Interesting info on Costco gas

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 19, 2014
Messages
3,443
Location
WV
From their recent magazine:
The U.S. standard for fuel pump
accuracy is a variance of no more than
3 cubic inches per 5 gallons dispensed.
A cubic inch is a bit less than a
tablespoon – a very precise standard.
Costco tests all its fuel meters twice
a year. Our certi ed testers adjust any
meters that are off by more than 1 cubic
inch per 5 gallons, which is less than
one-tenth of 1 percent. If a meter shows
a tendency to fall out of adjustment, we
promptly service or replace the meter.
 
I love going to costco for gas. This just adds another reason. TopTier, cheaper than everyone else, clean stations. The other great thing is its a fueling station. So no one parks and leaves their car at the pump to get a pack of smokes or donut.
 
I would guess that Costco does that not just for the customer, but also so that they don't give away any unnecessary free gas. Even a fraction of a tablespoon undermeasurement over the millions of cars that go through their stations would add up. Costco is all about large volumes!
 
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
I would guess that Costco does that not just for the customer, but also so that they don't give away any unnecessary free gas. Even a fraction of a tablespoon undermeasurement over the millions of cars that go through their stations would add up. Costco is all about large volumes!


I remember a story years ago (maybe 60 minutes?) about pumps doing the opposite. Saying for example you got 5 gallons when they only gave you 4.5. I forget the percentage off they were finding the pumps but it was ripping people off. This story specifically focused on pumps in New Jersey.
 
to olas.

fuel is entirely locale based and fungible. they will get the same bulk fuel as 99% of all the other fuel that stations get in the area from the same fuel depot.
the "all gas in your area is the same" statement goes here its only the additives that are different. there is no shell fuel vs chevron vs bp fuel that came from different refineries and only go to those specific branded stations. that isn't what occurs.

There is a remarkable difference in that they dont get additives at the depot. Costco mixes in their Kirkland branded additive mix onsite as it goes to the pumps and is top tier certified. you can google to find the Costco articles on this.
 
Last edited:
They love that Kirkland name don't they?

Originally Posted By: raytseng
to olas.

fuel is entirely locale based and fungible. they will get the same bulk fuel as 99% of all the other fuel that stations get in the area from the same fuel depot.
the "all gas in your area is the same" statement goes here its only the additives that are different. there is no shell fuel vs chevron vs bp fuel that came from different refineries and only go to those specific branded stations. that isn't what occurs.

There is a remarkable difference in that they dont get additives at the depot. Costco mixes in their Kirkland branded additive mix onsite as it goes to the pumps and is top tier certified. you can google to find the Costco articles on this.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
What is Costco fuel like in regard to ethanol? And detergent pack?

Unless Costco has a corporate policy on EtOH (which would by necessity be in all their fuel), then the answer to that here in the US would be dependent on locality.
 
Originally Posted By: AirgunSavant
They love that Kirkland name don't they?


A friend of mine took me to his Costco when I was visiting him and forgot to pack undies (duh). He bought gas while we were there and we sat in line for a long time...once in the store, I saw that they had Kirkland dress shirts for $16 and they happened to have a style that I liked, so I bought one and it has been fine. I have since decided to order all my dress shirts online for a better fit due to my long arms (16.5" neck and 36" sleeve seems to work best for me, try to find that in a department store).
 
Fill up at Costco every weekend i can. If not, it's Shell or Chevron. Around here, Costco is consistently 25c/gallon cheaper than the others.
 
I go to Costco for my gas, except for my R1, where I seek out (on the brink of extinction) gas pumps with one hose per grade. If I can't find one nearby, I go to regular shell/chevron where they don't have the extra long hoses. Last fill up I brought a gas can to purge the hose (use for ope) and fill after. Pita...
 
Originally Posted By: Dyusik
I go to Costco for my gas, except for my R1, where I seek out (on the brink of extinction) gas pumps with one hose per grade. If I can't find one nearby, I go to regular shell/chevron where they don't have the extra long hoses. Last fill up I brought a gas can to purge the hose (use for ope) and fill after. Pita...


At my Costco you could avoid this problem by pulling in behind a premium European sedan, they all go to Costco because the 93 octane is so cheap. The Premium was at $2.13 the other day and $1.88 for Regular, well I stopped a place closer to my house for their food trailers and Regular was $2.09. Crazy.
 
Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
I love going to costco for gas. This just adds another reason. TopTier, cheaper than everyone else, clean stations. The other great thing is its a fueling station. So no one parks and leaves their car at the pump to get a pack of smokes or donut.
This is a recent development at the "milk store" in my town. At times all the pumps are blocked by me first types wandering around the store looking for "healthy" snacks. It's not a big station and was grandfathered in on the lot it occupies so people wanting gas back up into the street. It doesn't bother the wanderers. What these selfish twerps do is just plain rude.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
What is Costco fuel like in regard to ethanol? And detergent pack?

All Costco gas pumps in my area say that they contain 10% ethanol. That's pretty standard since most fuel blends are designed to meet octane requirement when blended with 10% ethanol.

Costco also got Lubrizol to make a series of custom additive packages for them called UltraZol 9888. They have different letters after the number for different versions.
 
Originally Posted By: raytseng
to olas.

fuel is entirely locale based and fungible. they will get the same bulk fuel as 99% of all the other fuel that stations get in the area from the same fuel depot.
the "all gas in your area is the same" statement goes here its only the additives that are different. there is no shell fuel vs chevron vs bp fuel that came from different refineries and only go to those specific branded stations. that isn't what occurs.

There is a remarkable difference in that they dont get additives at the depot. Costco mixes in their Kirkland branded additive mix onsite as it goes to the pumps and is top tier certified. you can google to find the Costco articles on this.


It can get a little more complicated in areas where there are lots of fuel depots. Near where I live there are two pipeline companies with depots, along with Chevron and Phillips. The Chevron one is right at the refinery, and the Phillips one probably pipes most of their fuel from the Rodeo refinery a few miles away. However, I live in an area which might be different than one with one depot that may be sourcing/blending from multiple fungible sources. And the Chevron refinery has shut down many times for various reasons, and they still need to supply their retail gas stations.

As for Costco, my understanding is that they have a metering device to dispense the additive that's stored on site but delivered by tanker. I remember seeing a photo of a tank installation there. They had these huge tanks, but also a smaller tank for the additive. Supposedly some sites store the additive in above ground tanks. The additive is added to the tank and corresponds to the amount of fuel delivered. It's not supposed to be added as you pump, although I wonder about how well mixed it is when there's a delivery going on.
 
Interesting as earlier this week I fueled up my grand marquis which has a 20.0 gal tank. It took 21.3 gallons and I was not empty. Questioned the attendant and they did not know what to do and said I should go in and see the store manager. Not worth my time but curious how I got more gas into vehicle than it holds and I certainly had at least 2 gallons left in car as it was not empty. I rarely run it this low even.
 
Originally Posted By: spk2000
Interesting as earlier this week I fueled up my grand marquis which has a 20.0 gal tank. It took 21.3 gallons and I was not empty. Questioned the attendant and they did not know what to do and said I should go in and see the store manager. Not worth my time but curious how I got more gas into vehicle than it holds and I certainly had at least 2 gallons left in car as it was not empty. I rarely run it this low even.


My first car was a 1996 Crown Vic. I seem to recall squeezing more than 20 gallons into it on the occasions i was running on fumes. I think between the tank and fill tube there's a bit more space than advertised
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top