Get PUMPED

Are you feeling the same horror at the gas pump that I am? I mean, really, just how high can the prices go and what can we do about it?

Well there are several ways to optimize how much you can get into your tank. Those tips are below:

1. Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. All service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground; the colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer gasoline expands, so when you buy in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon.

2. When you're filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three stages: low, middle and high. You should be pumping on low mode, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor.

3. One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space.

4. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up; the gasoline is being stirred up as it is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

________________________________________________________

Though these are all great tips, I am still a bit confused about this issue of skyrocketing prices. We get three quarters of our fuel from Canada, so why does the ousting of these maniacs in the Middle East cause a rise in our prices? It suggests that our big companies are taking advantage. What can we do about that? Well I fear not a gas boycott for one day.

Halliburton retiree and an engineer, Phillip Hollsworth offered this fabulous idea for getting gas down to $1.30 a gallon.

"Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not sellers.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit."

I am already following his suggestion, despite the fact that I own Exxon stock. I think it is our only shot, but we all have to do it and we have to start doing it immediately.