Quote:
Originally Posted by mazeroni
I can't image a large conglomerate like Shell or Exxon wouldn't have strict systems in place to ensure only their branded gas is being sold at stations with their name. But....
The smaller ones? Dunno.
The margin on gasoline for the station owner is like $.01 per gallon, so possibly there are stations that do this, at least to a small degree. A station holds 6,000 gallons of fuel, or somewhere around there, right? If you dilute a few hundred gallons, that would be a lot more profit, and considering modern cars have fuel systems that will compensate to a degree to the kind of gas in tank, well, who would ever know.
Maybe someone didn't know the station tank hadn't been filled, or they were waiting for a delivery and went ahead and put water in. Maybe you just got there at the wrong time.
Don't want to fuel the conspiracy though.
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Regulation is typically done by a state governing body, retailers/franchisers sign fuel supply agreements with sellers. Those sellers aren't necessarily the fuel creators either - they can be re-sellers (bulk plants) but could also be direct from the source, depends on the contract. Here in California at any branded station I've never heard of water in the tanks intentionally, the margins are good as they are anyways! Plus most monitoring systems ( Veeder-Root) have water measuring sensors which would throw red flags and typically notify governing bodies if those levels go beyond compliance.
SWRCB, (state water resources control board) usually manage files on issues with underground storage tank contamination. Retailers are required to pay into an insurance fund for that reason, federally mandated I believe, too. States collect this information for tax purposes, compliance is typically accompanied with that.
A typical UST (underground storage tank) installed 1990s+ are double fiber glass walled or older steel with linings (more prone to leaks/contamination) and hold around 10,000 gallons, most branded stations doing 1,5 - 2,000,000 gallons/year have between 20,000 to 36,000 gallon storage and receive payloads 2-3 times per week, so it's unlikely that fuel sits for too long for significant condensation to accumulate but Tcoat is right, there is an acceptable level which is monitored. Profit margins can range from $0.01 to $1.00+ per gallon, depends on the seller, area, competition, etc. they just can't sell below cost (may be state dependent) as far as I know.
Don't fill up when the transport truck is filling the tanks, that's prime time for debris to be kicked up and pumped.
To OP, if the problem is contaminated fuel (unlikely) and you have proof in hand from respected agent (aka dealership is willing to put it in writing for you what the conclusive cause to your problem is and put their reputation on the line, not your buddy's hunch) then go here and contact the appropriate authorities, get legal counsel first and started building a suit against the retailer for negligence/lack of compliance.
http://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/wa...-tanks-section
For a couple hundred bucks I'd cut your losses on move on with life but if you want to go up to bat for ethical reasons, then go for it - just be weary of any counter-suit statute your state may have should you got that far, although your attorney should tell ya. Otherwise if the retailer is unwilling to refund you for the tank of gas at least or flush labor costs, assuming it was their fault, then I say boycott the station and find the silver lining somewhere and go back to enjoying life.
