How can I be sure that I fill upu with fuel from a high volume station?

How can I be sure that I fill up with fuel from a high volume station?

I live in a residential area with on one diesel station nearby. I just bought a 2011 TDI SportWagen. They told me to use fuel from a high volume station. HowI can I be sure that the station nearby (a shell) is a high volume one?

If you're unsure stick to stations with multiple diesel pumps near interstate or major highway interchanges. Your local neighborhood one-pump diesel spot probably isn't a good choice unless you see them doing a lot of business.

A high volume station is a station that is busy. Simply look and see how busy they appear to be EDIT(at the DEISEL pumps)EDIT as you drive by on a day to day basis. You will soon learn what to look for when you travel out of your normal area.
High priced stations get less business if there is good competition nearby.

Bill

Ideally, you can find a station where a lot of trucks go. This will insure the supply of diesel is replenished frequently and remains at its freshest.

Diesel stains on the concrete around the pumps and a messy pump handle are also all good signs of a "high use location".

Just be friendly and ask at the register. I have many times.... I got one reply from an honest clerk that was funny....
" I am so low on the ladder, I have no clue... I have the charts right here..(digs out binder)... but I could never read them"

Same guy told me to come in the AM and ask for a certain person who would know "all of that"... I did and found out that while that station was VERY high volume gas... (apparent to me with all the traffic day in and day out).... diesel... not too high at all.

Truck stops arent always a be all end all if they have seperate in ground tank(s) for the light vehicle pumps vs the high flow pumps in the big truck area. They could get plenty of volume from the big trucks in the back but not much at all from the normal pumps in the front from everyone else. It is an indicator though.

For off the beaten path areas, particularly around farms, ranches, etc where a lot of people have diesel heavy duty pickups and the like...just try and keep an eye out for which stations are getting the business from those guys as you drive past them. Nearly everyone with any interest in their diesel engine is usually after the high volume places, not just TDI owners, so as you are out and about just casually keep an eye out on the diesel pumps as you go past them and see if you notice a pattern of certain places having vehicles filling up at them more often then others.

To finish my post from # 6 above (don't know what happened)

The station I use does 250,000 gallons a month of All Grades. To do this volume, they get a truck every single day.... this station has the truck drop all grades EVERY TIME... so everyday, I am told diesel is ~ 1-2k gallons of the total drop per day.

So by no means true Interstate Highway levels, but enough volume to drop fresh diesel every day.

Again, talk to the station manager. My station manager seemed happy to brag about how much gas she sold and she told me Shell had her upgrade her diesel filter size because of her volume.

My local stations of choice ALWAYS have lines at their diesel pumps. These are retail stations, not the bulk truck stops (I wouldn't fill up at a commercial truck stop -- their fuel is always sub-standard and not ideally suited to any TDI, especially a CR).

My local Murphy always has a diesel pickup at most of their pumps when I pull in. I checked with Murphy headquarters and they claimed (verbally) that their Cetane number is "around 50" and their lubricity is "better than the government mandated standard of 520" -- which means I additize

New member, first post..

Used to deliver fuel both Gas and Diesel to many stations. If you see a truck filling the tanks, ask the driver. If he seems too busy, well that is because he is and he is responsible. If you can wait till he is picking up the hoses, he may talk with you.

The thing to ask is how big the Diesel tank is and how often it gets filled up. I question the logic of a 3000 gallon tank only getting 1000 gallons on delivery.

I am still looking for that one sweet spot to get my diesel at. I'm about one month away from getting my TDI, so I am on the lookout now. The problem is there are no Shell stations around and not many of the Mobil stations have diesel tanks.

Of course I know the additives we used for our big rig trucks and we rarely had gelling issues or lubricity issues.

Chris

c17chief said:

Truck stops arent always a be all end all if they have seperate in ground tank(s) for the light vehicle pumps vs the high flow pumps in the big truck area. They could get plenty of volume from the big trucks in the back but not much at all from the normal pumps in the front from everyone else. It is an indicator though.

Click to expand...

Interesting. I thought about this point but wasn't sure. There are a bunch of Mobil stations here in CT right on 95 that have pretty good diesel prices. I filled up at three different Mobil stations on 95 and never had a really good tank (mileage wise). I started to wonder about the quality of their diesel since I was getting poor mileage and I also wondered if I was actually pulling my diesel from the same pumps as the trucks. I haven't really filled up there after the third fill with poor mileage results.

It stinks because I KNOW the Shell up the block from me is a high volume diesel station. It is right off of a main highway and both Fed Ex and Iron Mountain fill up their trucks there. There is always a line at both diesel pumps. The problem is... because of their convenient location they are $0.20-0.30 more expensive then any other station around. I don't mind paying a little extra but I feel like I'm being robbed at that place! Instead I fill up at another Shell a few miles away that is on a main road by the airport. They don't have as much diesel traffic but there is usually always one or two trucks filling up there. I have to say it seems like my car just runs much better on Shell. It may be in my head though.

Lastly, all the talk about the HPFP made me a little nervous. I started using an additive a while back. I tried Power Service (white bottle) and didn't really notice anything different but it gave me peace of mind. I recently switched to Opti-Lube XPD and my car seems to run much smoother.