August 29th, 2006
Don’t Pump Gas At Noon: “Hot Gasoline” Costs US Drivers Over $2.3 Billion a Year
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
You know gasoline prices are getting bad when it takes a physics lesson to make a point. So today class, we are going to learn why gasoline served “hot” ends up costing motorists as much as $155 milion a year in Arizona and almost $2.5 BILLION nationwide. First some facts:
–The state with the lowest gas temperature, according to federal data, is Minnesota. It has an average fuel temperature of 53 degrees, and its consumers pay $37 million less annually for gas. Source: AZCentral.com
It would cost each gas station between $2,000 and $3,000 to retrofit pumps, and as you can guess station owners are not interested in the expense. In fact, in some states like roasting hot Arizona, the practice is perfectly legal. Because gas expands in the heat, most pumps do not adjust for that and serve up hot fuel that ends up being costly hot air to the motorist who pumps it. In Arizona, if you buy in increments of 5,000 gallons you will get an adjusted pump, but that leaves the average motorist out of luck.
UPDATE: From an older Canadian story on the topic, here are some more interesting points on why this doesn’t matter (temperatures are in centigrade and dollars are Canadian.):
Budd used to be an executive at Imperial Oil and was there when the company first started talking about temperature compensating at the pumps. He thinks temperature compensation, as it’s being done, is a bad deal for consumers. As a cost to the average consumer, he says “You’re looking at probably $20, $25 a year that you’re paying for product that you never receive.”
But the petroleum industry takes a different view of temperature compensation. According to Brendan Hawley, “there’s no penalty or there’s no unfair unadvantage gained by the use of ATC.” Hawley is with the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute in Ottawa, an organization that represents the refining and marketing sectors. He doesn’t like to talk about the effect temperature compensation has on volume; the more important issue, he says, is energy.
“If it’s warmer than 15 degrees, you’re getting more product than what you pay for,” Hawley says. “When you’re at 15, below 15 degrees … it takes less volume to achieve that same energy content. “You’re getting the same energy content in slightly different volumes. Lower in winter, higher in summer.”
Hawley says it doesn’t matter that you’re getting less volume, because you’re still getting the same amount of energy and your car will still travel the same distance. Source: CBC Marketplace
We Say: Pump your gas at night or when it is coolest, it can’t hurt. And gasoline hysteria is just beginning. Fasten your seatbelts.
More gas related stories…
–How to Boost Your Gas Mileage with Acetone
–GasBuddy Finds Lowest Gas Prices in Your Area
–Hybrids that Can Pay for Themselves
–Hydrogen-Powered Motorcycles Just Around the Corner < --sweet
–More RealTechNews
Billy Bob says:
The Canadian “supplement” at the bottom of the article is nonsensical. Why would you include that verbatim?
August 29th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
DoubtfulGuy says:
What about the station’s gas being stored underground, which doesn’t vary in temperature much between day and night?
I agree, the petroleum industry’s response sounds like spin control.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Michael The Science Guy says:
What the article fails to mention is that gas storage tanks are located under the ground where the temperature is around 55F. The fuel does not instantaneously heat up when pumped out of the ground and I think that if you put a thermometer in the gasoline stream you would find that it is about 55F to 60F, unless of course it just came in off of a truck.
Possibly in AZ, heat penetration goes further into the ground due to a rockier soil, but it would be interesting if someone in AZ gave us a temperature reading on their gas.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
anonymous says:
The volumetric coefficient of expansion of gasoline is 950E-6 per degree centigrade. That’s roughly 0.1% per degree. So, you’re not exactly losing your shirt on this. But, of course, using actual FIGURES and CALCULATIONS doesn’t make a very sensational story.
Next up: The Earth’s rotation is slowing down, and we’ll soon be tide-locked with the sun!
August 29th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
nobrainer says:
If your routine allows for filling up early or late, go for it. For saving of ~$20 a year, going out of your way will probably just cost you time, extra gas and cause you break even or lose.
Otherwise, consider that if the gas station owners are buying at a corrected rate, they will set prices to see the same profit. So if they spend money to correct for temperature, they’ll raise prices to pay for the equipment and adjust prices to make up for what they’re losing/you’re gaining.
Thus the $2.5 billion is probably off by 2 or 3 orders of magnitude.
And I can’t really blame the gas stations. They sell and we buy by volume, not by energy units, such as BTUs. (Although that could be interesting data to obtain, analyze, and reveal.)
By the way, the “gas related stories” reminded me to ask if any of you had noticed that actual researchers hadn’t been able to substantiate Louis Lapointe’s claim that acetone increases your gas mileage? (He and his cohorts are also trying to extract electricity from air).
August 29th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
piratebubba says:
If you are in an area that has problems with ground-level ozone, like here in Kansas City, Phoenix, St. Louis, Houston, etc, buy the gasoline as late in the day as possible. Buying it early allows the fumes that escape from your filling up to react and form ozone. Some places have vapor recovery equipment on the nozzles; many do not, including us in Kansas City. The practice costs you nothing, just a change in behavior. If you are out of gas, then get it, but if you can wait, do so. It does make a difference.
August 29th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Alice says:
My biggest concern are pumps that just plain rip you off. I know they are supposed to be monitored but local news stations like to check and see if you actually get what the pump says as an easy bit of reporting and I think we all know that the experience of filling a car just feels off sometimes. I am sure it is a bigger issue - liek the old thumb on the scale the butcher shop.
Prepare for the inevitable exposes on every news channel on this one.
August 29th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Chris Mack says:
Bah.
Gasoline is stored in large tanks underground (in most stations), where the temperature does not differentiate that much.
If the amount was anything appreciable, then why doesn’t my bike simply overflow when I top it off completely (right up the the rim of the neck) in hot weather? I’ve filled up and let it sit for an hour in the sun (was at a friend’s fuel stop) and nothing happened.
So much for that expansion theory. It does expand when warmed, but not enough to warrant all this waste of time that the article suggests. Save $20 a year? Please.
Here’s an idea. You want to save a lot more than $20 a year? Stop getting Hummers and Escalades when your lease is up, and if you can’t help yourself in that respect, then stop driving it everywhere you go, including down to the corner for a loaf of bread. I’ll bet you save enough to take a week off and drive that behemoth out to the wilderness to actually run it off-road for once.
August 29th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
Charles says:
I am willing to bet that modern electronic pumps are sealed with a weights and measures tag of some sort. I seriously doubt any major franchinse owner is going to tamper with the pumps. Now if you’re filling up on an old pump with no card reader and the numbers are clanging on wheels on the inside… well, all bets are off.
August 29th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
AaronBSam says:
I remember that motorcycle! I believe it’s called the E.N.V., or Emissions Neutral Vehicle. I even wrote an article about it a few months ago, for anyone who’s interested in the silent and clean motorcycle…
Motorcycle Envy (E.N.V.)
August 29th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
matty says:
out here in az summer, when you turn the cold water on, you have to wait about a minute for it to get cold due to the heating of the pipes that lead to the underground storage. i would assume its the same for gas… but yeah, my dad had always told me to pump gas only after dark in summer.
August 30th, 2006 at 4:09 am
Tim Richter says:
I don’t buy this bs for one second http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/indermsbut
Your vote could make the difference in your next meal
August 30th, 2006 at 5:10 am
Snopesman says:
$20 a year? Those Big Oil Companies are bilking me out of 5 lattes! I mean, come on, you probably “lose” more money stuck in traffic with the engine idling or due to poorly inflated tires.
August 30th, 2006 at 5:13 am
Eric says:
A comment by an earlier poster is exactly right - the expansion of a liquid (which is what gasoline is at the temperatures we’re all living in) is extremely small - EXTREMELY small - per unit increase in temperature.
Gasoline tanks are, as also previously mentioned, stored underground, where the temperatures tend to stay very cool, especially relative to the ambient air temperature in Arizona, for example.
Though gasoline is quite volatile, if the volume of air it’s allowed to evaporate into is kept small, then you’re not going to get hit at the pump, at least more than a few hundredths of a cent. The worse culprit is a bad gas cap, which allows gasoline to continually vaporize as quickly as it can.
August 30th, 2006 at 5:45 am
MissingFrame says:
It should say, “Pump in the mornings” as I’d be willing to bet that the tank temperature is higher at 10pm than 8am. That said, when I spend $500/yr on gasoline, it’s hard to imagine I’d save $20/yr doing this. I’m guessing that calculation was based on a gas-guzzler who’s owner obviously is not caring about gasoline savings.
August 30th, 2006 at 5:49 am
CHartTn says:
If the volumetric expansion numbers are correct, then a .1% increase in volume for each degree of cent temp would work out as follows for me.
12 gal tank I fill it every two week.
for sake of argument lets fix gas a $3.00/ gal.
That’s an increase of 2.184 oz(us) per tankful per centigrade degree
or
an extra nickel per tankful.
Over the course of a year, that’s an extra $1.33 per centigrade degree.
I don’t think the distributor calculates the coldest temp in my region to begin with so it will work to my favor in the winter.
IMHO, there are bigger things to worry about.
August 30th, 2006 at 6:44 am
Dlanod says:
No. You want less gas from the pump–lower temp through the pump means less volume–>means lower price. Then it expands in your tank to be more gas than you paid for.
For sake of easy numbers. You might pump 9 gallons out of the ground and have it expand to 10 or 11 in your tank. You just paid for 9 gallons but got 10 or 11.
If you filled it at night when the air (and your tank) are colder than the ground, you might pump 10 or 11 gallons but it only amounts to 9 gallons in your tank. That’s when you get ripped off.
The journalist writing the article has the physics backward (and actually wrong if you take their mention of the gas being full of “hot air”).
Ground temp 55, air temp 95–>You pay for fewer gallons because it is colder than your tank when you get it. When ground temp is 55 and air temp is 25, you pay for more gallons.
The Physics says: Fill up during the hottest part of the day because you wan the gas to expand in your tank.
August 30th, 2006 at 9:14 am
Dlanod says:
The journalist writing the article has the physics backward (and actually wrong if you take their mention of the gas being full of “hot air”).
Ground temp 55, air temp 95–>You pay for fewer gallons because it is colder than your tank when you get it. When ground temp is 55 and air temp is 25, you pay for more gallons.
The Physics says: Fill up during the hottest part of the day because you wan the gas to expand in your tank.
August 30th, 2006 at 9:15 am
Dlanod says:
The journalist writing the article has the physics backward (and actually wrong if you take their mention of the gas being full of “hot air”).
Ground temp 55, air temp 95–>You pay for fewer gallons because it is colder than your tank when you get it. When ground temp is 55 and air temp is 25, you pay for more gallons.
The Physics says: Fill up during the hottest part of the day because you wan the gas to expand in your tank.
August 30th, 2006 at 9:15 am
Strangetower.com » Blog Archive » Don’t Pay More for Hot Gas says:
[…] Here’s an article from a good tech blog, with more business oriented data. The article suggests that you buy your gas at night; but I would suggest first thing in the morning. Dawn is generally the coldest part of the day, and it will likely be colder at 8am than 8pm. Another interesting facet of this is that you probably shouldn’t be topping off your car completely, especially if you take my advice and buy the coldest gas possible. This fire department in Kentucky lists it among their safety tips, and this guy has measured it. […]
April 10th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Ray Bondi says:
I received several versions of the email titled
“NO GAS … On May 15th 2007″ or “Don’t pump gas on MAY 15th”
Which reads in part:
“On May 15th 2007, encourage all your friends and families not go to a
gas station…”
While at first this sounds like a good idea, it really accomplishes very little.
If you really need gas on that date you have no choice but to buy it.
Everyone else will fill up the next day. Only the local gas station is affected.
In order to do something that will affect the bottom line of the oil companies, we have to do something much more dramatic. Kind of like the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”.
What we need to do is not drive at all on 3 days of any one month.
Walk, use mass transit, use a bike, or just stay home, but DO NOT consume any gas on those 3 days.
Three days of lost revenue will show up in their accounting.
This will really deliver a message.
May 12th, 2007 at 9:03 am
OOIDA Media Affairs says:
Gas stations are required to turn in twice daily reports showing the actual temperatures of the fuel in the underground tanks. Sometimes called a Veeder Root report. The temperatures tend to remain at whatever they were when delivered. Then there is the issue of extra taxes collected and kept by retailers.
August 16th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Gas Up Tips - IH8MUD.com Forum says:
[…] I don’t know about temp changes throughout the day, but the difference is enough that volume/temp compensating devices are being considered by the government. Soome light reading…. Don’t Pump Gas At Noon: “Hot Gasoline” Costs US Drivers Over $2.3 Billion a Year Blog Archive Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech NPR : Heat Throws Off Gas Pumps, and Motorists Pay Flow Meter Tutorial __________________ 1971 FJ40 w/ Chevy 350, Mark’s of Australia bellhousing kit, 1979 4-spd transmission & transfer case, 12.50×33x15 tires. Rust free, original paint, wheel wells not cut. "Quick! What would Bruce Campbell do?" […]
December 17th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Think green, even when you’re pumping gas says:
[…] Because gas is sold by the gallon (and the gallon measures volume rather than mass) you can save money while you protect the environment. Buying cold, dense gasoline gives you more gas for the same price. It’s estimated that pumping “hot gas” costs American drivers more than $2 Billion a year. […]
January 10th, 2008 at 3:23 am
Tom says:
Wow, this issue was solved by the US Government many years ago. Yup gas expands when it is heated(most things do). If you store gas in underground containers that keeps it cooler than in above ground tanks. It is also safer since the gas is harder to get to so no accidental fires happen or even intentional, especially with auto shut offs and many safety features that have been invented since we first started driving automobiles over 100 years ago.
We have already been saving this money for years. This is an old issue. People used to do this before we put the tanks underground.
March 24th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
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May 18th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
donny d says:
Want to save gas, slow down…. This article is bunk!
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:56 pm