Buying tractor gas

once i put 22 gallons in the 20 gallon tank of my 88 plymouth minivan. i complained to the clerk, and he reminded me that 20 gallons is the capacity of the tank, but if i topped it up, i was also filling the filler tube, which could acount for the 2 extra gallons. thats a load of BS if i ever heard one.

i then reminded him that for his theory to work, my tank would have had to be COMPLETELY empty, and my van did come into the station under it's own power, not on a tow truck.

on top of that, i came in with the gauge showing 1/8, which i know means there are 5 gallons left, so to put this simply, i was overcharged by 7 gallons of gass on a 15 gallon fillup.

The Walmart customer before you places a $10 deposit on the pump. The pump shuts off, customer drains the hose, you now have to fill the hose accounting for the slow start up.

Your big tank, is it DOT/UN stamped and placarded? Diesel is exempt for transport by ground < 110 gal, I have not looked up the minimum vol for gas and my books are at the plant. If it is not stamped and placarded, I would be cautious about the regs before making waves or be very sure I was in compliance. I can look it up if you desire. The fine for non compliance is $25,000 per day per offense.

Most tanks are buried, and the ground is a constant temperature or pretty close. Once in the ambient all bets are off.

If you do call wts and measures ask what the tolerance is, it may be under 1% and over 2%. Before reacting I would be really sure of my position with multiple observations.

The stations tanks were probably low and that is why the flow was irregular, but in this day and age I thought the flow meter totalizers were better.

60 minutes did a special about 8-10 years about bogus circuit cards that could be adjust to give short gallons.

What I am seeing now is octane adulteration, I am having to buy up a grade to compenstate for a spark knock. Also getting 10% better mileage. Maybe my GM multi fuel engine has a bad knock sensor, although it does have the cold start knock.

How does the customer drain the hose? I have always wondered when I am in line @ Costco waiting for some nut lifting & shaking the hose to drain it. The valve is in the nozzle on all the pumps I have used in the last 45 years. Are Walmart pumps different? Joe

Make sure your big truck tank is almost empty or
very close to it. Go to your WalMart/Optima gas
station early in the morning as Mr. Hawaii suggests. Fill it to exactly 100 gallons by the gas pump metering system.

The following step should precede filling up the big truck tank. Go to a weighing station near your area and get your (tare) weight. After filling up with 100 gallons of tractor fuel put your fuel hauling truck on the scales.

The loaded less the empty (tare) weight tickets should give you the exact weight of 100 gallons of fuel. This should be close to your calculated
5 gal (weight) X 20 = Anticipated weight of 100 gallons of tractor fuel.

If the 2 weight measure schemes are off by more than 2% redo your 5 gal can weight measure X 20
calculation.

If it is still a problem show your data to the Optima Regional Manager and then ask to present
your data to your States Bureau of Weights and Measures.

An error in the fuel pumping systems is more readily noticed as you proceed into the high hundreds and thousands of gallons which the average motoring public never sees.

Good luck should you decide to prove your fuel error/rip-off case.

Mahalo,
Howard

Personally, if I'm that close to broke that I have to count that, I AM broke. (Plus in the extra 2 blocks that it took to find the station with the tanks that you want, your savings are gone)

Obviously, 'they' aren't out to get me with a temp difference, averages out. Just picking nits. :) It could add up.

--->Paul

Even during our coldest weather, the coldest I've ever seen a transport load come in at, is about +10F and that adjust to 60F is going to gain you about 200 or so gallons. Of course, that last load you bought in the fall that you use in the winter will have the opposite effect.

I will note, when I get fuel delivered on a cool day & some 90's are coming, I best get a few gallons out of the tank, or it starts leaking when it heats up! :) My tanks are overhead, but I do have shade on them.

--->Paul

You can't increase your energy potential :)

As a side note, if you fill your gas tank in the winter without planning on using it until summer, you will gain gallons, but you may not like the gas.

Refineries change the volatility of gasoline very regularily. In the winter time, they increase it to aid in starting, but you sacrifice mileage. In the summer, the decrease it to increase the mileage and to prevent vapor-lock. Many refineries do a similar thing with diesel.

I agree. Sadly, we now live in a world whereby it is perfectly acceptable to "rip" your neighbor.

Aren't those things usually handled by the State Dept of Weights and Measures?

Someone needs to yank this store up by the shorthairs to teach them that there are a few of us still left who will not put up with it.

My 2 cents,

Allan