Check out this oil "expert." LOL
- Thread starter G-MAN
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Actually, there could be something said for this. Have you ever filled up at a particular gas station and have the gas smell like sulphur (rotten eggs)? Depending on the feedstock will determine what impurities are there. I work on the upstream side of the oilfield. Lots of H2S in some of the gulf coast fields. The local Shell stations here in Houston have the sulphur smell while the Exxon's don't. Mind you this is just in my little neck of the woods on the North side.
I worked at a "full service" station for 3 years while in high school back in the 70s pumping gas, and I've been pumping my own gas since then, and I can honestly say I've never noticed any difference in the smell of gasoline, with one exception: Amoco "white gas" used to smell different, but it still smelled like gas. I've never detected even the faintest hint of a sulfur odor in gasoline. Seems to me the sulfur level would have to be outrageously high if you could actually smell it in the finished product.
I think diesel jumped up a few years ago when a new standard for sulfur kicked in. The EPA forces the oil companies to remove practically all of it from both gasoline and diesel to keep down the SO3 emissions.
In general, the guy doesn't have a clue. We all needed a laugh.
In general, the guy doesn't have a clue. We all needed a laugh.
Out here certain brands of gas will give you a "rotten egg" smell from the exhaust, such as Mobil. Used to buy Mobil gasoline, but now use Shell exclusively...
Doesn't this have more to do with the condition of a car's catalyst than with the gas? Catalytic converters have improved greatly since they were first introduced in 1975, but they can still give off the rotten egg smell if the conditions are right. I rode a motorcycle (Yamaha 350) to school everyday in high school, and I still remember when catalytic converters started hitting the road. Just about every car I'd get behind that had one gave off the sulfur smell. That isn't the case anymore (thankfull).
Well, the only time my '99 Honda stunk was when my brother borrowed it and filled it with Mobil. (I always used Shell in it)
I could smell it as the car accelerated up onto the Queensboro bridge--bro was riding shotgun and I asked him a bit angrily, "Did you fill this with MOBIL?" and he apologetically answered yes...
Then another time, I was on a roadtrip to Atlantic City in a 2000 BMW 528i--we made a pitstop on the A.C. Expwy and all they had was Mobil gas... after getting back on the expressway, right away, we could smell the sulfur...
Both relatively new cars, in tip-top condition. I know that two instances don't prove a point, but in this area, I'm sticking with Shell.
I like BP/Amoco and Sunoco too.
ps- I forgot to mention, mom's old Chevy used Mobil exclusively, that thing used to stink of rotten eggs all the time! No more Mobil gasoline for this family.
I could smell it as the car accelerated up onto the Queensboro bridge--bro was riding shotgun and I asked him a bit angrily, "Did you fill this with MOBIL?" and he apologetically answered yes...
Then another time, I was on a roadtrip to Atlantic City in a 2000 BMW 528i--we made a pitstop on the A.C. Expwy and all they had was Mobil gas... after getting back on the expressway, right away, we could smell the sulfur...
Both relatively new cars, in tip-top condition. I know that two instances don't prove a point, but in this area, I'm sticking with Shell.
I like BP/Amoco and Sunoco too.
ps- I forgot to mention, mom's old Chevy used Mobil exclusively, that thing used to stink of rotten eggs all the time! No more Mobil gasoline for this family.
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I knew that Pennsylvania crude oil was garbage. One time I bought a quart of Pennzoil with Z-7 and there was a rock in the bottle that had some dangling molecules that looked like hanging chad from a Florida voting booth. I vowed never to use that coal field crude again.
Now that Pennzoil is used on the Space Shuttle I guess I can expect to find moon rocks in it.
Now that Pennzoil is used on the Space Shuttle I guess I can expect to find moon rocks in it.
The EPA is really knocking down the sulfer levels in gasoline. Starting with 2004 & 300 ppm per gallon, the levels decrease to 180 ppm in 2005, and 80 ppm in 2006.
In regards to the BMW cylinder issue, BMW was using aluminum blocks with Nikasil lined cylinders. Nikasil is a nickel based plating and the high sulfur levels in some gasolines were reacting with the nickel & causing the bonding between the Nikasil & alum to fail.
This incident was in the late 90's and a big problem in England. What was puzzling was the fact that some engines failed quickly & others actually obtained 100K+ miles of normal service life.
In regards to the BMW cylinder issue, BMW was using aluminum blocks with Nikasil lined cylinders. Nikasil is a nickel based plating and the high sulfur levels in some gasolines were reacting with the nickel & causing the bonding between the Nikasil & alum to fail.
This incident was in the late 90's and a big problem in England. What was puzzling was the fact that some engines failed quickly & others actually obtained 100K+ miles of normal service life.
As to differences in fuels ??
I worked at a service station in 1987 when Australia first switched to unleaded for new cars.
The leaded tanks stayed the way they always did, the dip stick came out cold, and smelling like petrol. The unleaded dipstick came out warm, and smelled like petrol, however, it left an eggy odour on your hands that would last for some hours.
I worked at a service station in 1987 when Australia first switched to unleaded for new cars.
The leaded tanks stayed the way they always did, the dip stick came out cold, and smelling like petrol. The unleaded dipstick came out warm, and smelled like petrol, however, it left an eggy odour on your hands that would last for some hours.
Fuels vary mostly by their geographic proximity to a refinery. Judging from some of the stuff I've read here lately (thanks for the laughs oilrecovery****) I think I'll give an example: If BP has a refinery in Houston, but a station in Houston wants to sell Shell gasoline, which is refined in California, do they truck the stuff from California to fill the station in Houston with it? NO! There is a "program" called an exchange...i.e. I'll sell you 200,000 gallons of BP gas in Houston from our place if you sell me 200,000 in California for my BP station. SO, the sulfur (generally accepted oil industry spelling) content of ANY local brand of gasoline is determined by the local refinery. YES, the sulfur content is dramatically lower this year. And yes, it has been mandated by the federal EPA. Has the "rotten egg" smell ever been the fault of the catalytic converter? NO! Most likely, particularly in the early years, it was caused by a stuck choke....more fuel = more sulfur. These days it is mostly caused by a leaking fuel injector....more fuel = more sulfur. Add a little extra oxygen just before the CAT so you can get SO2...sulfur dioxide...rotten eggs. The catalytic converter goes about its business of burning "unburned hydrocarbons" and does NOT contribute to the sulfur content of the fuel. It might glow red from trying to burn all that fuel however! End of part one.
Kestas
Staff member
Once I came home, my sister took a whiff of the car and asked, "Were you in Windsor?" Sure enough, I had just come back from Canada, since in 1982 I could save $8 by filling up there with cheaper gas in my 74 Torino. Something about their gas back then that had a sulfur smell. Back in those days Canada was also still burning leaded gas.
Kestas, I used to go to Windsor back in the early 80s too,
but for that good Canadian beer.
Never thought to fill up on cheap gas while I was there.
Hey, you're practically my neighbor. I live next door in Redford.
[ March 21, 2004, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: TallPaul ]
but for that good Canadian beer.
Never thought to fill up on cheap gas while I was there.
Hey, you're practically my neighbor. I live next door in Redford.
[ March 21, 2004, 12:47 AM: Message edited by: TallPaul ]
I'll ditto the comment that sulphur content generally does not vary by brand, but does vary by source refinery.
Some independant testing is done on gasoline in the Twin Cities on the three major brands that source from one refinery.
As of last summer, we have (by Brand/refinery/ppm of Sulphur):
Holiday/Flint Hills Resources Rosemount: 30ppm
Superamerica/Marathon Ashland St. Paul Park: 90ppm
BP/Amoco/Tesoro West Coast Bismarck: 210ppm
As a trend, Holiday is where it has been for several years (they introduced low sulpur gas to the market), Superamerica is down 70 ppm from a year ago, and Tesoro is up over 30 ppm. The Tesoro West Coast refinery was a former Amoco refinery, so I guess we're seeing what's happened to the quality of fuel since the ownership change...
Some independant testing is done on gasoline in the Twin Cities on the three major brands that source from one refinery.
As of last summer, we have (by Brand/refinery/ppm of Sulphur):
Holiday/Flint Hills Resources Rosemount: 30ppm
Superamerica/Marathon Ashland St. Paul Park: 90ppm
BP/Amoco/Tesoro West Coast Bismarck: 210ppm
As a trend, Holiday is where it has been for several years (they introduced low sulpur gas to the market), Superamerica is down 70 ppm from a year ago, and Tesoro is up over 30 ppm. The Tesoro West Coast refinery was a former Amoco refinery, so I guess we're seeing what's happened to the quality of fuel since the ownership change...
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