hope that these oil companies stop their greed for selling their oil so high. Don't forget, the oil prices are making food as well rise.

The only thing that was viable in that was the temperature thing. It makes a lil difference not a big deal, but useful for coasting.

If you want more MPG, draft like Binjammin said. It helps. I usually let those big SUVs that still drive hella fast go in front of me so I can get in their slip stream. <-- works like a charm

[Goat128]

As long as crude oil is over $100/bbl, theres nothing you can do about it.

[Ichbinsobose]

hahahha.
thanks ben.

[John Q Public]

I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import Middle East ern oil.

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:

Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
< B>Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway... 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco ............................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo gas is from South America , from a Dictator who hates Americans. If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18 BILLION! (oil is now over $100+ a barrel)

Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:

Sunoco................0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
B P/Phillips...........0 barrels
Hess.....................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels

If you go to Sunoco. com, you will get a list of the station locations near you.



To put it politely...whomever originated this email is a nutter...those figures above do not represent what goes in your tank...while possible it could represent numbers of origination...there is only tankage from a few companies regionally and all petrol in your area comes from these...

...HERE we have tankage from BP...Hess...Citgo...that's it...but we have Shell...Chevron...Raceway...Texaco...even a couple Sunocos...all the region's fuel comes from these depots...now where this fuel originated is anyone's guess seeing we have no refining here...

BUT...fuel is fuel...the only differences lay in the additive package mixed into the truck's load before leaving the depot...

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

Screw it!

I just plan my route to work and back, so I travel down hill both ways:buttrock

[4500 RPM]

Thanks for saving me the effort, Benjammin!


Yea. At my local gas station which i bought gas today, I didnt even look at the price for fuel. I just went in and bought. The only way to solve the gas prices crisis is hope that these oil companies stop their greed for selling their oil so high. Don't forget, the oil prices are making food as well rise.

The only thing that was viable in that was the temperature thing. It makes a lil difference not a big deal, but useful for coasting.



Again, stop blaming the oil companies already!!!

[kalevera]

It may sound weird, but I don't really pay attention to gas prices.

Me too, I'm going to buy gas, regardless.


The only way to solve the gas prices crisis is hope that these oil companies stop their greed for selling their oil so high. Don't forget, the oil prices are making food as well rise.


?! Oil is a commodity, and it's sold on a market. The reason oil costs what it does is simple supply and demand. Right now there's a lot of demand, and the demand keeps increasing because of the Fed's weak dollar policy/the dollar's fall/inflationary fears and speculative investors flooding the market. Look at what happened this week: the dollar appreciated, yet the price of oil continued to climb. Totally illogical. It's just like the housing market of three years ago, the only difference being that there are other legitimate players (China/India) entering the market. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if the price of oil crashed in the next year or so. When that happens, hope that the government doesn't decide to bail people out, as they're doing with the bankers now. The good that's coming from all of this is that people are becoming more conscientious of how much energy they consume. Go to Spain and talk electric bills with people in andalusia, see what happens with a few decades of that.

Look, here's a way to get a little more out of your gas purchasing dollar. Get a Shell master card and an EAT chip. My 535/5 gets about ~17mpg on regular gas. On midwest Shell VPower it does ~21mpg in mixed driving. Big difference, and the car's a lot more fun to drive.

The Shell MC refunds (directly to you on your next statement) 5% of all shell gas purchases (and probably convenient store stuff, too) and 1% of all non gas purchases. The difference in cost between regular and premium has historically been about 20 cents. With gas at $4/gal, the shell rebate covers the difference in regular to premium. Years ago when I started doing this, I determined that the mileage offset made buying premium more economical whenever gas is above approx 2.50/gal. Only caveat is that you HAVE to pay your statement, otherwise you'll let them keep the money in interest. But, the car's a lot more fun when gas is expensive :)

[m60b30530i]

BEN :eek: amazing write up :clap

[FalconBMW]

We didn't ration gas in the 80's, we did it during World War II. I think he's confusing that with the fuel crises of the 70s. Gas stations limited the amount of fuel customers could buy then, but there were no legal set limits. During WWII gas vouchers were issued. You could only buy so much.
Actually, several states did implement odd-even gas rationing (the same method used in 1973) during the 1979 crisis, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Rationing coupons were even printed, but never used. I think that this rationing lasted into the very early 1980's, but I'm not sure.

The more you know. :D

[John Q Public]

Me too, I'm going to buy gas, regardless.

Look, here's a way to get a little more out of your gas purchasing dollar. Get a Shell master card and an EAT chip. My 535/5 gets about ~17mpg on regular gas. On midwest Shell VPower it does ~21mpg in mixed driving. Big difference, and the car's a lot more fun to drive.



Don't feel bad...at least you have options...here in M50 land it's premium only...especially if you're chipped...but seeing the cost of fuel...and premium carrying another 22¢ over the cheap stuff...on 21 gallons (and paying 3.849 my last tank)...it doesn't really matter anymore...the rich get richer...everyone else gets fuc...errrmm...less rich... :D

[screwbiedoo15]

The M50 requires premium? i had no idea

[Binjammin]

Thanks for saving me the effort, Benjammin!



Lol, no worries, it took forever :D

[John Q Public]

The M50 requires premium? i had no idea

YUP...if 'ya look inside the fuel door it says "Premium Unleaded Fuel Only"...and if you're chipped...you're gonna run premium regardless of engine...which I have an M50B25...and I'm chipped...

BUT...yeah...higher compression and double the valves allow significantly more power and economy over the M20B25...and if it's chipped...just a couple ponies shy of the M30B35 in a stock 535i and much better mileage...

[TheCleaner]

If that was to work the gas pump is temp corrected any way. Thats what I've read on the gas pump.

[eightynine535]

there also is a way to "hack" the gas pumps so that the dollar meter stops while you keep pumping...ie pay $5.00 for a full tank!

[Binjammin]

there also is a way to "hack" the gas pumps so that the dollar meter stops while you keep pumping...ie pay $5.00 for a full tank!


It's not a hack technically. There are a few different ways to do it. One of them is to have the keys to the pump itself, you can change the prices on some pumps at the pump itself, but you need access to the pump. Another way is to bypass the electronics and run the pump electrically. Basically you run a jumper wire to the pump to provide power to it. Other than that there's no real way to hack a gas pump.

[colin b]

These numbers seem impressive, until you realize how out of scale they are. We use billions of gallons a year. The numbers here don't even say what the unit of time is, but let's assume it's a year. We use something along the lines of 140 billion gallons of fuel a year. All of a sudden those hundred million numbers seem to pale in comparison, no? Big numbers out of context are usually used to frighten people, it's an old media trick. Remember that 11% Number?



Agree with you on the time period, but there are 42 gallons in a barrel, so the number goes up a little.