Gas UP 46 Cents in Three Weeks

Seems like the best thing you can do is fill the car now before the prices can change yet again.  Billings had caught a break over most of the country with the lowest gasoline prices in the nation.  In three weeks we've gone from the low price leader to 16th.

With that in mind, here are a few tips that could help you make the most out of the squeeze you get at the pump.

Only fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. All service stations have 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. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal. Service stations do not compensate 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. You should be pumping on low mode, 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. 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.