Regacy

A pal of mine drives HGVs for a living. A couple of months ago he got a job driving petrol tankers, lots of tanker specific tests and checks but the money's good.
The other night he told me all about the different brands of petrol that are sold In the UK.
(sorry if this is a SIAL but it was all new to me)
He picks up fuel from a major depot which works in a similar fashion to the retail outlets we all use, just on a grand scale.
Anyway the depot only has two dumps of fuel; petrol and diesel.
Before he fills his tanker he swipes a smart card through the pump which then alters the mix of additives for the brand he has requested.
EVERYONES PETROL IS THE SAME.
The only point of difference is the mix of additives.
(oh yes and the marketing behind them!)
Maybe I’m a touch naive but I had assumed there was more to it than that?

NotoriousREV

I live near Shell's refining plant nr Ellesmere Port and you see tankers bearing every fuel companies name going in and out.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Doesnt that make them all DIFFERENT then?

Cos thats like saying everyones coffee is the same, but one may have sugar, one may not or one may have milk and the other may be black. Making them totally different.

Or have i got it wrong?

JoeyDeacon

Nope thats correct.

You didn't think that Sainsbury, Tesco etc. etc. all had their own refineries did you.

I have never noticed any difference in any of the petrol I have ever bought. You will find people who swear blind their car runs better on such and such a petrol but I think this is rubbish.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

It is not right to dicriminate between brands, this thread is going to get locked......

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Just re-read that, sounds like I though the other thread should have been left open, not the case.

Chip

Petrol and Diesel is also moved around the country in the same pipelines as well. After one fuel ie petrol , is pumped through a swab(pig) is then used to clean the pipe before being followed by a neutral fluid which is followed by the new fuel, ie diesel.

Chip.

Ridge Racer

no it's right , my mate works on the tankers and he said that all the petrol was the same !!

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Doesnt only happen with petrol.

I used to work for a company that made filling machines (yawn).

Anyway, my point is, after seeing a paint filler do a run of "HIGH QUALITY BRANDED PAINT" you would then see from the SAME hopper a "NON BRANDED PAINT" coming down the line.

So from the same hopper you would get two different brands of paint and probably a big price difference.

damian666

Its called 'own brand' guys. You don't really think Tesco have big bean factories etc?



Its the package we pay for - or the brand - excluding premium products (like optimax) which are usually not repacked and rebranded.

Damo

TonyNesta

So what's the score with Optimax then ? Its a higher RON, surely that can't be down to additives ?

T

CrisPDuk

Course it can, as the original post says its all down to the additives which are mixed in when the tanker is filled, apart from the detergents, it probably has an octane booster added too.

brickboy

I read something about this a little while ago on Honest John's site.

He said that Shell petrol and diesel is the only big-name forecourt fuel to have its additive package premixed BEFORE the tanker, and all other forecourt fuels are mixed IN the tanker, using the swipe-card system described earlier.

He reckoned that Shell is more consistent because of this. No idea if it's true or not.

There's also storage at the forecourt to consider, the condition of the underground tanks & lines, etc etc ...

Poor Guy

Probly Iraq, Iran or Saudi

brickboy

Worth checking this thread on BP "Ultimate" fuel over in General ....

Mungo

So if the additives are all different, then the end products you buy at the pumps are all different too.
It's the difference between the aluminium that your saucepans are made of and the aluminium that 747's are made of.

As also stated, I would imagine that the "premium" brands (Shell, Esso, BP) would be stricter about the cleanliness of their tankers (tankers) and the pumps/tanks at their service stations so that the fuel you buy is in better condition, i.e. not full of bits of rust.