Content of an E-Mail sent to Mike Lee from Rangeview Club.

"I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol, but here in Durban we are also paying high prices, up to R 8.50 per litre.

My line of work is in petroleum and has been for about 31 years now. Therefore, here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.  Here at 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, LPR and Unleaded. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.

Remember that all Service Stations have their storage tanks buried beneath the ground.  The colder the ground the more dense the fuel. When it gets warmer, petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or evening your litre is not exactly a litre.

In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products play an important role.  A one-degree rise in temperature is a big deal in this business but the Service Stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.

Check the hose nozzle

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 minimising 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 into your tank becomes vapour.  Those vapours are sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you are getting less worth for your money.

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 petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimises 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.

Here is another reminder.

Never fill your vehicle if a tanker is delivering fuel.  Most likely, the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being pumped into the underground tanks and you might pick up some dirt that normally settles on the bottom.  Water also.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

The person that had sent this e/mail had added a 'rider', which said the following:-

"This actually works!  I tried early on Saturday morning before I came to work.  It cost the equivalent of $30 to fill from half full.  Usually it is $55.  Amazing!

Good refuelling!

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