Tips on Pumping Gas, and Saving Money, from an Industry Insider

Here is some background information on my informant. He has asked NOT to be named.

He is currently living in California. In California gas is probably the most expensive I've seen so far. There are places where people are paying upwards of $3.50 a gallon. He has been working with petroleum companies for more than thirty-one (31) years now. He has decided to share some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon of gas you pump.

"Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period through the pipeline. One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel, then regular and premium grades of gasoline.

We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons."

-The "Insider"

Tip number one:

Go in the morning to buy or fill up your car or truck. The ground temperature is much cooler in the early morning. You may have noticed that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. So, when you go early in the morning the ground is much cooler, which in turn makes the gas cooler and more dense. As the day warms up the gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or evening means you're not getting exactly a gallon when you pump gas.

"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."

-The "Insider"

Tip Number Two: