On a recent show you stated that pumping gas in the morning in hot weather is not going to save money. I have thought that for years. I researched it. Got the answer from Tom and Ray back in December of 2007. It is true and probably even more so in this heatwave. What gives? dont want gas lines at the pump every morning? Love the show but one of you laughs way too much, my best friend stopped listening as a result.
Nope. the gas underground is the same temperature day and night. Colder in winter than summer, sure, but not day versus night.
And not enough colder in the winter to worry about it. Of course it’s all speculation because no one has ever done the simple experiment of taking the temperature of the gasoline.
There’s really no answer to this.
Gas station tanks can hold anywhere from 5,000 to 35,000 gallons of gas. The amount of gas sold by a station can also vary widely, in some cases 10,000 gallons a day. A tanker truck can hold anywhere from 3,000 to 9,000 gallons. Ambient temperatures can vary from -40F to over 100F.
So in reality the gas is continually moving from a distribution pipe to a tanker truck (where it spends time on the highway) to a station underground tank. It’s in constant transition in temperatures that can vary wildly. So what temperature is it when it actually gets into your tank? How long does the temperature take to stabilize?
If the tank just got filled from a truck that spent an hour on the highway in Minnesota at -40F, will it be warmer than if it spent the night in the station tank? Probably not.
There are too many variables to make any assumptions. We’re not dealing here with a stable environment or a stable situation.