GAS TIPS

I've been in petroleum pipeline business for about 31 years, currentlyworking for the Kinder-Morgan Pipeline here in San Jose , CA . We deliverabout 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period from the pipe line; one dayit's diesel, the next day it's jet fuel and gasoline. We have 34 storagetanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons. Here are sometricks to help you get your money's worth.

1. Fill up your car or truck in the morning when the temperature is stillcool Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buriedbelow ground; and the colder the ground, the denser the gasoline. When itgets warmer gasoline expands, so if you're filling up in the afternoon orin the evening, what should be a gallon is not exactly a gallon. In thepetroleum business, the specific gravity and temperature of the fuel(gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products) aresignificant. Every truckload that we load is temperature-compensated sothat the indicated gallon age is actually the amount pumped. A one-degreerise in temperature is a big deal for businesses, but service stationsdon't have temperature compensation at their pumps.

2. If a tanker truck is filling the station's tank at the time you want tobuy gas, do not fill up; most likely dirt and sludge in the tank is beingstirred up when gas is being delivered, and you might be transferring thatdirt from the bottom of their tank into your car's tank.

3. Fill up when your gas tank is half-full (or half-empty), because themore gas you have in your tank the less air there is and gasolineevaporates rapidly, especially when it's warm. (Gasoline storage tankshave an internal floating 'roof' membrane to act as a barrier between thegas and the atmosphere, thereby minimizing evaporation.)

4. If you look at the trigger you'll see that it has three deliverysettings: slow, medium and high. When you're filling up do not squeezethe trigger of the nozzle to the high setting. You should be pumping atthe slow setting, thereby minimizing vapors created while you are pumping.Hoses at the pump are corrugated; the corrugations act as a return pathfor vapor recovery from gas that already has been metered. If you arepumping at the high setting, the agitated gasoline contains more vapors,which is being sucked back into the underground tank so you're gettingless gas for your money. Hope this will help ease your 'pain at the pump'.

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Thieves in Serendra and Bonifacio High Street

by super@perez.ph
25 Aug 2007

About ten minutes to midnight last night, Aug 25, my friend and i were walking back to my car near Serendra. Apparently, Serendra closes the street lights near closing time so the street became dark. As we were walking past the lit area, a motorcycle that was waiting in the shadows moved towards us and snatched my friend's bag. I gave chase but i couldnt catch them on foot. They also seem to have covered the small license plate at the back of their motorcycle. There were two guys on the bike. The guyon the back was the snatcher. The security guard jumped into a taxi and also gave chase but they were too late. I saw the bike turn into C5.

At the police station, we were informed that my friend was the second victim in that area. Same time. Apparently, the thieves know when the lights go off and they start to wait there. Having had a previous incident in that part should have made serendra keep the lights on instead of saving money for electricity.

Funny thing was that the fort bonifacio guards started to block off the exits from the area 10 minutes after the thieves already got away. They just delayed a dozen bikers for no real reason. I really wish they listenedto bayani and had those license plate stickered on the helmets.

A few days ago, my parents' friend, Mrs. Son..., had her bag stolen from where she was sitting in a Bonifacio high street restaurant.

Everyone, please be careful. It seems that the fort's new places are the new hunting grounds for thieves. I would suggest that you steer clear awayfrom them for a while until Serendra fixes their security. I hope that they lose money for scrimping on lights.

Super Perez

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