The tips that follow bellow are carefully picked from many forum discussions and experts opinions, so it’s up to you to decide if you are going to accept it or not. But we think that these facts speak for themselves and you will see the truth.
Have you ever had the feeling when you are refueling your car or truck that you are cheated, or like something is wrong? Yeah, you have the feeling that you are not receiving the right amount of fuel for your money and the fuel lamp is notifying you often? So did we! That’s why we investigated this topic and we found interesting facts!
Honestly, it’s not like we are donating 20% of our fuel, but it is useful to know these tips. Also we contacted a gas technician who works on gas pump and he confirmed our doubts. Here is what it is about: Did you know that the petrol-kiosk pump has a return pipe mechanism? Yeah, inside the fuel tank that is under the ground. So when you are fueling your tank to the brim, the return mechanism is triggered off and the return valve is activated; this way the excess is returned back to the underground tank. And there isn’t a reverse meter on the kiosk pump and that means you are going to pay anyway for your donation!
Тhe temperature has a huge impact on the fuel, whether it is diesel, petrol or ethanol! That’s because on higher temperatures the petrol expands and that means your liter is not exactly a liter! So, choose the mornings for the refueling, because only 1 degree higher temperature is a big deal in this business.
Also when you are refueling on your own don’t choose the fast mode, (there are three modes: low, medium and high). That way you will minimize the vapours because the pumps also have vapour-return system. Yeah, some of the fuel when you are fueling fast converts into vapours and these smart pumps suck it back.
And one of the most important tips is: Always refuel when your tank is half full! But why? All the petrol tanks have some air inside that occupy the empty space, so the more fuel you have the less space there is inside! That way only a small amount of your fuel will evaporate. This problem is solved in some tanks because they have floating roofs to keep the balance!
And one last tip before we end up with the article, never refuel when a petrol truck is pumping into the storage underground tanks. Thanks to the pressure you might receive some dirt through the petrol that will settle on the bottom of your tank and cause you further problems.
Now you know the truth and we would like you to tell us your opinion on this. Help us to reach as more petrol buyers as possible!
“your litter is not exactly a litter”
Did you mean liter? Your grammar is not exactly grammar.
It was just a small typo Kristen. We fixed it now. Thanks for the notice 😉
Well done Margry, you have excelled yourself here.
Complete and utter nonsense on every point…..
1. The “return valve” : If your tank is full it’s FULL!! I’m not sure who your “inside” man is but he clearly hasn’t a clue what he’s talking about.
All modern pumps have a reverse-breathe cut-out mechanism (that click and stop when your tank is full? yeah?) so that once your tank is full it wont keep on pumping fuel in a spill it everywhere. That’s it.
2. The whole temperature issue is also bollocks.
Petrol will expand but only until you get up to about 40-50degrees. So the “only fill-up in the morning” theory is nonsense.
Also, if the volume of petrol is measured in a hot country (Kuwait, Iran, etc) they’re measuring it at a higher temperature so by the time it gets here it has shrunk and (if you’re theory is correct, which it ISN’T!!) drivers should actually get more bang 4 their buck.
3. Don’t ever let your tank run below half??
Always fill-up your tank??
WHAT??
Are you serious? come on, think about it……
More petrol in the tank=more weight=burning more fuel per mile.
I mean, come on guys this is really fucking basic stuff.
But you’re worried some of the petrol will evaporate-off??
How?? It’s in a sealed tank… Where is it gonna go??
Any vapour (not that the temperature in the UK is EVER high enough to start vapourisation) will re-condense and drip back down into the tank.
Finally 4. When the tanker is pumping fuel into the pumps it pushes dirt into your engine and may cause you problems…???
Wha??
The tanker has a FILTER on the pipe it uses.
The pumps have FILTERS
Your car has a FILTER between the petrol tank and the engine…
The chances of any dirt getting through is slim to non-existant.
I think you will find its spelt Litre?!
If you are going to correct something, you should be able to spell it yourself first!
Actuallu Olivia, litre is the international term, while liter is the American. So, it’s not a problem at all 😉 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litre
If you’re going to correct somebody on something know what you are correcting them on. Their grammar was good but, they accidentally misspelled something. So if you’re going to be all high and mighty like you don’t make mistakes just make sure you know what you’re correcting them on.
We all make mistakes Zach. It’s not a big deal friend 😉
These are great tips. I do believe that you have a creditable source, but some will not. I would suggest going in a little more detail about you source and how he is qualified to back these accusations up. Just an opinion though.
Thanks for the advice Ernest. We appreciate it.
100% i already told my friends but nobody believed
It’s a sad thing that we have to deal with thins like this Andon. Even in the 21st century.
I have heard about the fuel expanding and there has been debates about it. But I read another article that its the same thing whether hot or cold, but I believe what you say about pumping when its colder tempertaures
Vapor is better so you are not sucking junk back in your engine so hot day on high may cost u an extra 50 cents but your engine will thank u
Thanks for the advice Kevin.
The only truth that I see in this article is the advice to refuel in the morning, but not for the reasons you stated. Refuel in cold weather or the morning to minimize the loss of the aromatics in the fuel AT THE NOZZLE. There is an overpressure valve in the pumps, but only to keep internal pipes and hoses from bursting. The fuel shuts off at the nozzle, the measuring apparatus stops and your cost and volume pumped stops. The relief valve sits post-pump, but pre-indication. Floating roof? I hope you’re talking about fuel station tanks as every single vehicle tank I’ve ever had open (I’m an auto technician btw) has never had anything beyond an internal flexible bladder for crash leak preventative purposes. MAYBE internal foam to minimize sloshing in racing applications. All the air and vapor inside the tank is drawn forward by means of an evaporative collection system and is drawn into the engine and burned. Hence nothing is wasted and it’s still fueling your vehicle. Albet a miniscule amount, but it is.
By the way, diesel is a fuel-oil and is NOT subjected to the same amount of aromatics loss as what gasoline is. Every liquid expands and contracts a certain amount with temperature change. A liter is a liter. A gallon is a gallon. Your car injects more or less fuel according to it’s fuel trim requirements for the amount of consumed air.
Please do your research BEFORE spouting inaccuracies.
Thanks for letting us know that Marcus.
i don’t think I’ve ever read a more technically inaccurate and misleading post. Return pipe siphoning off your gas? Vapor return? A liter expanding its volume? Why didn’t you add Gremlins dancing and playing tricks to make you underfill your tank? You should probably know what you’re talking about before you post such nonsense. Also I notice that the reply to any post that displays how inaccurate you are is responded to with ambivalence. “Thanks for your opinion” and such. How about a hardy “oops we were wrong”
in abit curious too about the refueling pump.. What i learned about my car is that i have only 80liter fuel capacity and then i got about 1/4 tank on my meter then asked the pump guy to fill my tank full. And then when i saw my pump meter when full,it showed me 83 liters.. How come?
That’s very interesting Mhadz. Don’t know the reason for that. Please let us know when you find out.
It shows 83 because you have 3-5 liters of petrol in the reserve. So when ur needle shows 0 u have 3 to 5 liters to drive from the resetve
Nice thanks for taking your time and let ppl know about this appreciate it
No problem Uriel. Glad you find the article useful.
I don’t know where you are located but here in Canada, Industy Canada regulates the sale of gas and the volume is corrected to 15 degrees Celsius so no matter what temperature it is you get the same amount of gas for your money regardless of how hot or cold it is.
That’s great friend. Glad to hear that.
I agree.
I seen this awhile back, ever since then I would only fuel my truck up in the morning. And try never going under half tank. I would also use the lowest setting on the handle. But i have seen some pumps that doesn’t have them settings, so I simply would find another pump. But shell fuel is the only kind I will ever use in my trucks unless I absolutely cannot find one on.
Thank you for all your tips Cody.
First of all the return mechanism prevents people from spilling fuel everywhere on the ground and only returns a small amount of fuel at the end of filling up (maybe a penny or two) idk about you but I’m not poor enough to worry about that, as for the vapor return mechanism you have the same situation do you want vapors coming out of your tank while you are filling up so there is more of a chance for combustion or are you willing to sacrifice what is probably not even a penny’s worth of fuel to possible to keep from burning to death. Second of all fuel tanks, as you said already, are buried under ground where temperatures are constant and do not flucuate therefore temperatures are not a factor when filling up. As for the part where you claim that having a tank that is more empty will cause your fuel to slosh around more causing more of it to vaporize you are right for once!!! But although your fuel will vaporize there is no where for the vapors to go because fuel tanks are sealed, therefore you don’t lose any fuel!! And last but not least don’t fill up when tankers are filling up the underground tanks not because the “pressure” will cause particle to be forced in the outlet to your vehicle but because the amount of fuel that they pump in so quickly stir’s up the sediments on the bottom of the tank causing them to be sucked up by the outlet going to your vehicle but wait they have inline filters between the tank and your vehicle so i wouldn’t worry much about that either.
Thanks for your opinion Doug. We appreciate it.
My Q is the petrol tank is inside the ground under 10cm RCC cement block and surrounded by sand so will it be effected by temperature above the ground…
I never see a tank that has 3 modes (low, medium & high), which country is this article for?
From: CA, USA
It’s for the United States. When you’re filling up, if you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high.
The only thing that is fact is “never pump when refueling truck is there”
The tanks are so deep in the ground that they are not effected by air temp. Otherwise diesel would freeze in colder climates.
There is only a vapor return, no fuel return. This keeps the tanks from vapor locking when refueling.
I have verified this through the US bureau of weights and measures.
Thanks for the information Mike.
It’s very helpful, I’ll be a future customer soon, like in 2 years, so these tips will be helpful for me and my girlfriend to keep our money safe from shark of business, they smell money everywhere, they steal us, so a big thank you for these tips.
Great job guys, continue like this, perseverance will attract people and you will achieve what you wanted to do
Thank you friend 🙂
I totally agree. I worked as a refueller at a service station for 3 years and I agree with everything said. Seen it all so there is proof. It all adds up over the years.
It’s sad but true 🙁 Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
The post is very amateur in structure but it does give some good pointers to drivers. However, the
return pipe is an emergency mechanism, which literally engages a second after over spill occurs (or perhaps before) and the pump will shut off. This is a safety mechanism to prevent fumes and excess fuel from spewing out and possibly igniting…it is not there to steal your money. It is also common knowledge to never top your tank to the brim, if you don’t believe me look at the gas cap of your cars, Most cars will find that it literally states to never fill your tank to the brim. The trick to maintaining good mileage is to never let your tank drop below the quarter mark, you can google that for yourself. Filling it up at half way will give you the same amount of gas (per dollar) as filling it a quarter of the way. I do have to agree on the rate of the gas being pumped in and the temperature though. Gas companies are already emptying your wallets, they’re not going to try to scam 20 more cents off of you. The article does have good points so pump smart people and drive safe.
Worker of the Oil Industry
Thanks a lot for all your useful tips Anon.
I believe every bit of this article. But not every pump works perfectly, so some of this method might work better on some. I believe it’s more about air density then temperature though. Just don’t buy maverick fuel and you will be ok! I swear, they put have water in there…
We’ll keep that in mind Keith. Thanks 🙂
I work at a gas station, in oregon where you have gad attendants pump your gas. I’ve worked at several. There is not return line or device. It is one way. Gas goes out the pump into your car. And the pumps are inspected by the government for correct weights and measure for fair trade.
This is actually no factual. I worked in the industry and yes whilst there is a return feed there is either a suction or pressurized system. Both flow rates are far higher than what you would measure as a cut off. You are talking about the difference of under -10mm over a 100litre discharge with cut off. The return pipe isn’t emergency as “worker of oil industry” claims. It is for environmental reasons and minor retention primarily collects gas vapors to be returned to tank rather than vented.
Good read. Take it one step further. What happens when the car before you refuels with the lesser expensive low octane and you intend to pump higher priced high octane. Is there residual gas in the hose from the previous customer? You would would be paying a higher price for a hose full of lesser expensive fuel.
Good thinking Giovanni. Thanks for pointing that out.
My understanding is that each state has a weights and measures division that at least once per year measures a gallon of fuel or perhaps more in a predetermined container and then checks the pump if it is accurate in pumping the correct amount. If this is the case and they determine that it is not correct I am sure they have to bring the pump up to the requirement or pay a fine. I do agree on not pumping gas when the fuel truck is unloading as it stirs up sediment which can then clog the fuel filter or give you other issues. Also agree on temperature of filling up when it is early morning or late at night as you loose less to evaporation at the pump.
About the temp thing for the fuel. At least where I work. The temp of the tanks do change some. Between 48-52°f. I have seen it drop lower before. Like when it was -30°f.
And why not fill up while the tanker is there? The gas does go through a filtering system. Basically you are always getting the same gas. Now I will say if your station runs out of gas. Avoid it for a few days,because when that happens. The fitters will need to be change because of all the extra settlement.
Works for a gas station. Working now. Went through and checked temps. We keep almost every reading. And we have ran out of gas before.
Many thanks for sharing that useful information Kim. We will definitely need it.
Why does the link to “interesting facts” go to an article about an “Original 1968 Shelby GT500 Convertible Rust Restored!”?
That’s another article on our website where you can find interesting facts about that specific car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_WJfP3Xg6Y
Didn’t know it was possible. Thanks for your post
Thanks for the video Paulo. Greetings!
and all that said are gas price is aparently droping a hole 20¢ but are we acually getting that price then
I don’t know if anyone has stated this yet, but prepaying in cash also makes you lose gas. If you ever have watched the pump when you are about to hit your dollar limit, the few cents at the end will continue decently quickly but you are only getting a tiny bit of gas. Check it out next time you prepay.
Will surely do friend.
Thanks vry for your precious Information in our daily routine. but I suggest if would be more familiar to us if you
post some image or photographs or animated pic…
still thanks.
Thank you for this great idea Swatesh. We appreciate it.
A lot of facts that you state are false. Please do some more research before posting an article like this. Thank you.
I’ve heard somewhere that It is best to visit the gas stations during mornings like when they first open since petrol expands to high levels of heat. Especially in the Philippines where gas prices are high and the temperature is even higher (like the other day we had 40 degrees C. That should make it a little over 100 degrees F). I don’t know anything about the gas pumps having a reverse mechanism, but here’s what I’ll do… I’ll try to bring a 5-litre container and have the gas guys fill it up. Then I’ll weigh it then and there at the station and see if I’m being ripped off… Also taking the high heat into consideration.
Anyway, very helpful information Mac. Kudos for this eye-opener.
That’s not a bad idea Paolo. Greetings friend!
These “tips” have been around forever.
I know they work, because I have tested them
just remember, if your going to run test using vehicle gas milage, you have to use same pump each time and same time of day,
Pump gas slowly , and dont pump any extra after pump clicks off
Run a 5 tank average, see what you get for results
That’s good to know. Hope other people would also find it useful.
Ok so here we go, yes some pumps have vapor recovery but the vapor is pulled out and burned on site not returned to the tank. 2nd you can fuel all you want when trucks are dropping fuel because the pumps have filters that not only trap the dirt but any water that might make its way through the pipes. Oh it you are worried about giving away free vapor then stay away from the stations that have the fatter plastic hoses, those are the recovery type. The rubber hoses have to recovery system. The guy who asked about putting 86L into a 80L tank, the tanks are advertised at 90% capacity and some can be fueled above that point but shouldn’t ever allow you to fill it to 100% as the fuel needs room to expand.
You provided us with some great info Steve. Huge thanks! 🙂
And they didnt even mention the old hold the hose way up high technique
thanks for the post we don’t care about the typos like some people do it was a good post thanks
Happy to hear that Trent. Thanks a lot! 😉
My husband has always told me to only fill up halfway, never to full the tank all the way. The reason being, the gas adds weight to your vehicle. More weight = more gas being used in regular day to day driving. Meaning the first half of the fuel tank burns off faster than only filling up halfway.
I’ve written down how much gas is in my minivan (it shows how many gallons and miles you have left) and gas always lasts longer when I only fill up around halfway.
Well thanks a lot for sharing your experience with us. I’m sure some may find it useful and try out what you did.