Fuel stations

[SlickRidin]

I cannot speak for any of you but would like to here your opinions on something i think about everytime i fill up. (Car or bike) When we opt for premium (91 or 93) do we really get what we are paying for? How much 87 is still in the lines of the pump when there is only the one nozzle for ALL types of fuel? We all know the previous person 9 times outta 10 bought 87 so how much till we get the 91 or 93 outta the nozzle and when we do is it mixed or pure 91 93?

Anybody have this thought or reputable branded fuel stations to stay at for filling up? Anyone have bad luck at places?

Lets here it gals and girls.
Thanks Kevin

 

[SlickRidin]

Whoops typo should have guys in there. Roflmao

 

[PwrHse]

I saw an article in a bike mag. about this . According to that if you add 3 gal. of 93 octane , you will get about a quart to quart and a half of 87 octane . So you will end up with something like 92.5 octane . In other words your bike will be fine .

 

[Zeroflat24]

I've run 87 in my xb12r multiple times with absolutely no problems so I'm not worried about getting a little residual 87 when filling up.

 

[netty2424]

Thats an interesting thought. Those pumps should have more control of what's in the line if they can "accurately" measure down to 10th of a penny for what we are charged.

 

[SlickRidin]

Agreed they should have more control. How do we know 93 is 93? Does anyone test it. I sure use some gas and never see it heard of it being tested.

 

[fwkapaun]

Easy solution, find a station that has seperate hoses for each type of gas.

 

[freak2180]

find a station that has seperate hoses for each type of gas.

Easier said than done. Its more cost efective for the pump to have 1nozzel insted of 3.

 

[ATFIII]

All the Shell stations I have been to have 4 pumps; diesel, 87, 91, 93 octane. I ONLY go to shell.

 

[BuellyBagger]

I've found(at least in Nebraska where we dont have the best fuel ne way) that Shell fuel makes my bike run less than wonderfully. My bike is stock other than the D&D 07 uly. I assume that the shell fuel that advertises its special engine cleaning additive has more ethonal in it and most shell stations post a 10%eth. rating on their 91 octane. I try to always use BP premium which ranges from 91-93 depending on where u r.. and if u get it at a truck stop they often have one or two pumps that have a hose 4 each grade which is a plus but i dont think a nescessity.

 

[SlickRidin]

Even if it has three nozzles how do you know it don't come from a single pump that sucks from each tank for each grade. Sorta like mechanical pump drivin of cam on older Carb v8s and such. I just wish there was something to test it like the antifreeze thing that tells u how cold ur mix is good to kinda thing. I still use premium no matter as a piece of mind so i can at least say i try but how do we really know?

Thanks for all the comments im game to keep this going. Who else has bad experience with Shell anybody else good luck with BP?

 

[fakameanrepresent]

interesting topic.

 

[netty2424]

So I've been googling this and came across another forum that brought this topic up. From reading the thread, I think it was some scooter forum.

Either way, someone found an article on www.motorcycle-journal.com about this. Not sure if it's true and seems dated from the 80s reference, but interesting nonetheless. And I'm guessing those types of inspections would be more strict and performed more often now versus 30 years ago.

This was the post:
"You worry for nothing- I managed a C-store back in the 1980s, and the dealer where I managed the service department had a gas pump. When the state inspectors came by to certify the pumps each year, they pumped out 5 gallons of fuel and measured it to make sure that the pump dispensed exactly 5 gallons. They also check to see how much is left in the hose, to make sure people are not getting ripped off, and also to test the capture system that the government mandates for all modern pumps: vapors and fuel are captured and returned to the holding tank so they do not polute the environment. The amount left in the hose after pumping 5 gallons averages about 1/4 cup. So even if you only put in 1 gallon, only 1/64th of your fuel is not the right octane, not enough to make a difference."

The theory is that upon shutting down the pump after filling up, as the poster states the remaining vapors and fuel left in the dispenser (hose) are returned by vacuum to the holding tank underground per EPA requirements. When you flip the lever to choose your octane, the pump quickly delivers to fill up the hose. So if this guy is correct, this is all a non-factor, and we can all go back to using our cell phones because they don't cause brain cancer....

 

[Buell_Cru]

This topic comes up quite frequently.

My background: Fuel dispatcher for a large distributor that works directly with Chevron, Texaco, Shell, Conoco.

The previous post has a great quote regarding the mechanical aspect of how the fuel is dispenced and returned to the tank.

The only place this is not true is a station who has above ground tanks. If you're within the city most of your tanks are going to be underground storage tanks. Most stations we deal with that do have above ground tanks are highway stations out in the middle of no where. And in the instance that you do have to fill up at one of those stations, as discussed in previous threads, you will only receive a minute amount of low grade fuel in your premium. This will not affect you unless your bike is a highly modified race bike. If that is the case you should be buying race fuel anyway.

A couple other interesting facts for you. Fuel octanes can change greatly depending on where you travel, for instance. If you travel from Boise, Idaho to SLC, Utah the grades will decrease by 2 octane.

Here is an example:
Boise,
85 Conventional Regular + 10% Ethanol comes to roughly 87 octane.

SLC,
83 Conventional Regular + 10% Ethanol comes to roughly 85 octane.

In addition to those number your midgrade and premium generally are 2 octane higher per grade, Boise is 87, 89, 91. SLC is 85, 87-88 (Supplier Determined), 90-91 (Supplier Determined).

However if you happen to fill up at an "Unbranded" station (Someone who can buy anything from supplier) you run the risk of having or not having ethanol based on where each previous load was pulled from. So if you'r in SLC filling up at an "Unbranded" station you could be getting 83 octane regular, 85 octane midgrade and 87 octane premium.

One more monkey wrench, a station that has in line blenders meaning the dispencer registers that you ordered midgrade it will pull a percentage from 40 - 60 percent of regular from the regular tank and the difference from the premium tank to make the midgrade that is being dispenced. So technically if you are buying midgrade and the pump is set to pull 60% regular and 40% premium and the price is an even 10 cent spread between grades the station will actually make a few extra half pennies from you because of the higher amount of regular going into your vehicle. Don't blame the stations though, they do not have individual control of that blending process. It's programmed by the tank service companies based on the temperature of the product coming out of the terminal.

Hope this helps or at least sheds a little light on the fuel you're buying.[up]

 

[LightningLevi]

You can always just spray it on the ground or into the trash can to get to the high octane stuff. I'm sure nobody would mind.

 

[SlickRidin]

lmao that is to funny. my pocket book would mind for sure. im not sure i made the point to say i buy premium no matter im sure the lines give me minimum 87 but it was just a conversation i wanted to start to see what others thought.

 

[freak2180]

you could save a bunch of 5hour energy bottles and fill them with octain booster. At each fill up put a bottle in.........

 

[BuellyBagger]

I first was told about the buell distaste for Shell gas by the parts guy @frontier hd in lincoln(rides a 9r) I was bs'in with him and mentioned my strange idle and frequent pinging in the heat and he asked where i got fuel. The only 91 pump in my town Neb. City is a Shell... he said he had similar issues when using shell he got in Seward Ne and tried to avoid shell stations. Fortunately i only have to ride 5 miles to I-29 to get BP from SappBros.

 

[Buell_Cru]

I switch between Chevron and Shell because I notice my bike runs better. What I think is happening in my case is the additives build up in the engine and when you switch back and forth from Techron additive to the Nitrogen the counteract and clean each other out. My bike definitely does run smoother on "Branded" gas.

 

[miwhite]

For those of you worried about ethano in gasolinel come to Canada, specifically Ontario, where I live. Here 87 and 89 octane gas may contain up to 10% ethanol, but 91 octane contains NO ethanol.