Cheapest Petrol & Diesel Discussion Area

americanv8

I consistantly find Petrolprices.com to be wrong, this is probably due to the rapidly changing price of fuel however the site is no longer viable in my opinion. It told me that Tesco extra 4 mile away was the cheapest a few week ago at £1.19 so drove there to find it was £1.22 and ended up driving a further 4 mile to get it for £1.20.

ASDA fuel in my opinion is rubbish (specifically diesel), my new shape 2.0TDCI Mondeo gets 37mpg from ASDA, 45mpg from pretty much all the others. I tend to stick with Sainsburys now since their fuel comes from BP & its still relatively cheap compared to the others.

Has anyone noticed that when a barrel of oil jumped to $135 the price of fuel went up about 4p in a matter of days, now its currently trading at $127 we're still seeing fuel prices rising. I would have expected a period of stabilisation at least or maybe even a slight reduction.

shinydoc

americanv8 wrote: »

I consistantly find Petrolprices.com to be wrong, this is probably due to the rapidly changing price of fuel however the site is no longer viable in my opinion. It told me that Tesco extra 4 mile away was the cheapest a few week ago at £1.19 so drove there to find it was £1.22 and ended up driving a further 4 mile to get it for £1.20.

ASDA fuel in my opinion is rubbish (specifically diesel), my new shape 2.0TDCI Mondeo gets 37mpg from ASDA, 45mpg from pretty much all the others. I tend to stick with Sainsburys now since their fuel comes from BP & its still relatively cheap compared to the others.

Has anyone noticed that when a barrel of oil jumped to $135 the price of fuel went up about 4p in a matter of days, now its currently trading at $127 we're still seeing fuel prices rising. I would have expected a period of stabilisation at least or maybe even a slight reduction.

I think that's what they call profiteering and helps make companies like [Royal Dutch] Shell $27.56 BILLION profit!!!! And we think it just goes on taxes!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7219148.stm

In Jan 07 Oil was only $57 a barrel so work that one out!!!

zolablue25

bryanb wrote: »

Daisy, Are you aware that it is illegal to use any substitute road fuel without paying the tax? I have read about the 2500 litres etc. But it is essential to register and pay the tax. Forgive me if you are paying but you give the impression that you're just tipping in cooking oil. HMRC website is useful, but you have to search to find the correct info.

This is not true. You can use veg oil straight from the bottle up to 2500 litres per year. The reason for the change is that HMRC was spending more money administering the system than they were receiving in duty. HMRC do state though that you must keep records of your usage should you be inspected.

Just to add, not everyone can use veg oil in their diesel car and I would advise you do your research carefully before adding anything other than the recommended fuel into your vehicle.

zolablue25

americanv8 wrote: »

Has anyone noticed that when a barrel of oil jumped to $135 the price of fuel went up about 4p in a matter of days, now its currently trading at $127 we're still seeing fuel prices rising. I would have expected a period of stabilisation at least or maybe even a slight reduction.

Don't forget that its priced in dollars and at the moment the pound is falling against the dollar making it more expensive.

shinydoc

zolablue25 wrote: »

Don't forget that its priced in dollars and at the moment the pound is falling against the dollar making it more expensive.

Yep, understand that but, do the math...

ChemicalJasper

1. Air Con

Whilst the use of Air Con certainly does increase fuel consumption, if you need fresh air on a HOT HOT day, you should be aware that if you are driving with your windows down you are also increasing the cars drag and hence decreasing fuel efficiency. The effect of drag is exponential with speed so depending on your vehicle at high speeds (fast A roads / motorways) it can be more fuel efficient to run your Air Con than have your windows open.

2. Filling up at Night

This is incorrect - you should fill up first thing in the morning at dawn. As you are rightly saying, fuel density does change with temperature and to get the greatest mass for your money you should fill up first thing in the morning when the residual heat in the storage tank has had all night to transfer to the surrounding soil and the fuel is at it's coldest.

3. Don't fill your car up.

Agreed as long as you drive past or close to the Petrol station. In the rurals where I live, I have to make a 7 mile round trip to fill 'er up. For me it is more cost effective to brim the tank than use the extra fuel for more frequent visits to the local gas station.

* Please remember you should drive at the posted speed limit unless conditions do not allow * so no driving at 50 to save fuel and annoying other road users, causing them to get impatient and take unnecessary risk in overtaking! Don't be responsible for causing an accident!

ChemicalJasper

I don't believe that we have vapour return systems on the pumps in the UK (you can see the vapour shimmer from around the nozzle when filling) and as you will have to displace the volume of gas from your tank equal to the volume of liquid added and given the high vapour pressure of gasoline, I do not believe that slowing the filling rate will make any difference to the losses, slowing the filling will just give the gasoline longer to saturate the gas space (which will already be saturated anyway as there is gasoline already in the tank).

Additionally, the petrol tank in most cars operate at pressure (ever noticed it hiss when you remove the cap) this is specifically to try an contain the gasoline vapours (have you ever smelt petrol evapourating from your car? - not likely unless your tank is leaking) Yes gasoline is stored in floating roof tanks for the reason quoted, but that is opposed to an atmospheric tank for heavier products - it would not be economically viable for us to industrially store gasoline in pressurised tanks - but it is in your car!

moneysaving_grandmaster

I've found that my diesel car is more economical with half a tank of diesel than it is when the tank is nearly empty. I put this down to the car sitting lower in the road, being better balanced and more aerodynamic. I've done several tests, and time and time again - better mpg with half a tank of fuel! It's a Peugeot by the way.

ChemicalJasper

shinydoc wrote: »

Thanks Daisy - Does anyone know if there have been any objective studies on the comparison of Supermarket fuel against 'premium' fuel? The view seems to be that it may cost a penny more, but you get better mpg?

Petrol is not Petrol and Diesel is not Diesel!

They are blends of various hydrocarbon components available at the time of blended to make the most profit for the fuel companies and to meet the minimum seasonal (yes seasonal - especially with Diesel) specification for market.

So it is difficult to compare even the same 'brand' of fuel on a weekly basis.

There are only a handful of Refineries in the UK, it is not uncommon for several different companies and the supermarkets to all use a single refinery in one geographic area, so your Tesco, Morrisons and Asda, may be selling the same fuel as your BP, ESSO and Shell garage!

arty4

unfortunately, they don't appear to include self service stations, so my local asda, which is cheapest by several pence, doesn't even show up.