The AI-generated cat pictures thread
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,381
Total Cats: 7,504
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Am I the only one who is annoyed by this?
In general, gas stations keep stock of only two grades of gasoline; the highest and lowest octane available. Intermediate grades are produced on-demand at the pump, by mixing the higher and lower octane fuels together at a specific ratio as they are dispensed.
In the case of this pump (located at a Hess station in Fishkill, NY), we can see that the vendor is stocking 87 and 93 octane, and blending them at a ratio of approximately 67% / 33% to achieve their mid-grade 89 octane.
Given this, we would expect the price of the 89 octane to reflect a 67/33 ratio of the prices of the 87 and 93 octane fuels, and yet it does not. The price of the 89 is exactly halfway between the two extremes, which we would call "fair" only if the mid-grade fuel was a 50/50 blend of the two other fuels; that would make it 90 octane instead of 89.
Seeing this sort of thing bothers that small part of my brain which processes OCD-type activity.
In general, gas stations keep stock of only two grades of gasoline; the highest and lowest octane available. Intermediate grades are produced on-demand at the pump, by mixing the higher and lower octane fuels together at a specific ratio as they are dispensed.
In the case of this pump (located at a Hess station in Fishkill, NY), we can see that the vendor is stocking 87 and 93 octane, and blending them at a ratio of approximately 67% / 33% to achieve their mid-grade 89 octane.
Given this, we would expect the price of the 89 octane to reflect a 67/33 ratio of the prices of the 87 and 93 octane fuels, and yet it does not. The price of the 89 is exactly halfway between the two extremes, which we would call "fair" only if the mid-grade fuel was a 50/50 blend of the two other fuels; that would make it 90 octane instead of 89.
Seeing this sort of thing bothers that small part of my brain which processes OCD-type activity.
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Was not aware of the blending, thought it was a separate tank. I agree with what you're saying.
Not sure if I'm as affected by it since I only grab 93
Not sure if I'm as affected by it since I only grab 93
Last edited by Girz0r; May 5, 2015 at 04:28 PM. Reason: Bazinga
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,381
Total Cats: 7,504
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
In some older gas stations, they do have a third tank. Often, this dates back to when leaded gasoline and/or kerosene were sold at the station, and so the tank space is available. The refineries, of course, still only make two grades; in the case of three-tank stations, the truck simply dumps the correct amounts of the two fuels into the "mid-grade" tank when it does the fillup.
Modern fuel pumps, however, are pretty much all capable of blending fuel to any desired ratio, so for newer stations (those built since, say, the early 80s), running a two-tank system is beneficial in nearly every way- lower construction cost, fewer EPA permits, and faster refilling from the truck with less chance of error.
In fact, some fuel stations offer an absurdly large number of octane choices, such as this one:
They're certainly not hosting five tanks at that station. Just presenting the customer with way too many choices.
This is not a modern fuel pump:
This is:
Modern fuel pumps, however, are pretty much all capable of blending fuel to any desired ratio, so for newer stations (those built since, say, the early 80s), running a two-tank system is beneficial in nearly every way- lower construction cost, fewer EPA permits, and faster refilling from the truck with less chance of error.
In fact, some fuel stations offer an absurdly large number of octane choices, such as this one:
They're certainly not hosting five tanks at that station. Just presenting the customer with way too many choices.
This is not a modern fuel pump:
This is:
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When my neighbor was a salesman, he got in trouble from his company for buying mid-grade gas on the company card, even though it was 3 or 4 cents a gallon cheaper than the low-grade due to some additive (probably ethanol).
Does anyone even buy mid-grade gas? I never have, and I don't see why I ever would.
Oh yeah picture
Does anyone even buy mid-grade gas? I never have, and I don't see why I ever would.
Oh yeah picture
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,381
Total Cats: 7,504
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
No idea whether people read owner's manuals.
But I have to assume that the stations are selling it.
For that matter, I wonder how many people buy 93 who do not have turbocharged or extremely high-compression engines.
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 34,381
Total Cats: 7,504
From: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
When you say that "midgrade is usually cheapest by $.10-.20," are you saying that it's cheaper than whatever the lowest grade is?
I have no idea what idea you're trying to convey here. Are you saying that you've observed an improvement in cruising fuel economy by using high-octane gasoline?
It occurs to me that now that I own a modern car, I could pretty easily plug in ye' olde scanner and do some WOT pulls on both 87 and 93 to see if there's any meaningful difference in ignition timing, VE, etc., between the two.
It occurs to me that now that I own a modern car, I could pretty easily plug in ye' olde scanner and do some WOT pulls on both 87 and 93 to see if there's any meaningful difference in ignition timing, VE, etc., between the two.
Last edited by Joe Perez; May 5, 2015 at 12:24 PM.
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