Saving Money at the Fuel Pumps
May 5th, 2008
My son-in-law needed to get gasoline for his truck. He took a container to the station and told the attendant he needed to get gas. The attendant stared at him and said “it is called fuel”. (We have laughed about this). Whatever you choose to call it, I know I am feeling the pinch every time I go to the gas station to fill up.
Here are some tips I have read a few times on how to get the most out of the fuel we use for the best gas mileage:
•Fill up your car in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. All service stations have their tanks buried below ground so the colder the ground the more dense the gasoline. As it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or evening your gallon is not exactly a gallon.
I was given this advise years ago and am still hearing the same thing so I can only assume it is true.
•When you are filling up DO NOT squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to fast mode. When you pump the gasoline slower it minimizes the vapors that are created. All hoses have a vapor return, if you are pumping in fast mode; 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 are getting less worth for your money.
•Fill up when your tank is half full or half empty. The more gas you have in your tank the less air is occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates at an extremely fast rate. The gasoline storage tank has an eternal floating roof that serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.
•Drive at a consistent speed, even in traffic. Too much braking wastes as much fuel as rapid acceleration. Applying the brakes kills momentum and then you have to speed up again which wastes gas.
•Accelerate slowly. A pretty simple tip that will leave you with more gas in your tank and less visits to the pump.
And of course I am sure we all stock pile our errands and do them at the same time to save on gas. This is an organization tip I have used for years.
What fuel saving tips do you use? We need all the ideas we can get.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
that sounds great! hadn’t thought about a few of those before. v e r y interesting….
May 7th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
More tips:
Always keep your car in good working order, regular oil changes, lubes and tune ups. A well-tuned engine is a fuel-efficient one.
Keep your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Flatter tires have more contact with the road, increase friction and increase fuel usage (and cause more wear to your tires)
Don’t carry around what you don’t need. A heavy car uses more fuel.
Plot your routes to minimize left turns and stop lights (UPS does this)
Remove roof racks and crates when not using them. Keep your car streamlined.
At speeds above 60kph (40mph) there is a high drag coefficient on a car with the windows down so it may SAVE gas to run your air conditioner (if you are in stop&go traffic, leave the windows down - this only applies on the highway)
May 10th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Jacki, thanks for these other tips. We can sure use it. How much is fuel (do you call it petro in Canada?) where you live? I am going to get an oil change for this very reason today and have my tires checked.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:19 am
fuel - most Canadians call it “gas” except the French ones who call it “essence”
Over the last week it has been running about $1.35 per litre here in Montreal.
One US gallon is 3.78 litres. Today’s exchange rate is $1 US = $1 CDN
So, an American buying gas in Montreal would be paying about $5.11 per gallon.