Fungible Gasoline

[Q45tech]

The interesting thing is that fungible means interchangable and Marketeer [BP, Tex, Exo, Sun, etc] of brand x can buy 1,000,000 gallons [from a refiner] and put it in the pipeline in Houston and take out 1,000,000 gallons instantly in New York and not wait the 5 days it would take to move the distance just by paying the transport fee! As all tank farms keep extra on hand in the appropriate grade to meet the local Emissions regs in regular and premium. By the way many times 93 is premium and it is cut 10% with regular to be relabled 91 or 92.

Of course they do add a little detergent/coloring/spit/rust/water to their fungible gasoline as it leaves the New York terminal and a miracle occurs: it becomes the best gasoline you can buy with all these wonderful properties!

[Mayhem_J30]

LOLdo you read this stuff somewhere or do the underpants gnomes leaves little post-it-notes in your sock drawer every night with random information?either way, glad to see Chevron is not on there anywhere.

[Jberger]

Dennis, Is this true for the BP/Amaco brands? If so, then how is it that thier fuel is clear compared to the other makes?

I always figured there were multiple pipelines in each market so there could be some differentation between brands.

[Q45tech]

Isn't all gasoline clear before it is dyed?http://www.octel-starreon.com/...s.htm

Some [cheap] additives impart a color to gasoline!"Petrol can be colored through the inclusion of dyes. Petrol color can help prevent the wrong octane petrol being added to the wrong storage tank. "

Actually at the tank farms [where the trucks fill up] each brand may have its own filling station where as the 5,000 gallons flows the additives are mixed in [so much per gallon] into the tanker trucks.

Gasoline is sent mostly by common carrier pipelines with water as the divider [between products] it then flows into a seperation tank where the water sinks to the bottom and is drawn off.

http://www.worldfuels.com/arch...0.htmh ... ch...0.htm

[Q45tech]

Gasoline in a distribution market is pretty much the same until the individual Marketers add their additives. All gasoline must have a specific minimum level of detergent additives [EPA rules].

http://www.hartenergynetwork.c...r.htmhttp://www.setonresourcecenter...e.asp

After you take 12 hours to read the above, you may not be as impressed with brand differentation.

The important thing is Motor Octane which you can only tell by analysing a sample or listening to you engine knock and ping.If it doesn't ping going up a mountain in summer with AC, it is good enough.

It would be wonderful if you could by a indicator which told you how much the knock sensors were retarding the timing.

Actually you can with an OBD2 scan tool on 96 and later cars!