My line of work has been 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 through 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 or bakkie 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 one 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 because the more fuel you have in your tank the
less air is 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.
