How to Find Free Gas At Your Next Fill Up

When gas was cheaper you probably did not dwell on how much money it took to get your car’s fuel gauge off of empty.  These days with gas topping $3.00 a gallon every penny matters and every drop of gas counts.  But how do you know that the gallon you are paying to put in the tank is really a full gallon?
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is in charge of inspecting fuel pumps at every gas station in Oklahoma.  Inspectors visit stations at least twice a year, but sometimes make extra trips when there are complaints. 

“Some of them think that the slower it pumps you don't get as much gas, but that's not true,” said Marion Bass a fuel specialist with the Corporation Commission. 

Bass is in charge of inspecting the nearly 300 fuel stops in the Oklahoma City metro area.  Inspectors have to check each pump and every octane level at each pump station. 

The first thing Bass does when he pulls up to a station is to check to see if there is water in the gas.  An electronic probe checks the entire tank.  It will sense any water that touches it, even if the water has separated from the gas and is in pockets beneath the surface.  Inspectors also have a manual testing device that helps measure the amount of water, if any is present. 

However most of the time Bass says complaints of water in the gas are not accurate.  “If it is a water problem, they won't get out of the station.  It shuts them down right there and it will be more than one.”  Still in the past year the OCC has written 38 violation notices to stations for having water in the gas storage tanks.

Next comes pump calibration.  Bass pumps five gallons of gas into a container that measures how much over or under the pump is pumping out.  Each pump is allowed a margin of error of plus or minus six cubic inches.  A cubic inch is about a tablespoon of gas.  During the past year there were 54 stations cited for calibration errors.  Though inspectors say some of those errors were actually in your favor and stations often act quickly to clear up the discrepancies.

The OCC says these days most calibration errors are not a result of ill intent.  “It's hard with the new technology.”  That newer technology makes pumps more accurate and stations have learned that the commission is willing to take swift action against violators.

While a calibration error may not sound like much gas, shopping around gas pumps could help you pinch pennies at the pump.  Older pumps are most likely to have errors in your favor.  For example, a plus six pump will give you six tablespoons extra for every five gallons of gas you pump.  That’s equal to 0.02 gallons of gas.  However if you pump 15 gallons that ends up giving you nearly a tenth of a gallon of gas for free.  That is still not a lot of gas, but considering that a single tablespoon is more than enough gas to start your car and run it for a minute, you could be cruising for a few minutes without having it cost you anything.

Posted: Monday, February 18 2013, 09:50 PM CST