Grocery store gas

[slowdime]

Not sure how common this is everywhere but I'd imagine since I've only ever seen it at Kroger stores it's not completely foreign to many of you. I lived in Utah for a short while and the Kroger owned chain branded as Smith's had a number of gas stations near their stores where you could use points earned from buying groceries for fuel discounts.
Now that I'm back in my native Oregon, I noticed the Kroger owned Fred Meyer stores have been opening more and more gas stations. I get gas there occasionally, but since they opened a new station very close to my apartment I may start going there more frequently. I understand they likely don't pump top tier gas, as a matter of fact you're given the option before pumping on whether you'd like to ad a 'fuel system cleaner' for an extra cost that would bring it in line with the chevron up the street.
Does anybody know where they source their gas from? I highly doubt they have their own refinery so they must be getting it from someone.
I've never done back to back fills at a Kroger gas station, I like to at the very least alternate between chevron or any other top tier station and the cheap Kroger gas. And it can be a great deal if you buy a lot of groceries!

 

[bullwinkle]

They're based here in Cincinnati, I've heard that it's either Shell or Marathon, I use both their gas & diesel ALL the time, I've never had any trouble with them. Got diesel there for $1.32/gallon after discounts recently, 35 gallons worth!

 

[jacky]

i dont know if this will help but i live in wv
every station in my area gets gas from ashland oil the only difference is the additive pack, that includes kroger stores
even mom and pops station gets it from the same place
i always buy gas at whatever store is easy to get in and out of
i have never had a gas related probelem but i try to avoid gas with ethanol
kroger might not be listed as top tier but your car will run just fine off of it

 

[Oregoonian]

Several years ago, since I purchased gas at a Kroger store (in Oregon), I researched this info online. I found out that ...SHELL....supplies Kroger with gasoline. Don't know if its still the same today...or if its the same fuel that Shell sells at its own stations.

 

[slowdime]

Huh...
I don't know how much, if anything I could glean from the people that work at the station, but the price discrepancy between shell and Kroger gas is nearly $1/gallon, at least around here.
Even if it is shell I'd be surprised if the additives were the same.
I used to run Kroger gas in my old truck all the time and never had issues. I'm usually not as picky about gas but prices are going back up again and it'd be nice to use my $.30-$.50 discount per gallon and not worry too much about gunked intake valves.
It's a bummer you can't use the discount for multiple fills until you reach the cutoff a larger vehicle may run into. My tank is only ~12 gal and I think the limit is something like 35 gal for the discount.
I'll just have to fill the cavalier and Mazda one after the other on the same transaction.

 

[Cadenza]

Kroger's is not a big presence in my area (Greater Puget Sound) and has no gas stations I know of locally. However, I do know their gas rewards program uses SHELL stations.
Safeway is the big player, and their program offers rewards through their own branded stations and Chevron.

 

[slowdime]

Freddy's doesn't have any stations around the Puget sound? Dont be surprised if they do open some, they've been popping up quite a bit around the Portland metro area.
You can use the reward points for shell around here too. I guess that would make sense that they would supply the FM pumps.

 

[Donald]

I get almost all my gas from Cumberland Farms (convenience store) and have no issues. They have a SmartCard linked to checking acct. that gives you 10 cents off/gallon all the time. Also some free drinks/snacks when you buy enough gas. I have saved $120 so far on the 10 cents off per gallon. The nice thing is the card needs a PIN so I have one in each car and use as needed. If I forget my wallet I can get some gas and more importantly Diet Pepsi. If someone steals the card they need a PIN and it cannot buy very much ($500/week).

 

[sciphi]

If the station is busy I wouldn't worry. Turnover trumps additives in my book. Less chance for water in the tanks, and more chance the filters on the gas pumps get changed regularly. Use the savings to buy a steak or a few bottles of Techron once a year.

 

[slowdime]

The steak is for the gas tank right?

 

[BikeWhisperer]

20-30 years ago there was big differences in gasoline and often premium was the only grade with the additives.

But gas is so heavily regulated now that I seriously doubt you will notice any difference in performance from a "brand name" fuel to a "store brand" fuel as long as you use the grade specified in your owners manual.

 

[Quest]

I regularly buy gas from Safeway and/or Kroger, and notice no difference than, say, Shell or Chevron, which costs more.


Q.

 

[fdcg27]

We use lots of Kroger gas when we have a decent fuel points balance.
We normally take two cars to fill when we have a decent fuel points balance.
I don't see any difference in use between Kroger gas and top-tier Valero.
I drive by a Valero each weekday that tends to be one of the local low price leaders, so I buy their gas as well.
We filled one car there yesterday for $2.229/gal when pretty much everyone else within several miles was at $2.499, including the two Kroger fuel stations near us.
We typically bank our Kroger fuel points for those times when Kroger's fuel prices are at least close to the lowest in the area. We have two Kroger fuel stations within a few miles of us and they can have dramatically different prices.
Gasbuddy.com is your friend.

 

[earlyre]

I can Tell you around here, pretty much everyone, regardless of the branding, gets their gas from the Local Refinery(Currently Owned/Operated by Husky). they provide around 25% of the gas sold in Ohio.

I'm sure the additives are different,but it's all the same gas before going into the tanker.

 

[BHopkins]

If I recall correctly, I think the Utah Smith's stores get their fuel from the Flying J / Pilot refinery. But, that doesn't mean that they have the same detergent package. My understanding is that fuel coming from the same refinery can be quite different, depending upon the detergent pack that each customer requires.

I've never seen a fuel pump that allows the customer to select a higher level of detergents. That's pretty cool. If it were me, I would always select the added detergents. But, that's dependent upon what it does to the price. If by adding extra detergents, it makes the gas as expensive as a top tier, then I would just go to a top tier station.

 

[slowdime]

Originally Posted By: BHopkins
If I recall correctly, I think the Utah Smith's stores get their fuel from the Flying J / Pilot refinery. But, that doesn't mean that they have the same detergent package. My understanding is that fuel coming from the same refinery can be quite different, depending upon the detergent pack that each customer requires.

I've never seen a fuel pump that allows the customer to select a higher level of detergents. That's pretty cool. If it were me, I would always select the added detergents. But, that's dependent upon what it does to the price. If by adding extra detergents, it makes the gas as expensive as a top tier, then I would just go to a top tier station.


I've only ever seen the additive option once, mostly because you can't pump your own gas in Oregon... ive only seen it when I visit family across the state line in WA and get gas. I can't recall what the additive was, there wasn't any indication of a brand or anything. Plus the last time I filled up in WA I had a bottle of mmo I was pouring in anyway.

 

[badtlc]

The grocery gas is most likely fine as long as it doesn't have water. Just take some of the money you save and run fuel system cleaner more often than normal as they contain the bare legal minimum of detergents and that isn't enough to keep things clean.

I use hyvee gas a lot. I typically save around $5-8 per fillup of 20 gallons. Considering a bottle of Regane HM only costs me about $4, i could add regane every tank and still save $ compared to buying gas at normal price.

 

[jk_636]

I will use any gas on the market, as long as it is shell.

 

[Tdbo]

Grocery store gas is perfectly fine.
Have been utilizing fuel programs for years.
Since the drop in fuel prices, I have received 30 free gallons of gas/month at no additional charge from Giant Eagle. I simply allow my fuel perks to accrue (currently have $5.55) until I have enough to get fuel for free. Need to go fill my cans up for the month. See no reason not to utilize it, we have to go to the grocery anyway.

Also utilize Kroger/Turkey Hill fuel points as well. Last week filled up the car at $1.82/gal, after utilizing 40 cent discount. $6.00 savings on 15 gallons of gas is a nice discount.

Top tiers are fine as well. Got a free $20. Shell gift card for getting an insurance quote from The Travelers. Didn't save me anything on insurance, but a free 1/2 tank of gas is good.

I'll take any savings I can get.

 

[jk_636]

I find it rather astounding that a forum dedicated to finding the best oils, additives, filters etc. would have people that buy cheap gas. You can do a lot more good for your engine by doing short OCIs of a mediocore dino oil and good gas, rather than using a top tier PCMO and cheap gas. Keep buying your bunker fuel if you must...