Tips on filling your car March 1, 2008

Just got a mail forwarded to me written by a guy who claims to be working on the fuel pipelines in Durban.
In summary, his tips:

• Fill up early in the morning when it’s cool. Cooler = Denser fuel
• Fill up when your tank is half full. Less space for fuel vapor
• Get the pump attendant to pump at a slower rate. The faster speed could create more vapor.
• Do not fill up when the fuel tankers are filling the station. It causes lots of movement in the storage tanks which could bring the dirt to the surface.

Original content:

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 6,800,000 litres.

Only buy or fill up your car or bakkie 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 tmosphere, 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.

PS. I couldn’t find the original author of this; couldn’t give credit.

AutoAfrica 2006 November 22, 2006

Even though car prices keep on rising, and people keep on arguing that we pay too much, we still love that brand-spanking new shiny model that we had our eyes on ever since it’s preconception on some designer’s drawing board.

And who can we blame for that; every year the manufacturers wow us with more gadgets, smarter technology, sleeker lines and better performance for the “same” price, upping the desirability even more.

This year AutoAfrica was no different. Aston Martin, Ferrari, Maserati and all the rest were there to showcase the latest and the greatest on offer. For mere mortals like myself, getting this close to some of these cars doesn’t happen very often, and being able to get inside, play with the buttons and get demonstations on the latest gadgets, is a real treat. I quite liked the BMW heads-up display, could possible be the best toy for the boy racer! In terms of sound, the Audi A8 was sound-proof from the outside, but pretty loud inside…

Audi had by far the best all round stand, showcasing most of their performance models including the RS4 cabriolet and the recently launced R8 supercar with huge carbon fiber panels on the side.

The running joke for my friends and I was to ask the attendants at the stands how many bodies can fit the boot, and whether the car’s 0-100 acceleration and handling would be badly affected by the weight at the back. We also wanted to know how comfortable the back seats would be in case we decide to sell the house to get the car… This actually turned into a few interesting discoveries regarding these features.

Hyundai Azera surprised with comfort at the back as well as boot space and all round quality and features; we reckoned that for the price you would not find a better family sedan.

BMW had the Z4 coupe, very good-looking little competitor to the Porsche Cayman. In my books though, it would be hard to beat the supercar brand. They also had the M6 cabriolet with heads-up display and a descent boot for a convertible. This is a big car and I think would make for a great speed cruiser.

VW had all the usual people carriers, including the Polo Gti that I found rather disappointing. The interior did not do it for me, especially the horrible cloth trim pattern of black and red. I guess you do not buy this car for interior. VW also showcased the new Eos cabriolet and for some reason I got the feeling that the manufacturers were trying to see who can come up with the most complicated folding roof construction.

You could see the same thing with Volvo’s C70 cabriolet, in my opinion a work of art. Art in motion. Not so sure how long that would last though, you could see the benefits when you look at the bootspace with the roof folded down. The entire new range look stunning, and although not much different from before, the attention to detail made for a perfect evolution of the shape. I was especially impressed with the interior where material quality met build quality, complimented by an air of solidness that I haven’t felt in any car before. The design and colour scheme matched the outside looks and inside quality for absolute perfection. In my opinion the star of the show, it makes me wonder why Volvos don’t sell very well. I cannot confirm this, but I’ve heard that maintenance and parts are heavy on the wallet. That might also explain the second-hand value of these cars. Sad.

Apart from the cars we saw some motoX action and had a go on the Seqway “Human Transporter”. I’m not so sure how much ‘human transporting’ it’ll do at R40k each, but very cool technology nevertheless.

Can’t wait for the next AutoAfrica!