I want to know where Kroger gas is distributed from and if there is any difference between Kroger gas and BP. I’ve seen on the net that Kroger gas comes from the same refineries as BP, but do they have the same additives? And, will using Kroger gas over time cause any problems or would I be better off getting my fuel from a reputable name brand station?
Kroger gasoline
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with the gas crisis, I've been filling up with only walmart gas with ethanol. 3 cents off their lowball price off their suppliers. I noticed shell has started a commercial campaign about using discount gas and showing intake valves being gummed up after 5k miles. Personally, I use the discount gas and hit it with free after rebate fuel injector cleaner ever 5 k miles. so far Chevron technron or Regane.
To my knowledge, Kroger has no exclusive arrangement with a single gasoline brand distributor. They can buy from whomever is cheapest on a given day. Dillons stores, which is under the Kroger umbrella, used to have an agreement with Texaco gasolines, but that was more due to location of the Texaco refinery than anything else. Now that Texaco in Kansas is nearly non-existent and the refinery belongs to someone else, I don't know how Dillons buys their gasolines.
All gasolines have to meet minimum govt specs for detergency, so there is probably no long term effects in using discount gas vs branded gas.
I use whatever is cheapest locally -- including Casey's, Sam's, Costco, Murphy USA, etc. Been doing about the same thing for about 10-15 years and have had no injector issues since 1991.
On trips where I am going to unfamiliar territory, I tend to stick with high traffic, Top Tier branded stations, because I have fewer options to complain if I find out I get a tank of bad gas.
All gasolines have to meet minimum govt specs for detergency, so there is probably no long term effects in using discount gas vs branded gas.
I use whatever is cheapest locally -- including Casey's, Sam's, Costco, Murphy USA, etc. Been doing about the same thing for about 10-15 years and have had no injector issues since 1991.
On trips where I am going to unfamiliar territory, I tend to stick with high traffic, Top Tier branded stations, because I have fewer options to complain if I find out I get a tank of bad gas.
I work in an oil refinery and can tell you in no uncertain terms that just because you buy Brand "A" gasoline, do not assume that your gasoline was produced in a refinery owned by Brand "A" as well. Most gasoline is made to meet a certain specification and ends up in pipelines. Several refineries often contribute to a batch of gasoline flowing through a pipeline, which does not matter because all of the gasoline was blended to meet a certain specification. Prior to being loaded into tanker trucks for delivery, gasoline is simply called "unbranded". Gasoline becomes branded once the proprietary detergent additives have been combined with gasoline in the tanker trucks as they are being filled at the loading rack.
I choose to buy Shell gasoline because they operate their massive Deer Park Refining Complex about 10 miles from my house. I figure that most of the gas sold in my local area is made by Shell, but there are several other refineries nearby as well. My chances of ending up with gasoline that was actually produced by Shell is probably higher as long as I purchase it from a Shell station accordingly. In the end, gasoline is gasoline and the additives are usually the only difference. I will say that buying Top Tier gasoline is probably a safer bet, as these stations probably receive more scrutiny than the no-name gas stations. By more scrutiny, I mean more checks for H2O in the underground tanks, more frequent filter changes and more accurately calibrated flow meters. Just my .02 cents on this subject.
I choose to buy Shell gasoline because they operate their massive Deer Park Refining Complex about 10 miles from my house. I figure that most of the gas sold in my local area is made by Shell, but there are several other refineries nearby as well. My chances of ending up with gasoline that was actually produced by Shell is probably higher as long as I purchase it from a Shell station accordingly. In the end, gasoline is gasoline and the additives are usually the only difference. I will say that buying Top Tier gasoline is probably a safer bet, as these stations probably receive more scrutiny than the no-name gas stations. By more scrutiny, I mean more checks for H2O in the underground tanks, more frequent filter changes and more accurately calibrated flow meters. Just my .02 cents on this subject.
A few years ago I worked with an independent oil surveyor that measured the quantity of fuel we bought and lab-tested it for quality. I was buying about $100k a week, and other parts of the company were buying similar amounts, and this independent lab was there to mediate quantity and quality problems.
He did the same for the local refiners who bought and sold gasoline to each other when one was short due to maintenance, etc. He said that one refiner was consistently below spec. The others adjusted the price and reblended the gasoline, and sold it meeting the stated spec. This refiner, ARCO, has been bought by BP since then, but it still is the lowest cost & lowest quality fuel in this region. It is the only gasoline where I can see the reduced gas mileage.
My experience with FP60 is that it allows the lowest quality gasoline to perform as well as the highest quality with a lower total cost per mile. That's why I use it and will soon use FP Plus when I need more.
Here Kroger (QFC & Fred Meyer stores) might buy Tesoro, BP/ARCO, Shell, or ConocoPhillips, again which ever offers the best price to them.
He did the same for the local refiners who bought and sold gasoline to each other when one was short due to maintenance, etc. He said that one refiner was consistently below spec. The others adjusted the price and reblended the gasoline, and sold it meeting the stated spec. This refiner, ARCO, has been bought by BP since then, but it still is the lowest cost & lowest quality fuel in this region. It is the only gasoline where I can see the reduced gas mileage.
My experience with FP60 is that it allows the lowest quality gasoline to perform as well as the highest quality with a lower total cost per mile. That's why I use it and will soon use FP Plus when I need more.
Here Kroger (QFC & Fred Meyer stores) might buy Tesoro, BP/ARCO, Shell, or ConocoPhillips, again which ever offers the best price to them.
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Originally Posted By: Ken2
A few years ago I worked with an independent oil surveyor that measured the quantity of fuel we bought and lab-tested it for quality. I was buying about $100k a week, and other parts of the company were buying similar amounts, and this independent lab was there to mediate quantity and quality problems.
He did the same for the local refiners who bought and sold gasoline to each other when one was short due to maintenance, etc. He said that one refiner was consistently below spec. The others adjusted the price and reblended the gasoline, and sold it meeting the stated spec. This refiner, ARCO, has been bought by BP since then, but it still is the lowest cost & lowest quality fuel in this region. It is the only gasoline where I can see the reduced gas mileage.
My experience with FP60 is that it allows the lowest quality gasoline to perform as well as the highest quality with a lower total cost per mile. That's why I use it and will soon use FP Plus when I need more.
Here Kroger (QFC & Fred Meyer stores) might buy Tesoro, BP/ARCO, Shell, or ConocoPhillips, again which ever offers the best price to them.
Just to satisfy my curiosity, do you happen to remember what was considered the acceptable tolerance for gas pump errors while you worked for the independent oil surveyor (i.e. +/-1%)? If you do, do you also remember how frequently you would find pumps that were out of tolerance on either the high or low side?
Thanks for your insight on this!
A few years ago I worked with an independent oil surveyor that measured the quantity of fuel we bought and lab-tested it for quality. I was buying about $100k a week, and other parts of the company were buying similar amounts, and this independent lab was there to mediate quantity and quality problems.
He did the same for the local refiners who bought and sold gasoline to each other when one was short due to maintenance, etc. He said that one refiner was consistently below spec. The others adjusted the price and reblended the gasoline, and sold it meeting the stated spec. This refiner, ARCO, has been bought by BP since then, but it still is the lowest cost & lowest quality fuel in this region. It is the only gasoline where I can see the reduced gas mileage.
My experience with FP60 is that it allows the lowest quality gasoline to perform as well as the highest quality with a lower total cost per mile. That's why I use it and will soon use FP Plus when I need more.
Here Kroger (QFC & Fred Meyer stores) might buy Tesoro, BP/ARCO, Shell, or ConocoPhillips, again which ever offers the best price to them.
Just to satisfy my curiosity, do you happen to remember what was considered the acceptable tolerance for gas pump errors while you worked for the independent oil surveyor (i.e. +/-1%)? If you do, do you also remember how frequently you would find pumps that were out of tolerance on either the high or low side?
Thanks for your insight on this!
I worked for a Shell oil and gas distributor in N.M. and we required that each station check their gas for water each morning. The state checked our pumps and fuel on a regular basis. Our mechanic checked everything on a regular basis also. As far as Kroger is concerned I talked to a manager at Kroger yesterday and he said all their fuel comes from the lowest bidder.
Just 'cause you asked us to check it, didn't mean we did.
On the flip side, I could always tell you roughly how much water was sitting at the bottom of the tank, accurate to within a quarter of an inch.
On the flip side, I could always tell you roughly how much water was sitting at the bottom of the tank, accurate to within a quarter of an inch.
Originally Posted By: Lyondellic
Just to satisfy my curiosity, do you happen to remember what was considered the acceptable tolerance for gas pump errors while you worked for the independent oil surveyor (i.e. +/-1%)? If you do, do you also remember how frequently you would find pumps that were out of tolerance on either the high or low side?
Thanks for your insight on this!
The county weights and measures tech told me the pump must be less then 2 oz per gallon off, that's about 1.6% he said they weren't off very often.
Just to satisfy my curiosity, do you happen to remember what was considered the acceptable tolerance for gas pump errors while you worked for the independent oil surveyor (i.e. +/-1%)? If you do, do you also remember how frequently you would find pumps that were out of tolerance on either the high or low side?
Thanks for your insight on this!
The county weights and measures tech told me the pump must be less then 2 oz per gallon off, that's about 1.6% he said they weren't off very often.
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
On the flip side, I could always tell you roughly how much water was sitting at the bottom of the tank, accurate to within a quarter of an inch.
When it was gasoline it was ok to have some water in the bottom of the tank. Now that we have E10 the water level better be -1/4 inch +-1/4 inch.
On the flip side, I could always tell you roughly how much water was sitting at the bottom of the tank, accurate to within a quarter of an inch.
When it was gasoline it was ok to have some water in the bottom of the tank. Now that we have E10 the water level better be -1/4 inch +-1/4 inch.
Originally Posted By: severach
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
On the flip side, I could always tell you roughly how much water was sitting at the bottom of the tank, accurate to within a quarter of an inch.
When it was gasoline it was ok to have some water in the bottom of the tank. Now that we have E10 the water level better be -1/4 inch +-1/4 inch.
When I worked at a gas station during my college days we would check the tanks for H2O at least once per day. We used a long, square pole made of wood that was marked like a ruler along with a paste of yellow material that would turn red when it came into contact with H2O. The tanks usually had about 4" to 8" of H2O sitting at the bottom, but a truck would come by and use a pump to pull out the H2O if the level got any higher than 10". Keep in mind that the pumps used to dispense gas into your vehicles do not take suction directly from the bottom of the underground tanks. These pumps are designed to prevent the material on the bottom of the underground tanks from ever making it into your gas tank.
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
On the flip side, I could always tell you roughly how much water was sitting at the bottom of the tank, accurate to within a quarter of an inch.
When it was gasoline it was ok to have some water in the bottom of the tank. Now that we have E10 the water level better be -1/4 inch +-1/4 inch.
When I worked at a gas station during my college days we would check the tanks for H2O at least once per day. We used a long, square pole made of wood that was marked like a ruler along with a paste of yellow material that would turn red when it came into contact with H2O. The tanks usually had about 4" to 8" of H2O sitting at the bottom, but a truck would come by and use a pump to pull out the H2O if the level got any higher than 10". Keep in mind that the pumps used to dispense gas into your vehicles do not take suction directly from the bottom of the underground tanks. These pumps are designed to prevent the material on the bottom of the underground tanks from ever making it into your gas tank.
From what I've heard BP distributes gasoline to Kroger,Vons,Wal-Mart,Costco and Albertson. In essence it's just Arco gasoline.
Durango
Durango
Originally Posted By: Lyondellic
....
The tanks usually had about 4" to 8" of H2O sitting at the bottom, but a truck would come by and use a pump to pull out the H2O if the level got any higher than 10".....
4-8"! You gotta be kidding! When I worked for a independent multi-station Exxon retailer, anything more than 1" of water and a call went to Exxon who sent out a contractor to pump the tank bottoms. Most of our tanks showed very little water anyway.
Drew
....
The tanks usually had about 4" to 8" of H2O sitting at the bottom, but a truck would come by and use a pump to pull out the H2O if the level got any higher than 10".....
4-8"! You gotta be kidding! When I worked for a independent multi-station Exxon retailer, anything more than 1" of water and a call went to Exxon who sent out a contractor to pump the tank bottoms. Most of our tanks showed very little water anyway.
Drew
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