mmmmmm

TIPS ON FILLING YOUR CAR(S) (Good information)

I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol.... but here in Durban

we are also paying higher, up to R7.35 per litre. 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 litre.

Here at the 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, LRP 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 below ground. The colder the ground the more dense

the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon

or in the evening....your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum

business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, 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 vapours that are created while you are

pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping

on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to 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 your 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 the petrol 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

litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder, if there is a fuel truck pumping into the 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 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!

some good tips there:), but is it enough to see an actual difference?

 

 

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 your 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 the petrol 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

litre is actually the exact amount.

 

 

 

 

DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!

but coulndt u argue that if u drive all the time with a full tank, ie "heavy load " that you are useing fuel to pull in excessive weight?, lugging 60 litres around all the time is a heavy load!

Petrol turns to vapour. - So THAT's where it keep disappearing to!

I reckon the Supra drinks it way before much of it has chance to vaporise, the Tiger on the other hand always seems to be empty when I go to it.

Interesting... thanks mate.

but coulndt u argue that if u drive all the time with a full tank, ie "heavy load " that you are useing fuel to pull in excessive weight?, lugging 60 litres around all the time is a heavy load!

Full tank = 70 litres ~70kg

You can't drive round with an empty tank, so the 'extra' fuel you would carry by filling your car every time it gets to half full Vs running it to empty then half-filling it, is 35litres = 35kg, not 70kg.

35kg is negligable in a 1,500kg car. Even 70kg isn't that much (~ 1 passenger).

Either method is daft IMHO, the extra fuel you'll use going to the petrol station twice as often is unlikely to noticeably outweigh any gains using either of the above methods, assuming that is, that there are any gains to be had - a statement I'm of no means convinced.

Petrol turns to vapour. - So THAT's where it keep disappearing to!

IMO, the useful bits of the above are filling up first thing on a cold morning and not filling when there's a tanker in.

They normally won't let you fill when the tanker's in anyway

Some good advice there, cheers.

Dagnamit - I was searching Snopes for something else and came across this: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp

Is nothing safe from a Snopes comment?

70 litres of petrol weigh about 52 kg. (petrol has a specific density of about 0.74 )

If you fill your tank to the brim early on a cold morning, what happens when it warms up again ? Wont the 'extra' volume of condensed fuel expand and blow out through the vent ?

If you never let the tank go below half full, wont the old fuel constantly 'go off' and constantly dilute the new fuel you put in on top ?

go the South Africans!

@16 Rand to the pound, I wouldn't be worrying.

Nice tip on the cold fill up though. JC did it in the Audi Edinburgh test.

Some good tips there. Thanks

Ideal

Some interesting tips there, thanks for sharing gaz1. I've got a question for you: is the reason for floating lids on huge petrol storage tanks to reduce the risk of explosion? IIRC, liquid petrol isn't flammable, only the vapour is. By using a floating roof, you reduce the risk of possible explosion.

If you fill your tank to the brim early on a cold morning, what happens when it warms up again ? Wont the 'extra' volume of condensed fuel expand and blow out through the vent ?

Fair comment. I don't think the expansivity of petrol, combined with relatively small tank capacities (60 litres ish) is enough to cause a blowout in a car's petrol tank. But I'm happy to be corrected.....

If you never let the tank go below half full, wont the old fuel constantly 'go off' and constantly dilute the new fuel you put in on top ?

I don't think it works like that, thanks to "serial dilution" (nothing to do with cornflakes ). Whenever you drive around, it's likely that any old fuel will be mixed with newer fuel, so you're always using some of the oldest fuel in your tank. The more times you fill up, the more dilute the oldest fuel becomes.

One way to half your petrol bill is to fill up when the tank is half empty instead of completely empty. Hey presto, your bill is only £30 instead of £60