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Old 11 July 2008, 09:39 AM
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EOEUMC
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Default Get the most out of the petrol

I don't know if this has been posted before, but I just got it in an email and thought I would share with the fellow gas guzzlers

TIPS ON FILLING YOUR CAR

I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol..... but here in Durban we are also paying high prices, up to
R 8.50 per litre. My line of work is in petroleum and has been for about 31 years now. So here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.

Here at Marian Hill Pipeline where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24 hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LPR and Unleaded. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

Only buy or fill up your car in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold..

Remember that all Service Stations have their storage tanks buried beneath the ground. The colder the ground the more dense the fuel. When it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or evening .......... your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A one degree rise in temperature is a big deal in this business but the Service Stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you are 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 minimising the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes into 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 tank is HALF FULL.

The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in you tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimises the evaporation. Unlike Service Stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder. If there is a fuel truck pumping into storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT FILL UP. Most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered and you might pick up some dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money. Remer to always fill your car when the tank shows 'half'. Always fill up in the early morning. Always fill up in slow mode.

The person that had sent this e/mail on had added a 'rider' which said the following. This actually works. I tried early Saturday morning before I came to work. $30.00 from 1/2 tank filled up my car. Usually it is $55.00. Amazing. This has got to be the most useful e/mail I have received all year.



Old 11 July 2008, 09:47 AM
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JohnD
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Good tips.
I'd heard the low temp. one.
JohnD
Old 11 July 2008, 11:07 AM
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magicgreg
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Aye good tips there.
Old 11 July 2008, 11:13 AM
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EOEUMC
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I knew the one about temp and filling up as early as poss, but the rest was new on me
Old 11 July 2008, 11:16 AM
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But does the extra weight of a full tank use just as much as what would evaporate?
Old 11 July 2008, 11:44 AM
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Interesting - and quite easy to test too. All you need are two identical, empty jerry cans. Fill one of them up slowly first thing in the morning, and the other one quickly at the end of the day.

Then, to compensate for any differences due to temperature/density and fill level, weigh them both and work out how many kg of fuel you got per £. This gives you an accurate measure of just how much mass of fuel you get for your money.

I'd be willing to bet there's a small difference, but nowhere near the $30 vs $55 mentioned.
Old 11 July 2008, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by AndyC_772
I'd be willing to bet there's a small difference, but nowhere near the $30 vs $55 mentioned.
My thought entirely. Sure it was done on TV once difference was about 40p or at the time about half a litre.

5t.
Old 11 July 2008, 01:02 PM
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But what about the extra fuel used travelling to the petrol station to only fill up when your tank is half full? So you will have 2 fill ups instead of one every tankful (if that irish makes sense!).
Old 11 July 2008, 04:25 PM
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David Lock
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So the 6 second top-up in the blazing heat of a Grand Prix pit stop with the engine running is not ideal then
Old 11 July 2008, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by EOEUMC
I don't know if this has been posted before, but I just got it in an email and thought I would share with the fellow gas guzzlers

TIPS ON FILLING YOUR CAR

I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol..... but here in Durban we are also paying high prices, up to
R 8.50 per litre. My line of work is in petroleum and has been for about 31 years now. So here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.

Here at Marian Hill Pipeline where I work in Durban, we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24 hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LPR and Unleaded. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

Only buy or fill up your car in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold..

Remember that all Service Stations have their storage tanks buried beneath the ground. The colder the ground the more dense the fuel. When it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or evening .......... your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role. A one degree rise in temperature is a big deal in this business but the Service Stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

When you are 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 minimising the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes into 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 tank is HALF FULL.

The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in you tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimises the evaporation. Unlike Service Stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder. If there is a fuel truck pumping into storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT FILL UP. Most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered and you might pick up some dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money. Remer to always fill your car when the tank shows 'half'. Always fill up in the early morning. Always fill up in slow mode.

The person that had sent this e/mail on had added a 'rider' which said the following. This actually works. I tried early Saturday morning before I came to work. $30.00 from 1/2 tank filled up my car. Usually it is $55.00. Amazing. This has got to be the most useful e/mail I have received all year.




blame the yanks for your fuel saving woes, they still pay lower than anyone else for oil.
Old 11 July 2008, 06:43 PM
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Cheers mate
Shame i just put 65 quid in her on quick spray & in the evening
Ill remember for next time
Old 11 July 2008, 07:31 PM
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Ground temp is not a factor and as such it always remains constant below a certain depth eg 3 ft so the fuel station tanks are always at the same temp as they are at least 3 ft down to the top of the tank.
and as for evaporation it would not be measurable and as soo has you drive off the petrol moves around and will cause evaporation all the time your driving and if you have good seal on your petrol cap problem solved
Spoof email m thinks
Old 11 July 2008, 07:43 PM
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Originally Posted by David Lock
So the 6 second top-up in the blazing heat of a Grand Prix pit stop with the engine running is not ideal then
Lets see Do they earn a normal wage where they have to worry about saving fuel or even road tax? I don't think so


Originally Posted by powerman1
Spoof email m thinks
What ever
Old 11 July 2008, 11:25 PM
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Definitely going to give it a go, no harm in trying.
Old 12 July 2008, 09:56 PM
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Tried it tonight on my 97 sti, not filled up before, but was under the Empty line and with my old wrx 93, used to cost bang on £60 to fill up. £53.50 tonight using a slow-medium fill up.

Don't know if it made any difference or not, but would of thought both tanks would be the same?
Old 13 July 2008, 01:03 AM
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"Get the most out of the petrol"

1) Pour as much as you can afford over Mr Brown
2) Introduce a source of ignition

Last edited by Eddie1980; 13 July 2008 at 01:06 AM.
Old 13 July 2008, 09:44 PM
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Well Timmy, if that's right and there the same a saving of £6.50 is great I know its not a lot but when it adds up
Old 13 July 2008, 09:55 PM
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My dad works with aircraft fuel storage and pumping, and i'veseen first hand what a small temp rise can do for the amount of fuel. It was something like 1000 litres difference per 1 degree risw or fall.
Old 13 July 2008, 10:56 PM
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im getting up at the crack of dawn...!
Old 13 July 2008, 11:36 PM
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so can i fill up now then for cheap? can't be bothered to get out of bed, but if its going to sbuy me a pack of **** i need to know!
Old 14 July 2008, 07:33 AM
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hmm may try this myself.

i usually go fill up around either midnight or 7am on a friday morning, as i cant be doing with the traffic (local shell is across from asda's )

so i need to go when the whether is cooler and fill up more slowly basically.

sorted
Old 14 July 2008, 10:24 AM
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Only fill up in the winter

What a load of *@!#. Underground tank temperature will be virtually constant over 24 hours.

Filling up slowly allows more fuel to evaporate from the tank due to the extra time the cap is off.

A said above, filling up every half tank = extra trips to the petrol station + driving around with extra weight.

No way the savings would be significant. £5 / fill =
Old 14 July 2008, 10:33 AM
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Have you tried it speedking? If not why don't you, instead using little symbals to vent your frustration! I posted this up to see if it helps other users. If don't help you then don't do it. Its that simple. Also, if you drive past a garage on your to work or wherever you go on a regular, does that mean that you are doing extra trips to the garage? I think

If timmy2take saved £6.50p because of this, then good luck to him and whoever else does save money. But if people are not prepared to even try it before whinging about certain things, well
Old 14 July 2008, 02:47 PM
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If someone who has a gerry can can try this then using the 'ideal' time and slow fill vs the fast fill and hottest time of day (not easy at the moment).

Recording both price per ltr and total cost then we can bottom this out.

I would think the Temp in South Africa may play more of a part in this than it would here in GB.
Old 14 July 2008, 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by burbling1
But does the extra weight of a full tank use just as much as what would evaporate?
Old 14 July 2008, 03:35 PM
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Filling up slowly, PMSL

Even if it were true about the vapour thing when filling up quickly (which I very much doubt it is), the few pence saved vs. my time wasted filling up my car makes it rather pointless. I hate filling up so will do so as quickly as I can.
Old 14 July 2008, 04:09 PM
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Jesus, have you guys heard yourselves? So called evidence of £ savings comes from someone filling up tanks on 2 different cars? I've heard it all now. Fill up on half a tank? Err why, fuel evaporation, WTF? If you said only half fill from empty that might make sense due to less weight carried for 150 miles.

If you're worried about saving pence, yes pence from some rubbish chain letter some gullible person is posting about go sell your Impreza for a diesel Polo and get 70-80 mpg.

Is this some April Fool wind up?
Old 14 July 2008, 04:11 PM
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Some facts such as crap being taken from the bottom of the petrol station's tank when a lorry is emptying its load are true. But it seems more like a chain mail. Temperature plays a role but certainly not 30-55 dollar difference!
Don't worry though, the petrol pumps at stations are calibrated to take this into account hence they are 'stealing' fuel even in the best circimstances to cater for the change in temp
To test it take a can of a known volume and fill it up. See how many liters the pump shows. Don't be surprised if the 2 don't match
Old 14 July 2008, 04:59 PM
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Talking

Originally Posted by EOEUMC
Have you tried it speedking?
How can I try it? Firstly I would have to measure the temperature of the fuel. Not easy on a busy forecourt.

Secondly I would have to know exactly what volume of fuel I was buying, the cost of a calibrated liquid container would far outweigh any saving made.

@ timmy2take.

Admittedly if my wife drives my car then it returns better mpg, maybe it's because she has colder hands than me?

Have a read about vapour recovery while you fill your car, it doesn't happen in the UK yet!
Old 14 July 2008, 05:00 PM
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Its good to see that some people are happy to give it a go and that you get the other Subaru drivers that put there 2 pennies worth in and don't really care in maybe saving some money. Not on just 1 tank of fuel but as many as possible. I wish I could afford not too care about it

As for buying a diesel Polo If I want to drive a Subaru Impreza, then I will drive a Subaru Impreza that is my prerogative. I think (if you don't already) that you should get a job in Parliament! They are trying to dictate what people should drive etc


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