Do You Make This Mistake at The Gas Pump?

A mistake that many drivers make when filling their gas tank is to overfill it by topping it off. When the gas pump nozzle clicks off automatically,do you keep pumping? Are you trying to add as much gas as you can possibly stuff into your tank? Do you pump more gas after the automatic shutoff to round your total to nearest full dollar amount? In either case this is a bad habit that is most likely costing you a lot of 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 tank there is a good chance that gasoline will evaporate or will be spilled. Both of these costs you money for gas that is not getting into your car. That is not good for your wallet.

There are more undesirable situations that can happen when overfilling your gas tank. Gas expands as it warms up. This is certainly something to keep in mind in the summer or in areas with warm weather. Gas in underground tanks will be cooler than the air as the ground insulates it from the heat. As the fuel in your tank gets warmer it expands. As the fuel expands it has to have more room.

If you overfill your car, there is no room for the fuel to expand. As the gas expands it has to go somewhere. It could easily find it's way into the vapor collection system of your own car. This may foul the vapor system causing it to malfunction.

The gas that expands and is lost is gas that you have paid for. Again that means that you are paying for gas that you can't use. Your cost of gas is increased again. But that's not all that will happen. If the expanding gas fouls up the vapor collection system your car will operate less efficiently.

A less efficient car means less fuel efficiency which means you will use more gas which means it will cost you more money. The result is you are hit double in the wallet, once for the gas that is lost directly and second for the extra gas your car starts to burn because it is running inefficiently. Double ouch!!

Gas vapors are a major factor in adding toxic pollutants such as benzene to the air. This contributes to bad ozone days. Gas vapors are bad for your health and harmful to breathe. When you top off your tank you will end up with vapors released into the air. When this happens you are breathing in 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!

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