by Daniel T. Zanoza, National Director
You've probably heard them all. Some tips are wacky, some are valuable. But when we find something that really does work, most of us want to share it with the world.
Such was the case when I was forwarded an e-mail which stated if you followed some simple suggestions, you will save money at the gas pump. Yeah, sure, I said to myself. We all have heard similar claims from weird tips designed to help our gardens grow to suggestions that we should cut down to one square of toilet paper at every sitting to help the environment.
There are times when we hear something that simply makes sense. Such was the case in the e-mail I received about how to save money at the gas pump and, with gas hovering around $100 a barrel, those tips certainly piqued my interest.
So, here are some great tips on how to stretch your gasoline dollar.
When possible, fill up your vehicle in the morning. As it was explained, cooler A.M. temperatures make gasoline more dense. When temperatures are warmer later in the day, some of the gasoline you are putting in your tank can change into a gaseous state. Simply stated, you get more fuel for your dollar when temps are cooler.
Here's another suggestion. Most gasoline pumps have three settings: slow, medium and fast. Use the slowest setting possible. The reasoning behind this is when gasoline is flowing into your vehicle at a very high rate of speed, it creates more vapors. Again, the result is you are getting less actual fuel in your vehicle than you are paying for.
Following the advice in the next tip may depend on your situation. If you ever see one of those huge gasoline trucks filling up the gas station's underground tanks, do not fill up your vehicle, if at all possible. The reason for this is when the station's underground tanks are being filled, the gasoline within them is agitated. More dirt and other nasties can then be pumped into your car and, folks, that's not a good thing. Also, with the underground storage tanks being agitated, more heat is created. Again, heat helps turn gasoline into its gaseous state. Hence, more fumes, less fuel.
The final tip I received in a forwarded e-mail, which was purportedly written by Juan Vingochea Jr., of Blythe, California reads: "One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas 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 gallon is actually the exact amount."
Taking these suggestions into consideration, I wanted to make sure somebody wasn't selling me a bill of goods. So my loyal editor checked out Urban Legends, a web site which either confirms or denies items like this. All Snopes.com said was the status was "undetermined" [http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp]. So I decided to see if the tips worked myself and they did.
I followed the first two suggestions and took a trip of over 300 miles. When I returned home, I had more fuel left in my tank than I ever had in at least 20 previous trips of the same distance. To my pleasant surprise it was an appreciable difference and my gasoline savings may have reached 20 to 25%. I didn't calculate how much money I saved, but these tips worked and that's all that really matters. Therefore, if money matters to you, give some of this tips a try. If you are independently wealthy and rising gasoline prices don't affect you like an Al Gore speech, drive on. Happy motoring.
Caption for photo: One dollar's worth of gas won't get you far in 2007.
Anyone wishing to receive RFFM.org e-mails should contact [email protected]
Comments