Let’s take another commercial break from our regular MMORPG and video game “programming”.

Time for some public service.

Am sure that most of you with cars would be happy to read about some gas saving tips. Me? I always put gas at the last minute… when my car basically screams for it. So, yeah. These are useful.

A relative of mine sent me this e-mail a couple of days ago. Although some tips are for Americans (yeah, they pump their own gas while we Pinoys here in the Philippines have people to do that for us), I’m sure you’ll learn a lot from it still.

I don’t know where these tips came from but I’ll share it just the same.

The tips after the jump

TIP #1:  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.

TIP #2:  When you’re filling up do not sq ueeze 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 of the 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.

TIP #3: 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, the 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.

TIP #4:  VERY IMPORTANT:  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.