Gas Costs Rise, Set Record For This Time Of Year

[CG6468]

Both "blends" vary from area to area, depending on the EPA.

[CG6468]

Well, it was $2.96/9 this morning when I looked.

The prices I've posted are the cheapest in town for the 87 octane 10% stuff.

There aren't but 2 places in the whole county that sell 100% gasoline.

Not true. Various locations in Wisconsin, all away from major urban centers, sell pure gasoline.

[JohnnyReb]

Not true. Various locations in Wisconsin, all away from major urban centers, sell pure gasoline.

Not in my county.

The dirty old men's coffee club had a big fuss one morning about this question. Sooooooo....we all piled in a 4-door pickup and drove around checking the pumps at 4:30 in the morning. All had the 10% stickers on there pumps  except the 2 stores I mentioned.

BTW: There was a damn good looking young lady dressed to kill came in the store this morning at 5:00 am..... That mouthy bunch of old men got so quiet you hear a pin drop. We ain't never seen anything looking that good that early in the morning...

I have a photographic memory. Problem is, it only takes certain kinds of pictures. That young lady is now in my mental photo album.

[LC EFA]

Topped off my tanks today.

$1.549 per litre for a total cost of $219.80.

[TVDOC]

Down 3 cents to $3.05 today.  Bush's fault.

I think Doc is right.  So why is the winter blend cheaper than the gasoline they sell in the summer? 

I'm not really knowledgeable in this area......but my best guess would be that when outside ambient temperatures are lower, engines operate much more efficiently and produce fewer pollutants because the atmosphere is denser therefore increasing volumetric efficiency, specifically reducing NOX and CO.

In summer, additional additives are added to gasoline to compensate for a less dense and more humid intake air content........therefore increasing the cost to produce.

doc

[Eupher]

Topped off my tanks today.

$1.549 per litre for a total cost of $219.80.

Damn. That just plain HURTS.

[TVDOC]

Damn. That just plain HURTS.

Well yeah.....but after the conversion he bought slightly less than forty gallons of gas, must be filling up two saddle tanks on a large pickup truck.

The Aus $ is worth slightly more than the US $, but he's paying the equivalent of $5.71/gal......damn pricey, I hope he doesn't have to fill that beast up very often......

doc

[Eupher]

Well yeah.....but after the conversion he bought slightly less than forty gallons of gas, must be filling up two saddle tanks on a large pickup truck.

The Aus $ is worth slightly more than the US $, but he's paying the equivalent of $5.71/gal......damn pricey, I hope he doesn't have to fill that beast up very often......

doc

He did say "tanks" so I assumed just what you'd said, Doc. Even still, to pony up that much money on a fill-up of any size (unless it's your in-ground tank that holds 1,000 gallons) hurts like hell.

I wonder how often he's got to fill up like that......

[TVDOC]

He did say "tanks" so I assumed just what you'd said, Doc. Even still, to pony up that much money on a fill-up of any size (unless it's your in-ground tank that holds 1,000 gallons) hurts like hell.

I wonder how often he's got to fill up like that......

I'm actually surprised that it is that low in Australia, when compared to Eurpoean countries......of course most of that price is taxes.  $5.70 compared to nearly $4.00 here in some places where taxes are high isn't all that large a difference.

If I remember correctly LC lives in a really rural area in Queensland.......I envision similiar to rural Montana, where it's a 100 mile trip to the supermarket......

doc

[CG6468]

I'm not really knowledgeable in this area......but my best guess would be that when outside ambient temperatures are lower, engines operate much more efficiently and produce fewer pollutants because the atmosphere is denser therefore increasing volumetric efficiency, specifically reducing NOX and CO.

In summer, additional additives are added to gasoline to compensate for a less dense and more humid intake air content........therefore increasing the cost to produce.

doc

The computers that control combustion in today's vehicles supposedly aren't affected by such things.

[TVDOC]

The computers that control combustion in today's vehicles supposedly aren't affected by such things.

Actually, the engine computer system can only control two parameters.......fuel mixture.....and ignition timing (at any given throttle setting, determined by the driver).  Neither of these effect volumetric effeciency to any great extent, or the output of pollutants, vis-a-vis outside air temperature.  Modern engines do not have any means of preheating or cooling the intake air which is fed to the throttle body and ultimately the combustion chamber. 

The colder the intake air is, the more efficiently the engine runs, and the more horsepower it will generate....which is why, if you ever hang around a dragstrip, you'll see the pit crews packing ice bags on their vehicles intake manifolds before a run.

Most of the major automakers have/are experimenting with systems to accomplish this function (using the vehicles' air conditioning system) in an attempt to eliminate the expensive catalytic converters, but so far (to my knowledge) nobody's made it work yet.


doc

[LC EFA]

I live in a regional city - circa 150K people that is pretty much at the "end of the road". There's nothing in the way of towns with more than 10K people north or west of us for hundreds and hundreds of miles. We pay a little more for fuels than in the major metro areas but not dramatically so.  Most I've paid for fuel was about $2.50 / L -  in a very remote place.

I usually fill up once a month or thereabouts - but this next week will involve some fairly long miles and filling up twice  at remote locations where diesel will be a good 20-50c per litre more before arriving back in town and having to refuel again.

[Eupher]

I live in a regional city - circa 150K people that is pretty much at the "end of the road". There's nothing in the way of towns with more than 10K people north or west of us for hundreds and hundreds of miles. We pay a little more for fuels than in the major metro areas but not dramatically so.  Most I've paid for fuel was about $2.50 / L -  in a very remote place.

I usually fill up once a month or thereabouts - but this next week will involve some fairly long miles and filling up twice  at remote locations where diesel will be a good 20-50c per litre more before arriving back in town and having to refuel again.

Interesting how you use the term "miles". Do you/most Aussies express distance in miles versus kilometers? I'm reasonably sure you're on the metric system -- I think the U.S. is pretty much the last great holdout on that measuring standard. Jimmuh Carter tried to shove it down our throats and he got a boot in the ass for his trouble.  

[LC EFA]

Interesting how you use the term "miles". Do you/most Aussies express distance in miles versus kilometers? I'm reasonably sure you're on the metric system -- I think the U.S. is pretty much the last great holdout on that measuring standard. Jimmuh Carter tried to shove it down our throats and he got a boot in the ass for his trouble.  

I'm fairly conversant with both systems of measurement - and can if required use them both. In day-to-day life fluid measurements, any large distances, mass and temperature are always metric. Smaller distances I'll use whichever is more convenient at the time.

The expression "do a lot of miles / some long miles" is a holdout from the pre-decimalisation days. It shows more the company I keep than any personal preference in which system to use.

[compaqxp]

Meh, gas and diesel up in NS have changed very, very little.

Today the prices were 4.80/G (1.26/L) for regular and 4.87/G (1.29/L) for diesel.

About 60$ to fill the car at the moment.

[JohnnyReb]

HOLY COW!!!!!!! I've been throwing out tax records from way back again.

If I were still in the grading business, my fuel bill for 3 pieces of equip for 3 days now would equal my fuel bill for 3 pieces of equipment for the entire year of 1973.

Damn. I'm glad I quit 10 years ago.

[zeitgeist]

HOLY COW!!!!!!! I've been throwing out tax records from way back again.

If I were still in the grading business, my fuel bill for 3 pieces of equip for 3 days now would equal my fuel bill for 3 pieces of equipment for the entire year of 1973.

Damn. I'm glad I quit 10 years ago.

Filled the MH today with diesel @ $3.799 .  I stayed local this year and did three or four trips burning about 66 gallons ($250.00 OR about the cost of a couple nights at a decent flea free, bed bug free motel).  And I don't have to board the beagle which is not cheap and I know who cleans the toilets. 

[NHSparky]

Yup--as long as you're not on the I-95 corridor, name brand gas is getting down to the $3.30/gal range, but still 10-15 cents higher right off the Interstates/turnpikes.

Did a day trip yesterday.  Damned flatlanders.

[Janice]

States where drivers pay the least for gasoline

Gas prices are falling. In fact, they’ve declined to lows not seen in months. Concerns of yet another global recession have caused oil prices to drop, and with them, gas prices. In the U.S., prices of regular unleaded gasoline have fallen more than 50 cents per gallon since May, when the cost hovered near $4.00. Still, gas prices vary widely between states — from $4.24 a gallon in Hawaii to $3.13 in Missouri, according to AAA. >>>

The Tax Foundation reports that some states, including California and New York, have gas tax rates of nearly 50 cents per gallon. Other states, including South Carolina and Oklahoma, have a tax of less than 20 cents. while there are some exceptions, notably Indiana, most of the states with low gas tax rates also have low gas prices.

The presence of refineries within the state also appears to have a significant impact on gas prices. Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana are home to the vast majority of the nation’s fuel processing plants, and prices are notably lower in these states, possibly due to lower transportation costs. >>>

10. Georgia
9. Kentucky
8. Indiana
7. Oklahoma
6. Louisiana
5. Texas
4. Tennessee
3. Ohio
2. South Carolina
1. Missouri - In some areas of the state, such as Perryville, gas prices are as low as $2.77 per gallon.

Amazing how supply, trans, regulations and taxes affects gas prices. Who knew? /s

[Chris_]

Back up to $3.30 from a low of $3.02-$3.06 the other week and $3.15-$3.25 last week, and it looks like the price may continue rising for a little while longer.

[CG6468]

States where drivers pay the least for gasoline

Amazing how supply, trans, regulations and taxes affects gas prices. Who knew? /s

Not necessarily. Illinois has refineries close to Chicago, and Indiana is home to a huge AMOCO refinery, also close to Chicago. While Chicago and the surrounding area have the highest prices in the state, the entire state's prices are still higher than neighboring states, generally speaking.

[NHSparky]

Yup--up as much as 20 cents/gal again.

[JohnnyReb]

Yup--up as much as 20 cents/gal again.

Gone up almost 30 cents here in S.C..

[IassaFTots]

Gone up almost 30 cents here in S.C..

Same here in Texas.

[zeitgeist]

10-24-2011  Regular at BJ's Wholsale Club in Portsmouth, NH   $ 3.32