Tips to Save Money on Gas

 Here are a few tips to save on gas.   Of course,  only do the ones that make sense for you since not everyone is in a position to take advantage of all the suggestions.  Some of them may seem silly or nit pickey, but remember, the goal is to save money.

1.  Always fill up in the morning.  Always.  Everyone can do this.  The reason is that gas expands with heat and you will actually get less gas for the same cost if you pump in the afternoon.   The gas in the underground tank heats up during the sunlight hours and cools down at night.
2. Pump your gas at a moderately slow level.  This reduces the amount of gas that gets returned to the underground tank in the form of vapor.  The faster you pump, the more gas gets returned as vapor.    
3. This may seem silly, but get gas as often as possible.  Since gas goes up almost daily, you will be ‘dollar cost averaging’ your purchases at the pump.  Lets compare getting gas whenever your tank is only a quarter empty with waiting until your tank is completely empty.  If your tank holds 12 gallons and you wait till its a quarter empty, you get three gallons.

Here are our assumptions: Tank size = 12 gallons.  Gas goes up $.05 every day.   Both drivers originally fill up when gas is $4.00 , but driver #1 refills at 3/4 of a tank and driver #2 fills up when completely empty.  

• Driver 1  buys 12 gallons on Day 1 - $4.00/gal x 12 gallons = $48.00
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 3 - $4.15/gal x 3 gallons = $12.45
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 5 - $4.30/gal x 3 gallons = $12.90
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 7 - $4.45 /gal x 3 gallons = $13.35
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 9 - $4.60/gal x 3 gallons = $13.80 
• So, Driver 1 has paid a total of $100.05  

 

• Driver 2 fills up on day 1 - $4.00/gal x 12 gallons = $48.00
• Driver 2 fills up on day 9 - $4.60/gal x 12 gallons = $55.20  
• Driver 2 has paid a total of $103.20  Just because driver 2 waited, he has had to pay $3.15 more than did driver 1.

This strategy may seem silly to you, but if you do this all the time, you will save a lot over the long run.  Combine this with only getting gas in the morning, and you save far more than you realize. Now, I know what you’re thinking.  ”Gas isn’t going up 5 cents every day, etc…”  It doesn’t matter.  The only way this strategy will hurt you is if prices are falling.  So, when prices start to fall (HA HA HA) you can then wait to fill up when your tank is empty.     

.  This last suggestion is really only for those who are mechanically inclined or are not afraid to experiment.  There are now a few sites devoted to teaching you how to use water to create hydrogen which then gets input into your engine.  It requires that you have a separate apparatus which holds the water and connects to the battery, but it isn’t as if you pour water in the gas tank.  At any rate there are a few sites that sell this for around $97.  I think its worth it, since almost everyone who has tried it has increased their mileage somewhat.  Some people claim to have increased their gas mileage by about 30%, but I think realistically it all depends on the kind of car you drive.  Generally you could expect to see about a 3 - 8 mpg increase.  That doesn’t sound like a lot, but over the long haul, you save a lot of money.  Anyway, the site I recommend and that has the best support is Water4Gas. Before you worry that it will ruin your car, it won’t.  As a matter of fact, it actually helps your car burn cleaner.