Winter studies...

[Gixxerblade]

http://www.nosecone.com/index.htm
I was thinking of getting one of these for my trailer. Supposedly 2-3 mpg difference in towing. I have one of those flat-faced trailers too.

[Super Dave]

Yeah, I used to sell trailers.  I don't know if they make that much difference.  I kind of remember your trailer, but I don't remember your tow vehicle, Gary.  What did you have?

[Scotty Ryan]

I got this in an email the other day and thought that it was worth reviving this post from the dead....
And to recap on my fuel mileage as I previously posted.... I have recently moved to Wisconsin and since there is less stop and go - Just more constant throttle application - I have been getting between 15-17.5 mpg... Granted I am spending more in fuel cause I travel back to Chicago 2 or 3 times a week.... But I guess it's give and take


I AM FORWARDING THIS EMAIL I RECEIVED LAST NIGHT FROM A GOOD FRIEND. THESE
TIPS ON PUMPING GAS - definitely a must read to save $$$
I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... But 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 Thur 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. 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 other 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.
DO SHARE THESE TIPS WITH OTHERS!
WHERE TO BUY USA GAS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW. READ ON
Gas rationing in the 80's worked even though we grumbled about it.
It might even be good for us! The Saudis are boycotting American
goods. We should return the favor.
An interesting thought is to boycott their GAS.
Every time you fill up the car, you can avoid putting more money
into the coffers of Saudi Arabia. Just buy from gas companies that
don't import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I
fill-up the tank, I am sending my money to people who are trying to kill
me, my family, and my friends.
I thought it might be interesting for you to know which oil
companies are the best to buy gas from and which major companies import
Middle Eastern oil.
These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell.......................... 205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco......... 144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil............... 130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway.. 117,740,000 barrels
Amoco...........................62,231,000 barrels
Cit go gas is from South America, from a Dictator who hates
Americans.
If you do the math at $30/barrel, these imports amount to over $18
BILLION! (Oil is now $90 - $100 a barrel)
Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern
oil:
Sunoco..................0 barrels
Conoco..................0 barrels
Sinclair................0 barrels
B P/Phillips...........0 barrels
Hess........................0 barrels
ARC0....................0 barrels
All of this information is available from the Department of Energy
and each is required to state where they get their oil and how much
they are importing.

[dylanfan53]

I'm not a chemist, but whoever wrote the second part of that post should stick to chemistry or go into politics where they can find others who don't understand basic econ 101.

Buy from the cheapest source, period.  To do otherwise drives up the price and only enriches those you're trying to punish.

It's one of the simplest concepts in trade.   
   
 

BTW, gas wasn't rationed in the 80's.  Supplies were cut off in the 70's.  It wasn't an organized rationing at all and it most certainly wasn't good for the country in any possible way.  We paid for it for years with double digit inflation that eroded the value of your savings and wages, 17% treasury costs and 13 1/2% home mortgage rates (I had one at the time).  It led to recession and massive unemployment.

[Super Dave]

Yeah, while I'd enjoy making a political dig, the gasoline business isn't like it's portrayed in emails.

First, most of our foreign oil comes from Canada.  More so than what we get from all Middle Eastern countries combined.

Additionally, on the supply side, the distribution chain is about supplying retailers.  So, if there is a supply problem with one distribution point of one name brand manufacturer, they get more gasoline from another name brand manufacturer.  The Clean Air Acts of years ago pretty much made it so that gasoline is gasoline.  There's not even any real difference in the additive packages.  Might be a difference in the water content in a station's tank, dirt, etc.  Or maybe a particular product was in the transporter before gasoline.  Basically, contamination of some kind.  Similarly, that's why you'd prefer to buy racing fuel that's shipped in new containers that are filled with nitrogen and sealed at the factory.  Some race fuels are transported by rail, then tanker, then put in a tank...all of which have their own previous transports of different "contaminants".

As for the vapor thing?  I think gas becomes a vapor either way.  And high vs low, that's volume, not pressure.


Now, to be political...

Call your legislator and tell them to stop mandating ethanol and subsidizing it.  If it's a choice great.  But using tax dollars from what we use to buy our houses and food to prop up the ethanol industry then make us use it, which reduces fuel mileage and increases the cost of food...

Again, it isn't a choice.  Government should not have that kind of power.  Since it reduces fuel mileage, government gets more money too as they tax us per gallon.

[Super Dave]

I guess I should update my thread...

Not much to add.  I filled up my tank in December.  Then in January a couple times.  Still using the same fuel in the bus because I get 1000MPG...LOL!

I've cleaned up my used engine oil up by using paint filter bags and paper towels and toilet paper in funnels using gravity to pull the oil through.  Not a way to to mass quantities, but it's cheap.  I'm setting up five gallon containers that contain 1/2 gallon gasoline (used, old gas from ice bikes even), 1 gallon of new vegetable oil (I have some with canola oil), and then 3.5 gallons of used engine oil. 

The bus uses a lot of oil, about 15 quarts, in an oil change, and I usually go 5-6k on my oil changes.  Really, I don't produce a whole lot of used engine oil, really, but the oil has been paid for and has done its work, so every gallon that I recycle in my fuel tank is something I can save, with ULSD now at over $4 a gallon pretty much everywhere I see. 

Around a half tank, I'll stop and fuel up, adding a five gallon container.  Will probably be about a 20 gallon fill up of which five gallons will be the "mix". 

To further illustrate the increase in food costs, the vegetable oil that I get is new.  Initially, I just did a run to Walmart and bought the least expensive stuff.  Was about $5+ per gallon.  I went back a month later, and it was up to $7 a gallon.  I found that I could go to Aldi and get vegetable oil in 48oz containers for prices that were less than $5 a gallon.  I bought some more just earlier this week from Aldi, and it now costs almost $7 a gallon, same manufacturer too. 

Bulk pricing from Sam's Club has been at $35+ per gallon when purchased in 5 gallon containers. 

What I want to find is unfiltered, non heated vegetable oils.  I'm probably going to have to find a feed store or something to do that.


No aero mods got done.  Weather has been terrible, to say the least, in addition to cash being low.  I suppose my first Topeka trip Sunday will work as part of my "control" drive.

[Super Dave]

So, it's the end of May, and diesel looks to break $5 a gallon at any point. 

My fuel mileage has been "spotty".  What I mean is that it's just been goofy, lower, than I expect from the bus.  I've tried going slower, tried going faster, and it hasn't had an impact on either side. 

My exhaust has been black lately.  Probably been something that has happened slowly over time. 

Started going through some posts on another forum I'm on for Ford diesels, and I started reading some issues that seem to be relevant to things.  My bus is no spring chicken being twelve years old, 254,000 miles, and being a shuttle bus in a former life.  Last year I replace the CPS.  I took the Fuel Pressure Regulator off the fuel filter bowl, and I tried to clean the FPR screen.  Well, mine was gone and the orifice was dirty.  Replaced.  I shimmed the FPR with a BB to increase the idle pressure also. 

The black exhaust is an indication of a couple of sensor problems in some cases.  With all the miles and time, I'm apt to look at those things.  So, I disconnected the ICP (Injector Control Pressure) sensor, and my smoke went away.  Interesting.  So, I've replaced that sensor, and I go to Blackhawk this weekend.  MAP sensors go bad too, but I've got to take these things one at a time.  Then I can get on to running waste motor oil.