Tips on pumping gas from a pipeline employee-Fiction!

Tips on Pumping Gas From a Pipeline Employee-Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor:
A list of tips about how to pump gas most efficiently so that you can save fuel costs. Tips such as getting gas in the morning and filling the tank when it is still half full. The writer of the email says he's an employee of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline in San Jose.

The Truth:
A spokesperson for the Kinder Morgan companies in Houston, Texas, told TruthOrFiction.com that as far as he knows this email did not originate from a Kinder Morgan employee. He added that although it is true that temperature and pressure affect the volume of liquids and gases, the impact on the average vehicle gas tank is so small that the advice in this eRumor is of little value. Most storage tanks at gas stations are so deeply underground and some of them insulated or double-insulated, that the temperatures of the fuel in them do not fluctuate very much.

Updated 11/22/07

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

TIPS ON PUMPING GAS--GOOD INFO!

I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline....Here in
California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon.  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 gallon.

Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we
deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One
day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium
grades. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000
gallons.

Only buy or fill up your car or truck 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 gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in
the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon.
In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature
of the gasoline, 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 vapors that are created while you are pumping. All
hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate,
some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors
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 gas tank is
HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY.  The reason for this is, the more gas you have in
your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster
than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof.
This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the
atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I
work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon
is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the
storage tanks when you stop to buy gas,  DO NOT fill up--most likely the
gasoline is being stirred up as the gas 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.