Compiled by: ELOISE WALTON
EVERY YEAR the cost of petrol and diesel in Portugal is increasing with no signs of slowing down, taking an ever greater chunk out of people’s wages.
For those of you keeping an eye on spending, here are some clever tips to get more litres for your money’s worth each month:
1.Only buy fuel early in the morning when the ground temperature is still cold. During hot summer days, fuel stored in tanks underground expands with the heat so a litre is not as much as when the fuel is cooler and denser.
2.When filling the tank, don’t squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to produce a fast flow. Pumping the fuel into the tank slowly minimises the amount of fuel lost to the air or sucked back into the underground storage tank through a vapour return valve on the nozzle.
3.Do not fill your tank when a truck is unloading fuel into the storage tank. It is likely that the fuel is being stirred up and you can pick up dirt and residue that is normally settled at the bottom.
4.Finally, it is best to fill your tank when it is half empty and not completely empty. This is because the more fuel is in the tank; the less air is occupying the empty space. This reduces the amount that is evaporated and sucked back into the storage tank through the vapour return valve on the nozzle.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: [email protected]
