gasoline saving tips

[j cAT]

i found this on the net and it is what i agree as a way to get the most when refueling vehicle.. ...


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 tricksto 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.
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, t he 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.

[biggflintmi]

Great info. Thanks

['97ventureowner]

A lot of that info is debatable and there are better ways to save on gas and get better fuel economy. That has been circulating around the internet for quite sometime and I get a copy of this in my email inbox practically every week.Check out this link to see the real facts behind the claims:http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp

[MrPbody]

Something else no one seems to consider... NEVER use a "drive through". Your car gets ZERO MPG while idling. It also makes more emmissions at idle than at any other time.

Jim

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by MrPbody

Something else no one seems to consider... NEVER use a "drive through". Your car gets ZERO MPG while idling. It also makes more emmissions at idle than at any other time.

Jim

While that is very logical advice, even I have said it time and time again, it isn't applicable to everybody. You have to take into consideration those people where a drive thru is more than a convenience such as parents of young children. I have a disabled son and the drive thru has been a Godsend on occasions as it saves me time from having to get my son out of the car and then try to keep him from going all over the place while in the store/restaurant where the service may be painfully inadequate. There are also other instances where a drive thru is more than a convenience and using it is a great benefit. But the majority of users CAN go inside to conduct their business and save gas.

[MrPbody]

I didn't mean to seem insensitive to those with special needs. I fully understand if you MUST do something a certain way. My focus is for the vast majority. I haven't used a drive-thru in years... My decision was based on emmissions, not fuel economy. It just happens to "work out that way"...

Jim

['97ventureowner]

Another note to Jim's reply concerning drive thrus. They can be a timesaver in some situations. For example you have to deposit a check or something quick at the bank and there is a long line inside. Generally one would think you could zip through the drive thru and deposit it and be done in no time. But many times there's someone who's inconsiderate or unprepared and holds up the whole line. Those drive thrus are there for the convenience of the customers and if you're not prepared,( as you should be before going through one as directed by the many signs present, ) or don't know exactly what you're doing, then go inside to handle your business. Let those who are prepared go through with ease instead of holding everybody else up. I guess the same thing could be said for fast food drive thrus. Be prepared with your order and know what you want and don't make the order too complicated to slow the line down. (end of rant )

[Blue Bowtie]

Take a lesson from Europeans and Asians, and turn off your engine at stoplights and in drive-through lanes. Idling for about 15 seconds wastes more fuel than stopping and starting the engine.

Use fully synthetic (PAO/Group IV) lubricants. Chassis dynamometers have proven an increase in wheel horsepower of 10% by simply switching to PAO synthetic lubricants in the engine, transmission, and differential. That's most likely due to the decrease in friction resulting from the superior lubricant. It might not have been worth it for you before, but with fuel at $4 a gallon, and mineral oil costing $3 a quart, synthetics are actually becoming a bargain in many ways, since you can usually safely run it longer than mineral oil, saving fuel all along the way.

Keep tires at the appropriate maximum inflation. Under-pressure tires increase rolling resistance in a fairly asymmetrical manner, but most tires don't actually appear to be low until they are at least 50% below proper inflation. You need to actually check pressure at least once every month, and DON'T rely on the factory "tire pressure monitors" since they don't really measure tire pressure, but count the number of revolutions of one tire compared to another. They necessarily allow very low pressure before turning on. Keep the tires inflated, and save in both fuel and replacement tires.

Maintain alignment. 1/8" of improper toe can impart a force equal to an additional 60' of distance in every mile traveled. While that doesn't sound like a lot, it equals 1.15% in mileage, and you would barely even notice unusual tire wear with that little toe change. More severely misaligned vehicles can lose up to 10% mileage, not to mention the rapid wear of tires and vehicle parts. If you have noticeable tire wear, you can save fuel money by having the alignment corrected. A $39.95 alignment special might save you that much in the first month alone. Again, there are no computer error codes for poorly aligned wheels, so you'll actually have to get out of your chair and do something.

Keep a clean air filter. Paper elements may look "clean" but still have restriction, since the filter media entraps the smallest particles first. Testing pressure drop over time indicates the greatest drop in pressure at the beginning of a filter's useful life, and a slowly tapering increase after that.

Operate the engine at the highest safe temperature. Change back to a stock 195ºF thermostat if that's what your vehicle was programmed to use (as in most of them since the 1980s). Fuel trims are based on the engine reaching proper temperature. If the engine is overheating, don't just put a band-aid on it by installing a colder thermostat, but address the actual problem. You can clean the cooling system, install an adequate water pump and radiator, and/or reprogram the PCM for the temperature you're running.

Use a higher quality oil filter. Low quality filter media creates a higher differential pressure across the element, making the engine work harder from idle to cruise RPM, and wasting fuel all the while. AAA reports an increase of up to 23 more miles on a tank of fuel by simply using a good oil filter. Installing a $4 orange filter might cost you a lot more in fuel than the "savings" by not using a $7 good oil filter (a.k.a., NOT orange).

Make sure the fuel tank is sealed. Having a fuel tank cap in good order can prevent the evaporation of up to 17% of the liquid fuel in the tank over the course of a week. Pollution aside, in warmer weather you can lose 1/6 of your tank to evaporation. For a 18 gallon tank, thats $12 a week going up in vapors, never to be recovered. Spend that on a new fuel cap if your's is missing, or repair the EVAP hoses and start saving. If you feel guilty, you can all send me $12 a week after that until you feel better about yourselves.

Maintain your vehicle tune. If the "Check Engine" light is on, you might really want to get that checked. It might be as little as a leaking fuel cap (see above) or misfiring ignition, injector problems, slipping transmission, or any of a number of other small and easily solved problems which could be costing you $$$ in fuel.

['97ventureowner]

Add to that something else I just read recently. Make sure your tires are properly balanced as well. A tire that is not balanced properly does not ride smooth and causes extra friction or drag on a vehicle, thus lowering your fuel economy. For the minimal cost of having your tires checked to see if they are properly balanced, ( those little lead weights can and do come off sometimes,) you can recoup what you spend on that service by your savings in gas over a short length of time.

[biggflintmi]

http://water4gas.com/2books.htm?hop=drivewater

This is something that caught my interest. Has anyone ever tried something like this? i am thinking about doing it to my lawnmower and if it all goes right i might try it on a car.

[msdz]

Originally Posted by biggflintmi

http://water4gas.com/2books.htm?hop=drivewater

This is something that caught my interest. Has anyone ever tried something like this? i am thinking about doing it to my lawnmower and if it all goes right i might try it on a car.

You try it and if it works let us all know. Sounds like a scam to me. It would be to good to be true. Claiming ot get such great mileage from just a quart of distilled water that produces over 1.800 gallons of vapor?!?! I am all for trying to save fuel but there are so many scams now trying to get people to spend money it isn't funny anymore.

Honestly a renewable fuel source is what we need. Something like the biofuels or water would be great. The biofuels I have been learning about and also considering on trying to make some for my diesel truck has really drawn my attention, I have even considered on making my own moonshine still and making ethanol. Only downside to the ethanol for my gasoline vehicle is I readyou need to files a bunch of paperwork and permits to the ATF. I also read that if permitted to make yor own ethanol you need to add a certain chemical to make undrinkable. The more I have read up the government has the hands in there somewhere, biodiesel can only be made up to 400 gallons, anything after that you need to pay road taxes on it. Of course I would probably never make anywhere close to that, I am lucky to need 30 gallons in a months time. Ethanol is another thing, I have not done a lot of reading on that but speculate the permits probably cost money allowing you to set up your own moonshine still/ethanol maker. May be cheaper just irritating knowing the government has to have their hands in there somewhere, most likely what is driving the cost so high at the pumps now.
If more people would actually try alternative methiods maybe the actual prices at the pumps would come down though.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by msdz

You try it and if it works let us all know. Sounds like a scam to me. It would be to good to be true. Claiming ot get such great mileage from just a quart of distilled water that produces over 1.800 gallons of vapor?!?! I am all for trying to save fuel but there are so many scams now trying to get people to spend money it isn't funny anymore.

Honestly a renewable fuel source is what we need. Something like the biofuels or water would be great. The biofuels I have been learning about and also considering on trying to make some for my diesel truck has really drawn my attention, I have even considered on making my own moonshine still and making ethanol. Only downside to the ethanol for my gasoline vehicle is I readyou need to files a bunch of paperwork and permits to the ATF. I also read that if permitted to make yor own ethanol you need to add a certain chemical to make undrinkable. The more I have read up the government has the hands in there somewhere, biodiesel can only be made up to 400 gallons, anything after that you need to pay road taxes on it. Of course I would probably never make anywhere close to that, I am lucky to need 30 gallons in a months time. Ethanol is another thing, I have not done a lot of reading on that but speculate the permits probably cost money allowing you to set up your own moonshine still/ethanol maker. May be cheaper just irritating knowing the government has to have their hands in there somewhere, most likely what is driving the cost so high at the pumps now.
If more people would actually try alternative methiods maybe the actual prices at the pumps would come down though.

It is the goverment /feds that are responsible for the situation we all find ourselves....regulations and tax breaks the protect the oil companies from competition for 7 plus years now....hopefully next year the feds will make changes to get other energy producing devices on the fast track to reducing our need of oil from countries that want to destoy us..