3 octanes, one hose.

[WRXARD]

Except for Chevron, BC gas stations deliver 3 grades of gas through one hose. When filling up with higher octane gas, the consumer does not get the posted octane gas rating when the previous customer pumped a lesser octane than you (say 87) because there is about 0.8 liters of the last customer’s 87 grade still in the hose. This is especially true for motorcycles given the small tanks.

On occasion I contact the gas companies to see if they are planning to do anything about it. I recently contacted Shell, the response was either diversion or unawareness of the issue (see attached).

If you share my concern, it would be good to make the gas companies aware; I encourage you to contact them yourself. Maybe we can get enough interest for them to make a change next time they upgrade their pumps. Thoughts?

 

[filterwrench]

Your right about the cross contamination using 1 hose but it's an insignificant issue compared to the cross contamination in the tanks from the tanker trucks delivering the fuel. They only flush their tanks when switching to aviation fuel the rest of the time there is all kinds of different grades going into the same tank multiple times a day.

 

[sagot]

WOWA! You just blew my mind dude.

 

[250ccforme]

The local Shell station used to have a dedicated Premium pump/nozzle then when they renovated a few years ago they switched to the blender pumps/nozzles. I contacted Shell and was advised that on pumps with the newer smaller hoses a 0.6L flush was required, with the older larger diameter hoses it is 0.8L . My reason for avoiding the lower grades is to avoid Ethanol in my 2 stroke mix and winter storage for the moto. Shell Premium is Ethanol free. The response to my query to Shell is on another computer otherwise I would copy and paste it here. That response also mentions the importance of avoiding ethanol as/in 2 stroke fuel.
Another Shell station here, 10 km out of town, has a dedicated pump that dispenses only marked premium. That's what I use for my 2 stroke equipment.
During the riding season I use 87 in my moto. Toward the end of the riding season I take a container along and flush 1L (I track usage so the 1L flush makes the arithmetic easier) then fuel with premium adding some fuel stabilizer into the final fill before tucking the moto away for winter. I don't want ethanol fuel in my tank over winter. filterwrenche's post throws a wrench into all this. ;( The "flushed" liter goes into my daily driver vehicle.
As long as we are still using gasoline I think it would be nice to do away with ethanol which is a net energy loss. The gasoline companies would probably be on-board, the ethanol producers not so much.

 

[WRXARD]

I agree on the ethanal - a hidden evil - i really avoid letting it sit in my bike. Filterwrench's notes are a bit concerning. I hope sticking to the 'top teir' vendors makes this less of a worry.
Was street riding in north east Oregon a couple years ago. The gas stations advertised ethanol free gas (big signs) and had dedicated hoses for it.

 

[filterwrench]

There are a lot of misconceptions out there when it comes to gas stations. First off all fuel stations in a given area sell the same fuel as its all about logistics. Chevron will buy their fuel at the closest bulk fuel depot to the gas stations they have near it so will Shell Esso ect. How could any company compete on a block with 3 other fuel companies present if they had to truck their brand of fuel 1000km further to get there? The only difference is each company uses their own additives eg Chevron = tectron ect. but the additives used by each company are quite similar in composition just have different names. As far as ethanol content Chevron claims none in their premium 94 mabey that is why Shells premium has a few less #s on the octane rating due to a little ethanol in it I'm not sure but it's an insignificant difference in my opinion. My bike runs the same regardless of the fuel companies sign.
In the Fraser Valley most all the fuel comes from the Parkland refinery in Burnaby. I have no idea which oil company owns it if any.
On cross contamination of fuel grades the only way to avoid it would be if the fuel trucks would always put the same grade in the same tanks on their truck problem is they get orders for different quantities of grades to multiple stations on any given day. I have opened many top hatches on the trucks to see if they are empty before repairing leaking pipes and valves and there is always fuel residue in the tanks which I have had to drain before starting the repairs. The amount of residue is dependent on how level the truck was when it dumped its load.
There is really no need to be brand specific IMHO.