Tips on how to save money when filling up with fuel

With petrol expected to reach 150p per litre by end of 2011, these refuelling tips that allegedly come from a source in Australia might come in handy…..if true! They do seem to make a lot of sense mind, which is why I’m sharing them so everyone can benefit if they agree with the logic.

I don’t know what you are paying for UK petrol, but in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire the lowest is currently around £133.9 per litre at the Shell garage at the top of Desborough Avenue. Over the years, it has been consistently the least expensive for the longest period of time. Sometimes Adsa or Tesco petrol is cheaper, but often just for a short period.

Anyhow an “Australian” person, who is apparently the source of the following “advice” has worked (we are told) in the petroleum industry for 31 years to date. Here is their advice to help us save money by getting our money’s worth for every litre of fuel:

1) Only buy or fill up your car, van or lorry early in the 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 petrol, 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 one degree rise in temperature is supposedly a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

2) 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. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return.

When 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.

3) One of the most important tips is to ONLY fill up when your petrol tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more Petrol you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petrol 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, some refineries ensure that every vehicle they fill up is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

4) If there is a petrol tanker pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy petrol, DO NOT fill up; most likely the petrol is being stirred up as the petrol is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
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