Best Time to Fill the Tank - In the Morning

When you talk with energy experts they will advise consumers to buy gas in the morning. Their claim is when it's cooler outside, you get more energy per gallon.

Why is this?

The main reason for it us a 100-year-old government standard that calls for a gallon of gas to deliver the amount of energy gas has when it's stored at 60 degrees. That would be 231 cubic inches.

But as gas gets hotter, it expands, diluting its energy and reducing miles per gallon. At 80 degrees it takes 234 cubic inches of fuel to get the same amount of energy.

While the science is exact, it may also be true that gas companies are using it to their advantage. When delivering gas to the stations the gas is temperature compensated. Special equipment adjusts the amount pumped according to its temperature. This is not true when dispensing it into the vehicle.

With the price of gas rising to record levels members of congress is looking into the issue.

But for now it’s best to follow the advice experts have been giving for years. Purchase the gas in the morning, when the temperature of the fuel in the tanks at the station are at their lowest.