Gassed Out
Driving in California, from Los Angeles to Sebastopol in Sonoma County and back in April 2008 after my protest horseback ride against high oil prices in Los Angeles, to attend book signings and make speeches on the reasons for the high price of oil, I stopped at several truck stops, diners and country cafes to get gas and personally gas up.
The conversations and concerns of locals at all stops was the same ─ the high cost of gasoline, food, health care, education and hardships of single parenting ─ the basics of American life. Driving through John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath Central Valley by vineyards and wine tasting rooms with the American flag proudly fluttering in the wind over the fertile land and irrigated fields with rolling hills of different shades of green grass, with hues of brown, I couldn’t help think of the beauty of America that was being corrupted by the hundreds of ugly graffiti covered empty rail cars idly parked on the silent rails snaking through the lush valleys, that like America, are waiting for an engine to move forward.
The silent landscape with motionless crane like oil derricks in San Aldo, was periodically disturbed by the occasional derrick huffing and puffing to pump the crude America so desperately needs to bring down the rising gasoline prices at the pump. Gasoline prices rose by more than 20 cents a gallon in the last two weeks of April. Truckers protested the rising fuel prices in Washington as politicians made more empty promises on how to lower gasoline prices, so I decided to share some personal tips on how to minimize the cost of gasoline and how I maximize my bang for the buck at the pump.
Only buy or fill up a car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold because all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands. So buying in the afternoon or in the evening, a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A one degree rise in temperature is a big deal but gas stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. The trigger has three stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode gas is pumped on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. When pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to the tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so one gets less value for their money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when the gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more gas there is in the tank the less air occupies its empty space and makes room for more gas. Gasoline, like gassed politicians campaign promises, evaporates faster than people imagine.
The conversations and concerns of locals at all stops was the same ─ the high cost of gasoline, food, health care, education and hardships of single parenting ─ the basics of American life. Driving through John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath Central Valley by vineyards and wine tasting rooms with the American flag proudly fluttering in the wind over the fertile land and irrigated fields with rolling hills of different shades of green grass, with hues of brown, I couldn’t help think of the beauty of America that was being corrupted by the hundreds of ugly graffiti covered empty rail cars idly parked on the silent rails snaking through the lush valleys, that like America, are waiting for an engine to move forward.
The silent landscape with motionless crane like oil derricks in San Aldo, was periodically disturbed by the occasional derrick huffing and puffing to pump the crude America so desperately needs to bring down the rising gasoline prices at the pump. Gasoline prices rose by more than 20 cents a gallon in the last two weeks of April. Truckers protested the rising fuel prices in Washington as politicians made more empty promises on how to lower gasoline prices, so I decided to share some personal tips on how to minimize the cost of gasoline and how I maximize my bang for the buck at the pump.
Only buy or fill up a car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold because all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands. So buying in the afternoon or in the evening, a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A one degree rise in temperature is a big deal but gas stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. The trigger has three stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode gas is pumped on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. When pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to the tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so one gets less value for their money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when the gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more gas there is in the tank the less air occupies its empty space and makes room for more gas. Gasoline, like gassed politicians campaign promises, evaporates faster than people imagine.
posted by Peter de Krassel's Custom Maid Politics at 8:25 PM
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