A Costly Mistake At The Gas Pump You Can Avoid!

The costly mistake many drivers make when filling their car with gas is to overfill it by topping it off. When the gas pump nozzle clicks off, do you stop or do you keep pumping? Are you trying to add more gas your tank after the shutoff trying to stuff as much in as possible? Are you pumping more gas after the shutoff to round your total cost to the nearest full dollar amount? If either of these scenarios are true, or if any other reason causes you to top off your tank you have developed a bad habit that is costing you money and is contributing to air pollution.

In many areas, a gas station's pumps have vapor recovery systems that recover gas vapors to keep those vapors from getting into the air. If you top off your gas tank it will result in you paying for gas that is drawn back into the gas station's vapor recovery system.

The extra gas you are trying to pump into your tank may just be drawn into the vapor line and back into the station's tanks. That means that you will be paying for gas that is not going into your car but is going back into the gas station's storage tanks. Of course the effect of this is to raise your cost of gas.

When you overfill your gas tank it is almost a certainty that gasoline will evaporate or will be spilled. If either of these or both of these occur it means buying gas that is not getting into your car. That has to hurt you in the wallet.

There are more bad things that can happen when topping off your gas tank. Gasoline expands as it gets warmer. This is certainly important in the summer or in climates with warm weather. Gas in the station's underground tanks will be cooler than the air. As the gas in your tank warms up it expands. As the gasoline expands it needs more room.

If you top off your tank, then there is no extra room for the gas to expand. Where does the expanding gas go? It may find it's way into your vehicle's vapor collection system. That could easily foul this system causing it to malfunction. If this happens your vehicle will run poorly and have high gas emissions.

The gasoline that expands and is lost is gasoline that you spent your money on. That means that again, you spent money for gas that you are not able to use. As a result your cost of gasoline is increased. But you are not through loosing money! If the expanding gas finds it's way into your vapor collection system it could easily foul that system. If that happens your car will operate very inefficiently.

A car that runs inefficiently means that you will use more gasoline which means you will spend more money on gas. Thus you are hit doubly in the wallet, once for the gas that you loose directly and second for the extra fuel your car burns because it runs inefficiently. Ouch and double ouch!!

Gas vapors add toxic substances such as benzene to the air. This is a major contributor to days that are designated ozone warning days. Fuel vapors are detrimental for your health and harmful to you if inhaled. When you overfill your tank you end up with vapors added to the air right where you are pumping. This will cause you to inhale toxic fumes.

The next time you fill your car or truck, when the pump automatically stops your tank should be full enough. Do not top it off. Not only will you be saving yourself money, you will you be protecting your own health and you will also be helping the environment!

By: Scott Siegel..

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Scott Siegel is the author of a 143 page book of automotive industry insider secrets on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to discover how you can increase fuel economy. Find out how to save gas.
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