Fuel Up at Night...

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Here's an interesting article on how to get the greatest value when refueling - http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/are-you-getting-ripped-off-by-hot-gas/20070409161209990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001 . I have always tried to refuel on the coldest days because my Father always recommended it for the reasons stated - nice to see he was right about this as well...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[unklekraker]

wow..I never even though about that. Thanks for sharing, Jim

[Perfectlap]

good luck with those lawsuits (adding the thermostats at the pump)!
I highly doubt the Oil companies are going to willingly put back Billions into the consumers pockets...

who knew they were selling us marshmallows.

[aren040]

Something I never even thought of. It would be interesting to see exactly how much of a difference the temperature makes.

-aren

[djomlas]

i read something along those lines few yrs back, and btw, got some gas last nite at 1am

every penny counts, so why not....

but its funny, gas prices by my house and by my GFs house are veryyyy different, as much as .30, and i only live 20 mins away so i always fill up by my house

[RandallNeighbour]

Smart Houstonians don't wash our cars at spray car washes after dusk or fill up with gas after about 9:30 pm... too many bandits and thugs out after dark around here.

It's become really dangerous since all the impoverished Katrina victims were bussed into town and left here to scavenge for themselves.

Every single night the news reports someone getting carjacked and killed or stabbed by being on the street late at night pumping fuel on one of our major freeways, even near high dollar neighborhoods.

I think I'll start pumping my gas at 7 am when it's still cool so as to keep myself safe and get a quarter gallon more for no extra charge.

[JackG]

Gas is stored in underground tanks... which automatically regulates the temperature of the gas. On 100 degree days, you're not buying 100 degree gas, just like the gas isn't 0 degrees when the outside temp is 0.

From an edu website: "If you take the average yearly temperature (see Table 1) of an area, that will approximately give the constant ground temperature at about 30 feet below the surface of the ground in an area which is exposed to the sky."

In other words, if you live in the north, you get a better deal, year-round. If you live in the warmer south, you don't do as well. But there's probably little actual difference from month to month in the same area... at least not as much as that article leads you to believe. And especially not day to day, as the earth many feet down from the surface simply can't react that fast.

[Perfectlap]

[QUOTE=RandallNeighbour]

Every single night the news reports someone getting carjacked and killed or stabbed by being on the street late at night ...

QUOTE]


Great! when I can I move to Houston? RN, I'm going to report you to the Toursim board.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by JackG

Gas is stored in underground tanks... which automatically regulates the temperature of the gas. On 100 degree days, you're not buying 100 degree gas, just like the gas isn't 0 degrees when the outside temp is 0.

From an edu website: "If you take the average yearly temperature (see Table 1) of an area, that will approximately give the constant ground temperature at about 30 feet below the surface of the ground in an area which is exposed to the sky."

In other words, if you live in the north, you get a better deal, year-round. If you live in the warmer south, you don't do as well. But there's probably little actual difference from month to month in the same area... at least not as much as that article leads you to believe. And especially not day to day, as the earth many feet down from the surface simply can't react that fast.

Hi,

Yes, but the Tanks are Vented and so pull in Ambient Temperature Air to offset the Gas which is pumped out. How much difference this makes probably depends on the Air Temp, how full the Tank is, etc...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[BobMarley1]

Filling up in the morning!

[JackG]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

Yes, but the Tanks are Vented and so pull in Ambient Temperature Air to offset the Gas which is pumped out. How much difference this makes probably depends on the Air Temp, how full the Tank is, etc...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Of course... then that newly introduced air is quickly warmed/cooled by the far greater mass of gas/metal/air that is already at the underground temp.

The point is that it's not a huge temperature swing, but rather just a few degrees, and it moves very slowly over weeks/months, not over a few hours.

I'm sure there is a minor difference in the quantity I get when I purchase gas in January as opposed to July, but not when the air temp falls 20 degrees for just 4 or 5 hours or even a few days, and the underground temp hasn't changed.

But hey, if it makes you feel good, then do it!

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Great! when I can I move to Houston? RN, I'm going to report you to the Toursim board.

Actually, we're overcrowded here and this is my organic attempt to run off would-be move-ins! Besides, the tourism board knows all about our skyrocketing murder rates. I heard rumors of making a new marketing byline for Houston.

Houston: We've got it all:

"A great place to die. Just ask most anyone if they're still alive."
"Our heat and humidity will completely eliminate purgatory in the afterlife as 'time served' "
"Soaring crime and property taxes, not to mention some of the most poorly paved roads in the nation! What more could you ask for?"

[NickCats]

Gee, Randall, I really wish I had taken that job in Houston now ! You make it sound like such a great place to live

Nick

[Houston C4S]

Randall's just funnin' with you all.

He didn't even mention the mosquitoes, tornadoes, hurricanes,
the Mexican invasion or the traffic.

At least we don't have to put our cars (or our lives) on hold
for six months of the year when it gets all cold and snowy.

Heck, that's often the best time of year for us. So it gets
a little hot here for a few months -- that's why we have A/C.

I live out of town a bit, so no worries here about the, umm,
Katrina citizenry (the ones who have upped our murder rate
by 70% -- can't we just send'em back???). I just carry pepper
spray, shotgun (Winchester Defender with 000) and/or the
H&K P7M8 (9mm). Just in case.

As far as gas temps, what bugs me worse than the slight volume
increase if it indeed is that hot, is those single hose pumps where
you just know the guy before you pumped regular so the first
hose full for you is regular. Which in the total volume of the
hose probably isn't all that much, it's still now in your tank
and you are leaving your high priced premium for the next
curler wearing, baby toting, cell phone talking mamoo in her
minivan behind you.

So there.

Best,

- Mark

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by Houston C4S

Randall's just funnin' with you all.

He didn't even mention the mosquitoes, tornadoes, hurricanes,
the Mexican invasion or the traffic.

At least we don't have to put our cars (or our lives) on hold
for six months of the year when it gets all cold and snowy.

Heck, that's often the best time of year for us. So it gets
a little hot here for a few months -- that's why we have A/C.

Now Mark is funnin' with ya'll too.

"a LITTLE hot here for a FEW months?"

We will hit 90 degrees with 85%+ humidity within the first two weeks of May. It stays this hot and humid straight through the end of September. That's four solid months of swealtering humid heat. It's like sitting in a sauna with a heat lamp five inches from your head with the top down from 10 am to 6 pm on these days.

Even with the top up, the AC just doesn't cool off my boxster, even when parked in the shade in the summer months.

Just so you'll know, I think about our looooong summers the way everyone up north thinks about their winters.

And to get this thread back on track (sorry) I do try to pump early in the AM before it heats up and I get more vapor than fluid in the tank. Heck, even if the fuel in the underground tank at the station is cool, it's being pumped into a tank that's 100 degrees or higher and that's got to heat up what I'm putting in there, right?

[racer_d]

Of course there is some truth to this, on the otherhand, who lives in such ideal conditions. Life is a crap shoot. Gas prices are high. I'd be more worried about inaccurate pump guages than of the tiny bit of "energy" lost by filling a car with "warm gas" - day or night.

[blinkwatt]

The link to the article is expired,someone care to share with me the jist of it?