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Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

reuters.com

321–330 of 352 posts

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless your petrol station is on one of your regular routes, it's false economy not to fill up completely when you have an empty tank, otherwise you are incurring an extra trip to the petrol station. Of course if you can't afford a full tank, and are living hand to mouth each month/week, then you are in the poverty trap where everything is a percentage more expensive for you overall.

But the efficiency is lower driving around with a full tank.

I think not. With a full tank there is less room for fumes to expand. I believe less fuel in the tank means worse fuel economy.

Found this[1] from a quick search.

[1] https://www.carsforsale.com/how-to/5-simple-reasons-to-keep-....

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#322
post #220
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association, explained on BBC Breakfast this morning. This happened because a BP document was leaked to the media, which unsurprisingly got them excited about a possible shortage and led to the panic buying. Madderson also said the industry is used to dealing with about 2 million liters of fuel being required a week, but that's with typical weekly fill-ups. He sugg…

But over the long term, filling to the brim will not change the overall demand, it just changed the storage location. Once the system catches up to that fact, there shouldn't be a shortage anymore.

There were "fun" stories about people expanding the fuel tank storage capacity in their cars some years ago when we had shortages.

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't have money for fuel, I warmly recommend learning about hypermiling. The main ideas are not to step on the gas pedal more than say, 30%, and use the smallest car for the job.

Don’t forget coasting. On a modern fuel-injected car there is no fuel injected into the cylinder while coasting.

If you're referring to coasting out of gear then that is incredibly dangerous

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#324
post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think about myself as a pretty standard middle class person who's obviously empathetic to those who have less. But this proves how easy it is to be out of touch an not even realize it. I really had no idea. I just assumed when you filled, you filled all the way.

Well-off people are usually quick to criticize the decisions of "the poor", but they rarely understand the context. For example, why do poor people stand in line for a new iPhone just to sell it immediately upon exiting the store? Its often because they can get it on a telecom-contract, sell it unopened immediately for less than it usually costs to someone else and pay it off across two years. It effectively serves a…

I know this sounds strange and privileged, but I'd love to see a compilation of tid bits like this (alongside a myth busting element of whether it's really true)

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#325
post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve seen some people keep the tank only partially full because it improves performance (the car will be more efficient if it is lighter and might eg handle better too, especially if it is a small car) though I don’t really buy that argument. But if you supposed that everyone drove normally until their tank was 1/8 full then refuelled to the top, the average tank would be 7/16 full so if lots of people refuel all at…

> But if you supposed that everyone drove normally until their tank was 1/8 full then refuelled to the top, the average tank would be 7/16 full so if lots of people refuel all at once that is 9/16 times a lot of fuel tanks. Sorry, extremely minor nit-pick but I think the fractions go the other way. The average tank should be 9/16 full leading to 7/16 of a tank extra per person.

Yeah you’re right. I should have realised it doesn’t make sense for the numbers to be in that order relative to each other.

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just an observation. Ever since the announcement it seems like various groups on Reddit and elsewhere want to celebrate every difficulty that the UK experiences.

Yes, but there's no need for any punishment on top of what Brexit is.

I don't see any clear case of such punishment. There are consequences for not being in the trade union. You can't leave the trade union and expect the same conditions as the members...

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ..as I think most people are just filling up to the top instead of half way.. Perhaps I am missing something here, but are you referring to vehicles in this context? Is it not common to always fill your tank to the top?

It's not common for people who's budget doesn't allow for a full tank. My family usually just put in a certain amount. 10-20$. When I visit home, I make sure to fill up their tanks in secret and they look at me like I'm insane. "Who fills up a tank?!"

[deleted]

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always fill up myself because I hate filling up any more than I have to, but when it costs the equivalent of $70 to fill even a tiny car or $140 for a large car, no, it's pretty common to just buy "what you need" for the next few days or whatever.

Still seems odd to me. Whether it's $70 a week or $140 every two weeks the total is the same. Only difference is how many stops you have to make, and maybe a 1% difference to the average weight of the vehicle.

I've had periods when the kids were small and expenses high when I would put in just enough gas to go till the paycheck came in, or even try not to drive in those gap days. Stressing and unsustainable.

Re: Pumps run dry at gas stations in Britain

#330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your source is behind a paywall, and I'm not interested in paying the Telegraph, but it seems there's a factual inaccuracy in your statement - the electoral commission did not 'come up with nothing'. They imposed a fine, referred Vote Leave to the police, and Vote Leave dropped their appeal. https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/vote-lea... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/29/vote-leave-...

Later article from a non-paywalled source: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/19/pro-brexit-...

That's an individual (Darren Grimes), who pursued and won an appeal.

The organisation (Vote Leave) withdrew their appeal, and paid the fine.

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