SAVE AT THE PUMP!

Pumping gas...good things to know. I've been in petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currentlyworking for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose, CA. We deliverabout 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period from the pipe line; one dayit's diesel, the next day it's jet fuel and gasoline. We have 34 storagetanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. Here are sometricks to help you get your money's worth: 1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature isstill cool. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanksburied below ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline.When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in theafternoon or in the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly agallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and temperatureof the fuel (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleumproducts) are significant. Every truckload that we load istemperature-compensated so that the indicated gallon gage is actuallythe amount pumped. A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal forbusinesses, but service stations don't have temperature compensation attheir pumps. 2. If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time you wantto buy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank isbeing stirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might betransferring that dirt from the bottom of their tank into your car'stank. 3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because themore gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasolineevaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm. (Gasoline storage tankshave an internal floating 'roof' membrane to act as a barrier betweenthe gas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation.) 4. If you look at the trigger you'll see that it has three deliverysettings: slow, medium and high. When you're filling up do not squeezethe trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping atthe slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you arepumping. Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as areturn path for vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered.If you are pumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline containsmore vapor, which is being sucked back into the underground tank, soyou're getting less gas for your money. Hope this will help ease your'pain at the pump'