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Utah consumers will sue big oil, we need volume compensation on gas pumps. Another make work project for lawyers and politicos.
I recall the thermal expansion coefficient for naphtha to diesel fluid range is around 950 to 1000 parts per million per deg C.
So an 18 degree F increase in temperature is about 1 % or about 1.28 ounces per gallon. Or 3 cents per gallon for $3.00 gas, so for 9 cents per gallon it requires 54 deg F rise or $9 dollar gas and an 18 deg F rise. IMO 20 gallon tank may vary by 10 to 20 cents with today’s prices.
http://hypertextbook.com/physics/thermal/expansion/
Since pump calibration is based on 60 Deg F there is much more room for extra gas energy in the winter than for less gas energy in summer.
The mid point of 0 to 100 is not 60 Deg F. So the consumer is actually ripping off the retailer.
BTW: From upstream online 1206 GMT Brent 77.43, Bonny light 79.28, Tapis 78.20
One also suspects that the temperature of the gasoline as it comes out an underground storage tank to the pump is somewhat less than the ambient air temperature in the summertime.
IMO, this is a ridiculous lawsuit, but it shows how touchy people are getting about the whole gasoline situation...
This whole thing seems frivolous, but it's actually a blessing in disguise. If the industry loses, which it probably will given the public mood, they will have to install more expensive equipment in their pumps. This cost will be passed along to consumers as higher prices. Then, in the winter, the pumps will give people less gas, effectively raising the price again.
The best part is that it's consumers clamoring for higher prices. We just need a way to replicate this with a few hundred other small tweaks. Maybe next we can get the public to call for compensation for the loss of energy when the companies blend with ethanol. That should require more expensive equipment, and point out to people the lower energy content of ethanol.
'which it probably will given the current mood...' kjmclark I agree that this lawsuit is frivilous but I dont think our government gives a whit about 'our current mood' based on the commutation recently bestowed on Scooter. I believe that the prevailing mood was that Libby should spend a bit of time in the pokey, but it didnt happen.
Just another day in paradise watching the Atlantic for whirling dirvishes.
What you want as the driver is the lowest price per CALORIE of the fuel. To power a car, it's the calories in the fuel that count. A better measure of fuel economy would be miles per megacalorie or gigacalorie.
In the mean time, miles per unit MASS of the fuel is better. i.e. miles or kilometres per kilogramme. As we all know, diesel has more calories per kilo than gasoline and more so than ethanol. If you were to drive a Harrier, you'd want the fuel with the most calories per kilo. That way, you'd get the best range on a load of fuel, a "tank o' gas".
The lawsuit is a mixed blessing. As noted, if the litigant wins, the winter gas price will rise by some amount. But beware. The gas prices will stay high simply from the oil peak anyways. The suit is more academic than anything. The calorie difference from summer and winter with the present system is rather minimal. Using the car's A/C will make a bigger difference. The difference as I see it? 10 percent. Significant, but not earth-shattering.
Someone wants media attention with a political point. That seems to be the motive for the lawsuit. How he conjured up the fact that calories per key is the correct way to measure fuel use is anyone's guess. Maybe he is a dinkum pilot. Nobody knows.
Petrol prices high enough yet? Just wait!
This talk about volume compensation is silly. Don't they realize that if they make a gallon 1-2% bigger in the summer the gas stations will just charge 1-2% more for it?
Most gas is stored in underground tanks which are at the temperature of the surrounding ground. This is much closer to the 60 Deg F calibration temperature than the ambient air temperature of most hot climates. The same principal of cool ground temperatures allows ground source heat pumps to work efficiently. I doubt you would have much of a temperature difference from the 60 degree reference temperature to amount to anything. No legal case here.
True enough, except that this is the USA. A good legal position is not required, as we have a jury system, i.e. one which in especially in politicized civic cases works on cheap moronic sentiment and envy. And in this matter, both are in limitless supply.
I very seriously doubt it. The ground is often an excellent insulator, and there will be a void space of some sort between the tank and the 'secondary containment.' So I doubt that gas delivered to a modern high-volume station that sells it out in a day or two would ever reach "cave temperature". However, I haven't stuck any thermometers down into tanks, so I will await the "investigation" to tell us at ludicrous expense.
The real point is that any difference will rarely exceed a couple of cents, and the posted price will adjust to compensate, leaving little effect on the 'consumer'. But the cosseted monopolists - the lawyers and the manufacturers of massively overpriced "certified" equipment - will laugh all the way to the bank.
Some gasoline will be in the line close to surface before you start to pump, buy your gas early in the morning before it gets hot and you might save a little. If you remove things stored in your car that are not essential, you get better mileage with less of a weight load.