I got this email thru my wife who got this email so i dont know if it is true but here it goes.... 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 1,800,000 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 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 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 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. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money. DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS! Darrin Jacobs Les Jacobs Ford Mercury PO Box 278 18690 State Highway 37 Cassville , MO 65625 417-847-2151 417-847-3855 fax Les Jacobs Ford-Mercury
Mostly Urban Legend - check Snopes, who have just added this myth to their list. Gasoline temperature is an issue in hot places like Arizona where I live. Unfortunately, the temperature of underground tanks doesn't vary much with time of day. However, the gas is sold at a temperature hotter than the standard, so we pretty much get stiffed all the time. The only possibly true part is to avoid tanks being filled, although I would hope that any filters would get out any debris. Mike
The Prius has an internal bladder inside the fuel tank that minimizes the free air space above the fuel. So this tip really doesn't apply for the Prius.
Urban legend and useless tripe. There is a grain of truth behind some of it, but it has no practical impact. Underground temperatures are very stable, the Prius has a sealed tank with a vapor bladder, and all pumps use a filter system. If the filter is overwhelmed with dirt from a tanker fill-up, it's still going to be plugged hours and days after that tanker leaves. I really don't understand how these urban legends keep circulating. It must be related to perpetual motion. Tom
something interesting happened to me today. my tank was three pips from full today, i decided to fill up because i was gonna travel quite a distance. when i reached the station, i filled up, i drove about 130 miles, so i figured to use about 2-3 gallons. my prius took about 1.7 gallons (my average was 46mpg). i topped off once, then that was it. when i drove off, strangely enough, the THREE PIPS were NEVER replaced. i shut off the car, then restarted it and drove, thinking that it would come back. it never did. after driving about 130 miles, one bar went DOWN from the original position. is there a flaw in my gauge? did the first three pips burn out? your comments and suggestions please.
I think there is a part in the owners manual that says that 3 gallons need to be added for the gas gauge to move.
Correct. That is why you have to add at least three gallons after running out; otherwise the computers won't allow the car to start again.
OH WOW! is that true? good grief.....OK. thanks again......i was worried for nothing. you guys are really very well versed indeed. :flame:
That isn't true because I ran out of gas once and the car restarted after I poured no more then a gallon from a can on the side of the road. Although the red triangle light stayed on until I filled up at the gas station 3 or 4 miles up the road.
What the other posters intended was that you need to add at least three gallons for the Prius to notice the fuel. That's why your red triangle stayed on until you filled up. Tom
Another fuel tip.. Don't buy fuel during rush hour.. It's a pain in the butt when you leave the station to get back on the road due to the traffic.
That is called an idiot light, I wonder why? I fill up when the price is at the lowest in the cycle. Price varies by 10 to 12 cents a litre each week, The price slowly falls from Thursday to Wednesday when it jumps back up again.
I knew there was a similiar tip earlier on PC so did a search: http://priuschat.com/forums/fuel-economy/37345-4-hints-save-money.html pretty much the same but an extended version this time ... HMMM I'm waiting from the one from Nigeria next
today, i filled up at the LAST two pips, and once again MORPHEUSX, you are right. thanks for your very accurate advice. :clap2: i dont know why it only took 1.7 gallons on my last fillup, but this time, on the 2nd to last pip, my car filled up with 6.75 gallons...........all the pips showed up....what a relief. however, i tried to look in my manual about the pips not moving unless the vehicle intakes 3+ gallons. where is that stated? good grief, i can't find it! cheers:flame:
I must have gotten that email for the 4th time now. First time about a yr ago so I've had time to think about it. the first it temps. As you go under ground and down the 5 or 6 ft that the tanks are put the ground stableizes the temp. Not likely for there to be much variation. The vapor recovery, what is recovering this vapor? the hood over the pumps. There is nothing in the nozzle and nothing going thru the hose. How does it get back to the tanks? The only one that might merit truth is the filling while the truck is emptying. But if you figure how often that tank is filled and how long it would take for things to settle out i probably wouldn't help much to worry about it. Thats what gas filters are for.
