The first major ‘exit operation’ begins this summer with fuel prices breaking all records. Although we can find different rates depending on the province, the town and even the service station, the price of gasoline 95 is around €2,123/l and that of diesel is €2,083/l. Despite the bonus promoted by the government, once we are on the road, it is convenient to locate the service stations with the cheapest prices to save as much as possible on our car journeys.
In addition to the gas station geoportal, where we can find the official rates for all of Spain, we can also use Google Maps, one of the most popular navigation systems, to carry out the search once we are on the road.
The procedure to use is very simple. From the ‘smartphone’, all you have to do is open the Google Maps application.
At the top, just below the search bar, the user will find several icons, including one that says ‘Petrol Stations’. If you ‘click’ on it, the locations of the stations that are closest to your situation appear on the screen.
The Internet user will also see how information about the different gas stations is displayed at the bottom of the screen. It will only be necessary to click on it to display the prices of the fuels they sell. In addition, the user will be able to check here what the parking hours are, the hours at which they are busiest or the opinions of other users.
The app, and the functionality, is available for all devices. Both iPhones with iOS operating system and Google Android.
Without the need to download any App on our mobile, the CasaCocheCurro.com gasoline price comparator allows us to consult the nearest gas station in the search engine. It only takes a few seconds and, when the query is made with the Location of your phone activated, a list will open with the service stations closest to your location.
This information includes the hours of nearby service stations to make sure they are open and refueling is possible. And in the list you will see what the fuel prices are at nearby gas stations and the distance you have to get there. As simple as choosing the type of fuel your car needs and selecting a gas station so that Google Maps opens on your phone to receive directions on how to get there.
And as the nearest gas station may not be the cheapest, the gasoline price comparator helps us to know which is the cheapest in a locality.
To locate the best gasoline and prices of each brand and nearest service stations, the gas station price comparator of
HomeCarCurro.com It makes it easy in seconds to know where the cheapest gas station in each town is. Simply enter the name of the municipality in which you want to consult and the cheapest ones appear in order, in addition to getting the closest route to get there with Google Maps.
Another possibility is the mobile application of
Petroprix, fully developed by the company from Jaén with its own technology, has 100,000 monthly active users spread throughout Spain. This application geolocates the closest stations with prices in real time, to offer both the locations of the operator’s gas stations and the savings you will get when refueling at one of its stations.
On the other hand, the user can also activate the ‘Zero Paper’ function, thus receiving tickets and invoices digitally (e-mail and/or app) after each refuelling.
Other application options that we can download on our mobile are:
GasAllwhich allows you to locate the gas station that most interests you at all times, selected by price, by fuel, or by taking advantage of some type of promotion.
With
GasofApp we can have on the screen the gas stations with the price of their fuel as well as the routes to reach each of them without having to leave the application itself. It allows us to add a list of “favorites” based on our previous experiences.
Tricks and urban legends
A first usual recommendation to try to save a few cents is to fill the tank early in the morning. The ambient temperature and soil is lower. All service stations have their deposits underground. On the contrary, it happens during the day, when the temperature of the ground rises and the fuels tend to expand. For the latter, if the tank is filled at noon, in the afternoon or at nightfall, the liter of fuel will not be exactly one liter. In the oil industry, the specific gravity and temperature of the ground play a very important role.
Technicians from the sector, however, point out to ABC that “this is not the case, because the pump meter only measures volume (which is the magnitude measured in liters) and its reading does not vary. But if, as a result of its temperature, it has a higher specific weight, that liter will weigh more and provide more energy, which is what we ultimately buy at the gas station.
According to
SPG Workshops, one of the reasons why we try to drive with a full tank is to take advantage of an adequate price of gasoline. However, after calculating the savings per liter and the cost of being overweight, there may be a difference of around 25 kilos between a half tank and a full one.
What is certain is that a full tank more effectively prevents the gasoline from evaporating, since there is less space for air, in the event of an increase in temperatures, condensation is less than if the tank is below minimum.
The more fuel in the tank, the less air there is in it. Fuel evaporates more quickly than is commonly thought. This is why large refinery tanks have floating roofs inside, keeping the air separated from the fuel, with the aim of keeping evaporation to a minimum.
In addition, the fuel pumps are electric, so if they are completely submerged in the liquid, they will have a greater cooling and thus better maintenance by themselves.
With all these data, the experts at SPG Talleres recommend carrying the tank half full, with a tendency to absolute full, but without reaching it.
Other recommendations to save fuel and not cause damage to the engine are, for example, to avoid filling the tank when the tanks at the gas station are being filled or immediately afterwards. If you arrive at the service station and see a tanker truck that is refilling its underground tanks, or has just filled them, it is usually recommended that you avoid refueling at that time. The explanation is that filling the tanks removes the remaining fuel in them and the bottom sediments. So you take the risk of laying dirty fuel in stock. However, the technical experts consulted by this newspaper do not agree with this last statement.
Finally, when you fill the tank, it is recommended that you do not tighten the dispenser handle to the maximum, because depending on the pressure exerted, the speed of the dispenser can be slow, medium or high. In this case it would be recommended to choose the slowest mode in order to save money.
By dispensing more slowly, less steam is created, and more of the pour becomes an effective fill. All dispensing hoses return vapor to the tank. If the tank is filled by squeezing the handle as far as it will go, a certain percentage of the liquid that enters the tank turns into vapor and returns through the dispenser hose to the station tank. With which, they get less fuel for the same money.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.