Safeway Petrol Watered Down?

Legacy_user

Could be a consipiracy theory this...

A friend of mine mentioned in conversation that he doesn't get his petrol from Safeway, as he always seems to have to fill up a couple of days sooner. I thought 'surely not' and didn't think any more of it, until I had to get petrol last week from another garage for the first time in ages. I can't believe it, but I usually get 420 miles out of my car on a full tank...and i'm up to that already and i have a lot still showing on the tank!

Has anyone else noticed anything similar... if not just at safeway but any other supermarkets?

student100

I reckon it's a placebo effect ... you *want* your car to go further on the other brand of petrol so it appears to do so!
Or maybe you happened to drive in more fuel-efficient conditions after the other brand or something. Or maybe Safeway's fuel pumps don't give you as full a tank as others...

There is a Shell oil refinery not that far from my home, and tankers for virtually all brands (Shell, Esso, Texaco etc as well as Sainsburys, Tesco and so on) go in and out. The petrol is basically the same wherever you buy it.

If it was "watered down" I think trading standards and whoever would have something to say about it...

Tony_H_3

Petrol companies do use additives in thier fuels, these additives will have different effect on vehicles of varying types.

A fuel that may appear less econimical to you and your vehicle will have an opposite effect on other vehicles. Additives are combined with the fuels during deliveries and are the responsibility of the garage chains, eg Esso, Jet, Mobile etc....

It's no illussion or placebo effect, if your not happy with your current brand, change!!

Fastflys

Petrol is rated by octane – The star rating was introduced [2/3/4/5] so consumers could fill up at Shell/BP/Esso etc., with say 4 star and know that the octane rating of the petrol supplied was identical.

student100’s observations are correct.  Depending on geographical location, Shell for example may draw petrol from a BP refinery and vice versa.  I believe all petrol manufacturers have a similar agreement.

Supermarkets negotiate contracts with petrol manufacturers on a regular basis.  If you fill up at your local Tesco for example, it’s possible that in xx months time when filling up again the petrol that you’re pumping into your tank could be from a different manufacturer.

So if the star rating [octane value] is the same, what’s the difference between petrol produced by Shell/BP/Esso etc.?

The additives – These do make a difference to performance and engine protection however as you can never be 100% certain as to who’s petrol you’re putting into your tank neither can you be certain as to what additives are passing through your engine.

Matt Horton’s post about Safeway petrol…………… Possible answers:

Those above.

The ground at Safeway’s where Matt filled up may not be level.  A forward/backward or side tilt of the vehicle will produce a “Full tank” which because of the car’s angle may not in fact be completely full.  Certain angles can have the opposite effect and produce a tank that is “Over full”.  A decrease/increase in MPG will result.

The vehicle’s petrol tank when “Full” may still contain a certain amount of air/fumes.  Allow time for the air/fumes to dissipate and you may well find that there’s room for another litre or two.

No two car journeys are the same.  Air temperature, adverse weather conditions, air conditioning on/off, electrical equipment on/off, the way you drive, the geography of the journey [level/hilly], type of journey [short haul/long haul/start-stop/motorway] etc., etc.  The list goes on.

Sorry Matt, I don’t believe there’s any conspiracy, just a flawed observation.

System

I think you're probably right. Harsh, brutal, but right

presterjohn

You are all missing the obvious, it is not the petrol being watered down it is the calibration on the pumps that is out of true. Likemost devices of this nature it would be a 1000% easier to adjust this than actually water down or change the pertrol itself. In all fairness though the problem will most likely be accidental rather than deliberate.

scheming_gypsy

i still like the conspiracy theory... ;D

i used to do the same trip day in day out. Conditions were always the same and so was the style of driving and i'd get around 300 miles to a tank - full weeks to and fro from work... although if i used a certain petrol station i''d be filling up again on the Thursday. I always judge whether the tank is full on what i'm paying rather than anything else so air in the tank / on a hill wouldn't seem right either.

peterbaker

Ha! And with prices at the pump having busted £1 a litre since I last filled up, must I consider my tank half full or half empty as it sits on the drive outside?

(It's a big one so I for one am hoping to ride it out!)

COS

Ha!  And with prices at the pump having busted £1 a litre since I last filled up, must I consider my tank half full or half empty as it sits on the drive outside?  

(It's a big one so I for one am hoping to ride it out!)

Sainsbury Garage in portsmouth.

It cost  more to buy the brand of Petrol they sell of which burns quicker than another recommended brand from the Shell Garage half mile further up the road, its cheaper and you get an extra 80 KM out of it.

Additives must be the reason, although I was sceptical at first until I started to keep a check on it.

System

i cant imagine addatives being the reason..unless they are another source of fuel. you could mix vitually anything in with it..but if it doesnt burn then you will not be gettin any more energy out of it. it all comes from the same place (oil brought into uk through oil wells and importation...goes to a few companies...who then send it to other companies to distil the chemicals out..then all goes to stations..by the time that all happened its all mixed together and virtually the same). The only way to truely tell is to take some samples and test them to see the calorific values

dodgyshirt

WATER IS NOT MISCIBLE WITH PETROL.