I know this topic sounds pretty basic, but as I have been doing a little research I see there is room for a little education in this department!
1. Don’t Top Off Your Gas Tank – When the gas pump clicks off automatically – DON”T TOP IT OFF! Gas pumps are designed to click off when your gas tank is full enough. Two things can happen if you “top off”. First gasoline needs room to expand. If you put too much gas in and then it expands it has to go somewhere! It can go into your vehicle’s vapor collection system. This may foul the system and cause it to malfunction because it is designed for vapor not liquid. Second if your tank can’t hold anymore it will go in the gas pump recovery system and then you just paid for a little gas you didn’t get.
2. Purchase In The Coolest Part Of The Day – In the morning or evening it is usually cooler. Gas become denser in cooler temperatures and gas pumps measure by volume. It is also better for our air quality to gas at cooler temperatures because it reduces gas vapors. Vapors do more damage than most of us realize.
3. Don’t Gas Up When The Tanker Truck Is Filling The Station Tanks – Filtering systems between the underground tanks and the gas pump are much better than they use to be and the quality of gas is much better than it use to be. But you can’t change the fact that sludge, dirt and water collect at the bottom of the tanks and filters do not filter out water. And you really don’t know how old or how well the underground tanks have been maintained. So if you can avoid filling at the same time a tanker truck is filling the tanks than do it.
Tomorrow we will cover: Gasoline Types 101