Sharing the information forwarded by my friend ….
I don’t know what you guys are paying for petrol…. but here in Durban
we are also paying higher, up to R7.35 per litre. But my line of work is
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 thru 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 (is it BIKE....?) 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 1-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, the more fuel you have in your tank the
less air 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.
