Yet another tip on how to save on gas which will help you save money and the environment. How about this one. Fill your gas tank in the morning or evening when it is cooler outside. Gas is a liquid and when the temperature is cooler the gasoline condenses in terms of the weight but does not alter the volume it takes up. You will get more out of each tank of gas by having it cooler.
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snopes pretty much tears apart this argument.
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/gastips.asp
And other sources state: Gasoline expands approximately 0.069 percent for each Fahrenheit degree.
Read more: Why It Is Best to Fill Your Gas Tank After 6 PM | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6321494_fill-tank-after-6-pm.html#ixzz1NYSyEtIH
Snopes, eHow – who to site as “right”?
http://www.turndownhotfuel.com/myths.html
Has it’s own “facts”.
Heh, I like how you use the air quotes to try to belittle my reference. It is a fact (not “fact”) that gas does expand with the temperature change. The issue is whether the air temperature affects the temperature at which the gas is stored. The eHow link does not make a compelling argument for that. The only source (or should I say “source”) is the article is a AAA spokeswoman, not exactly the bastion of scientific information I’d hoped for.
So yes, we probably are paying more for gas than we should if it were actually 60 degrees like it is sold to the station, but it is likely we are paying this premium whether it is morning at 70 degrees outside or afternoon and 95 (can’t you tell I live in the South? :) ).
Furthermore, if temperature was a factor based on air temperature, I think the morning would make sense over the afternoon by a long shot. Think about how long it takes for the air to cool after dark compared to how cool it is in the morning.
If my calculations are correct and you pumped gas that was 15 degrees warmer into a car that got 30mpg, then you would lose 3.45 gallons for every 10,000 miles you drove. Even assuming $4/gallon gas, that is an extra 1/10 of a cent per mile.
I can live with that.