Premium or regular unleaded

[ForestGrump]

Whatever you say, I am sure that is what happened. Not!

 

[jack707]

Only premium goes into the chainsaw and log spliter. I learned when my last saw died on 87.

 

[Copperhead]

I solved the problem some time ago. My chainsaw is electric!

 

[HHR]

Very well stated and all true! When I tanked fuel, indeed, it was the determination of the rack price at the time as to which tank farm I would go load at. Didn't matter who I was delivering to. I never actually added any product to the fuel myself, but would swipe the card that represented the particular customer and various additional additives were automatically fed into the fuel stream as it was shoved onto the tanker. Am not sure why Costco would go to such extremes in adding product to the fuel. Too much of a good thing can also be detrimental. There is a reason why the folks who make these additives have recommended treatment rates and also explain that there is no benefit to using more. And some additive manufacturers will state that using more than the recommended treatment rate can cause problems. At the very least, it just adds cost. I suppose it gives folks who fill up at Costco some kind of warm feeling knowing that they are dosing their fuel to that level, but there really is no appreciable reason to do so. Kind of along the red wine is good for your heart argument. It is in moderate amounts. But swigging down a full bottle every day will screw you up more.

I just spoke with a highly knowledgable Costco fuel manager and he said that they add 3.5 GALLONS of their additive pack on site for each 8500 gallon delivery. He was surprised when the last delivery was sampled (after being added to one of their nearly empty tanks). Before additive, the fuel was completely clear in color and that load had originated from St. Paul. Would this mean that no additive package was included at the rack?

 

[Copperhead]

Clear fuel is no indicator of no additives. Gasoline in and of itself is a blend of various components, and the color of the fuel is as much a result of the source of crude that was used to make it and the refinery operation that did it. And fuel terminals get their fuel stocks from several different refineries. The level of additives that top tier requires is not enough to taint fuel.

Now, to keep cost of fuel down for the delivery, they could be getting a non top tier fuel and then mixing in their own TT additives themselves, with the result being a cheaper overall cost, though unlikely. Usually the treatment ratio is 1 gallon of TT additive per 4000 gallons of gasoline. So they are almost doubling that from the recommended dosage rate by the additive supplier. I love it how some will think that is something is good, then more of it is even better.

Do you happen to know the brand of additives they are mixing in?

 

[HHR]

Clear fuel is no indicator of no additives. Gasoline in and of itself is a blend of various components, and the color of the fuel is as much a result of the source of crude that was used to make it and the refinery operation that did it. And fuel terminals get their fuel stocks from several different refineries. The level of additives that top tier requires is not enough to taint fuel.

Now, to keep cost of fuel down for the delivery, they could be getting a non top tier fuel and then mixing in their own TT additives themselves, with the result being a cheaper overall cost, though unlikely. Usually the treatment ratio is 1 gallon of TT additive per 4000 gallons of gasoline. So they are almost doubling that from the recommended dosage rate by the additive supplier. I love it how some will think that is something is good, then more of it is even better.

Do you happen to know the brand of additives they are mixing in?

I did not ask what the brand was. If I see the guy again I will be sure to ask him. I did personally test the alcohol content of Costco fuel a couple years back and regular was 8.33%. About the same as the next nearest station.

 

[Copperhead]

That probably would be about right on the ethanol concentration. E10 fuel is not allowed by the Federal Trade Commission to exceed 10%. To reduce the possibility of that, actual E10 blends will have lower than 10% in the mix. Some will cry a river over the newer E15 fuel, but when tested, it usually ends up being 11-12%. Even E85 fuel, the mix is usually not less than 70% yet not even close to 85% for the same reason. Most E85 in winter is around that 70% mark and hardly ever higher than 80% in summer.

 

[HHR]

In this Costco video, it shows they use an additive made by Lubrizol.
Kirkland Signature Clean Power >> KS - Gas - Video Gallery

 

[HHR]

Better link:
http://soniasorensen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Costco-T-C2-CUPA-2013.pdf

 

[Copperhead]

Lubrizol makes fine products. They are one of the primary source suppliers of add packs for oil also. They are a trusted name.