Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Mileage drop when fueling at wal mart?

[Flying_gage]

Anyone else notice the difference in MPG's when fueling their or at different places?

 

[HBarlow]

Gasoline and diesel fuel are commodities. In any typical big city area or rural region there are a limited number of fuel wholesalers and various fuel retailers buy from them and sell it under their own brand name.

The fact that you buy from a Chevron station or from a Flying J truck stop with the Shell Oil name on their pumps doesn't necessarily mean the fuel was refined by Chevron or Shell.

Wal-Mart and SAM's Clubs buy fuel from regional fuel wholesalers. Their fuel is no different than the fuel you may buy at the next fuel station from another chain retailer.

The difference in fuel mileage you saw is probably only one of perception.

 

[KCraft]

every station has different fuel. i take samples before i pump to see what it looks like. walmarts diesel has a greenish tint to it. valero diesel is yellow and so is shell.

some smell like diesel and some dont.

 

[Flying_gage]

I would say you might have something there but I hand calculate my mileage and keep track of it. I also fuel up any time I make changes so I have a reference point for what I did. In addition, I commute with my truck 140 miles round trip (all highway)and drive at a steady 65mph all the time.



I am only talking about a 1. 3-1. 5 avg increase and that's after three tanks under the same conditions except the point of our purchase. I was just curious if anyone else had ever noticed this.



I get that fuel is a commodity but it is not all treated the same once it gets to a distributor.



Thanks

 

[JWash1]

Gasoline and diesel fuel are commodities. In any typical big city area or rural region there are a limited number of fuel wholesalers and various fuel retailers buy from them and sell it under their own brand name.



The fact that you buy from a Chevron station or from a Flying J truck stop with the Shell Oil name on their pumps doesn't necessarily mean the fuel was refined by Chevron or Shell.



Wal-Mart and SAM's Clubs buy fuel from regional fuel wholesalers. Their fuel is no different than the fuel you may buy at the next fuel station from another chain retailer.



The difference in fuel mileage you saw is probably only one of perception.

I agree 100%. Oh-Oh, once again I find myself agreeing with you, as long as we stay away from POLITICS.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Nozzles could be longer or shorter. Also the pump mite not be putting an exact gallon in.

 

[HBarlow]

I agree 100%. Oh-Oh, once again I find myself agreeing with you, as long as we stay away from POLITICS.

I'm glad we can agree on this subject.

Many people disagree on religion, politics, favorite ball teams, best places to live, and chosing a wife. That's okay. We're all different.

 

[AStrand]

I don't know if your have bio-diesel in your area but I noticed the same thing. Minnesota is mandated to run at least 2% bio in their fuel. You can find places that run more. The Walmart in my town was running 5%. Bio-diesel has lower BTU's then regular #2 diesel. Lower BTU's translates to less mileage. I could tell this difference when I went to a different station. It was like you said. It was about a 1-2 mpg difference.

 

[InfernoB]

I find that the less the fuel cost is, the less mpgs.

Were you running your defrost? Tire going flat?

 

[Flying_gage]

Nope to both. I know that the defrost uses the a/c compressor... Tires are uniform in pressure.



I hate to sound like a know it all, but I have already been through all this and the fuel is the only thing thing different. This is my third dodge diesel and I have become used to the vagaries of them.



Not looking for solutions to potential problems, because as I tried to explain, I am pretty anal and look for any variables. I was just wondering if anyone else noticed this?

 

[Grumpy John 4x4]

milage

You will get less miles with the winter blend, come summer back to good milage!

 

[JExum]

It seems my truck gets better fuel mileage with fyn-j fuel. My ford 7. 3 got 1 mpg lees on 20% bio-diesel but smoked less normal was 15. 5 and on bio it got 14. 5. Not willing to run bio-diesel in my 5. 9 also powerservice in the gray bottle will add about . 75-1 mpg increase i average 17 on highway cruise set on 67.

 

[TAbbott]

If bio was readily available here in Northern NV, I'd run it. I run bio in my big rig at every opportunity and think it actually runs better on it.

 

[burnin oil]

Fuel might be the same but the additives do very from chain to chain. Around here Citgo is the cheapest fuel but I get bad MPG consistantly on it. Switch to BP and the motor is happier and gets atleast 1 if not 3 MPG difference in my daily driver. My old 12v still gets just under 20 MPG on the highway when there isnt Citgo in the tank.

 

[BSMcCauley]

Nozzles could be longer or shorter. Also the pump mite not be putting an exact gallon in.

Suspect the pump calibration is off. Easy to prove if you've got an AUX tank set-up that lets you completely empty the tank. Mine takes exactly 32. 333 gallons to the fill neck like clockwork, proven on multiple honest pumps across our great land over the past 12 yrs and logged faithfully into my book. Which makes it immediately obvious when I've been charged for more fuel than will physically fit into this tank -- and easy to argue for a refund for the difference with the station manager (especially when I start writing down the pump certification number for my complaint to the state Dept of Agriculture:-laf)



FYI: I've noticed a significantly increasing problem with pump calibrations over the past 18-20 months. The pump calibrations at filling stations out front of the Kroger stores in my area are off by as much as 10%. My better value is the Shell station across the street charging 5 cents more a gallon.

 

[HBarlow]

Fuel might be the same but the additives do very from chain to chain. Around here Citgo is the cheapest fuel but I get bad MPG consistantly on it. Switch to BP and the motor is happier and gets atleast 1 if not 3 MPG difference in my daily driver. My old 12v still gets just under 20 MPG on the highway when there isnt Citgo in the tank.

I'm not a petroleum engineer and don't play one on television but it is my understanding that the cetane number, which is a measure of the power produced in the combustion event of the fuel being measured, is in the basic fuel. The additives are additional features like color dye, injector cleaner, anti-gel treatment, etc.

In other words, I think it is highly unlikely that the additive package will cause a variation in fuel economy.

 

[Flying_gage]

HBarlow,



How do you account for it then, beyond the things that you mentioned in your first post? I am curious?

 

[Skydiver]

My guess on the variance on fuel mileage is the pumps are not calibrated. May not be the wal-mart pump either. Could be some other place is giving more than a gallon.

 

[GaryOwen]

I have always gotten less mpg with Pilot fuel (on both trucks). The pumps may not be calibrated properly, but they are consistent, because I always get 0. 5 to 1. 0 mpg less. Have filled up at numerous Pilots around the country, and results are always the same.



Have never been able to tell any difference at any other stations.



Gary

 

[GAmes]

Lots of things affect mileage even when you drive the same route day after day, even use the same station for fuel. Wind, barometric pressure, air temp, traffic, auto shutoff on the nozzle. Even the same distributor doesn't provide fuel of equal BTUs every time. If you are comparing every tank to the last, then it is easy to see variences. The time to get concerned is after comparing the total miles of multiple tankfuls.