Supermarket fuel for 4 years and runs like dream

[B J G]

Cases of fuel contamination are in the vast majority of cases traced to the tank storage and not to the original fuel.
saying that Super Market fuel is bad as a blanket statement is inaccurate. However it can be the case that a particular Super Market site has a fuel contamination problem. The same contamination problems can occur at any Fuel forecourt.

 

[Vantastic2]

Not again the fuel buying worry !
I buy from where it is the cheapest in UK and French/Spanish supermarkets and use non ones if price matches or sometimes are cheaper than supermarkets (rare)
Never had a problem (to date) and that is not far off 50 yrs worth of fuel filling !
All fuel has a standard as UK has B.S.
Supermarkets everywhere have the 'BIG buying power ' unfortunately the smaller
e.g. Shell/Bp/Esso filling stations haven't.
Its the same fuel with the same standards from the same refinery's!
Your choice if you want to waste money !
I would rather put the savings to another bottle of wine or beer or something else!

 

[JohnEast]

Just got four years on my Cali and 55k miles and 95% of fill ups has always been using supermarket fuel, Asda to be exact and it's normally around 5p per litre cheaper where I live.

In those 4 years I have never had a problem and MPG has never been better.

Is this supermarket fuel myth something put out there by the big petrol companies ?

About 2yr ago, I thought that I would soon be replacing the engine on my VW Tiguan diesel due to the rattling it was making, in general it was being filled with supermarket diesel; by chance I filled up at a BP/Shell or similar garage and the engine suddenly quietened. From then on I have avoided supermarket diesel for the California and the Tiguan.

 

[Karlos]

My last work car a Peugeot 207 covered 180000 miles in 6 years, only ever filled up at supermarkets with no problems. Still running sweet as a nut the day I sold it.

 

[Annik]

About 2yr ago, I thought that I would soon be replacing the engine on my VW Tiguan diesel due to the rattling it was making, in general it was being filled with supermarket diesel; by chance I filled up at a BP/Shell or similar garage and the engine suddenly quietened. From then on I have avoided supermarket diesel for the California and the Tiguan.

It's called coincidence

 

[GrannyJen]

I tried to buy my fuel from a supermarket but found it impossible to keep it in the trolley

 

[WelshGas]

Depends what you mean by Supermarket.
Local Spar sells Shell and the local Tescos Esso.

 

[Sp0_0k]

Heard a thing recently that supermarket stations are under tighter quality controls.
Anyway I'd use those extra money from cheaper diesel to change oil more frequently that has way bigger influence on engine.

 

[Velma's Dad]

What we seem to be lacking in this discussion is any actual evidence that supermarket fuels are in any meaningful sense worse (or better) than the oilco-branded varieties. I've certainly understood that the base fuel stocks are exactly the same, ex-refinery, but the brands (and some of the supermarkets, actually) sometimes then plonk in some additives: which, unless of evidentially proven value, might as well be snake oil. Funnily enough the companies never seem to publish any actual useful data... hmmm.

Saying "my van has run fine/not fine on supermarket/branded fuel for ten/a hundred years" is pretty meaningless as evidence. Or even worse: "I can feel the difference in performance/smoothness after I've filled up with Shell rather than Tesco". If anyone thinks they can, well I can't say they're wrong but I'd hate to see them design a clinical trial.

The reason supermarket fuel would be cheaper is pretty easy to see: they're presumably priced at very thin margins to create footfall for the stores, and have much bigger volume efficiencies in sourcing and operations than the independents who dispense the oilco brands.

Are there any fuel technologists on here, with access to any actual data, that would be very interesting.

 

[pjm-84]

Can I point you back to my original response. All fuel meets the required standard. Some fuels have more additives, additives cost money. CERN values are increased. However the issue is the equipment within the forecourt.

All construction materials have a life span. Tank covers for example are now raised as a line of defence against water ingress into tanks. So for example my local Shell garage have been completely refurbished numerous times in the last 20years. The tanks are under 5years old. The pumps and lines are all new. Offset fills etc.

The first fuel station I did for Safeway back in 1992 has suffered an contamination issue (in 2014). The tanks were 22years old. I hazard an guess that nothing has changed and the tanks have exceeded their design life. Cheaper to deal with any issues that occur then be proactive and refurbish the petrol station

'Contaminated' petrol causes cars to break down

At least 17 drivers have seen their cars break down after filling up at a supermarket petrol station in Carmarthen. Morrisons has apologised, and says a batch of unleaded petrol 'may have been contaminated with water.'

www.itv.com

When I did a bespoke one of kind fuel station for Q8 in 1995 (now the norm) their cost to construct was about £750k. I would say you its probably nearer £1.3m now days.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Can I point you back to my original response. All fuel meets the required standard. Some fuels have more additives, additives cost money. CERN values are increased. However the issue is the equipment within the forecourt.

All construction materials have a life span. Tank covers for example are now raised as a line of defence against water ingress into tanks. So for example my local Shell garage have been completely refurbished numerous times in the last 20years. The tanks are under 5years old. The pumps and lines are all new. Offset fills etc.

The first fuel station I did for Safeway back in 1992 has suffered an contamination issue (in 2014). The tanks were 22years old. I hazard an guess that nothing has changed and the tanks have exceeded their design life. Cheaper to deal with any issues that occur then be proactive and refurbish the petrol station

'Contaminated' petrol causes cars to break down

At least 17 drivers have seen their cars break down after filling up at a supermarket petrol station in Carmarthen. Morrisons has apologised, and says a batch of unleaded petrol 'may have been contaminated with water.'

www.itv.com

When I did a bespoke one of kind fuel station for Q8 in 1995 (now the norm) their cost to construct was about £750k. I would say you its probably nearer £1.3m now days.

Okay so the question arising from that would have to be: do supermarkets renew their fuel tanks less (or more) often than independent fuel station operators?

 

[Chunkymunky]

What we seem to be lacking in this discussion is any actual evidence that supermarket fuels are in any meaningful sense worse (or better) than the oilco-branded varieties. I've certainly understood that the base fuel stocks are exactly the same, ex-refinery, but the brands (and some of the supermarkets, actually) sometimes then plonk in some additives: which, unless of evidentially proven value, might as well be snake oil. Funnily enough the companies never seem to publish any actual useful data... hmmm.

Saying "my van has run fine/not fine on supermarket/branded fuel for ten/a hundred years" is pretty meaningless as evidence. Or even worse: "I can feel the difference in performance/smoothness after I've filled up with Shell rather than Tesco". If anyone thinks they can, well I can't say they're wrong but I'd hate to see them design a clinical trial.

The reason supermarket fuel would be cheaper is pretty easy to see: they're presumably priced at very thin margins to create footfall for the stores, and have much bigger volume efficiencies in sourcing and operations than the independents who dispense the oilco brands.

Are there any fuel technologists on here, with access to any actual data, that would be very interesting.

This - especially the clinical trials comment!
I kind of think if there was any definitive data it would be well publicised
I’m watching this thread with interest- having just purchased my van- I also know the only thing it’s ever been filled with ( in the majority and in the uk at least) since new is the shell super diesel- we even used to laugh at the lad who owned it as he swears by using it in all his cars ( he owned the Cali before me since new )
As it’s now my responsibility I’m not laughing now! I drove into a shell garage the other day and it cost me nearly a hundred quid to fill the beast!

we buy all our shopping from Aldi ( helps me afford to buy expensive German camper wagons), but some things, like beans , I just have to insist on certain brands. And can tell the difference.
same with fuel? .
Or is it emperors new clothes because it costs so much

 

[Velma's Dad]

Can I point you back to my original response. All fuel meets the required standard. Some fuels have more additives, additives cost money. CERN values are increased. However the issue is the equipment within the forecourt.

Could I just ask what you mean by "CERN" values... did you mean CEN (ie the European standardisation regime)? If so, I think it's important to note that proprietary additives don't, as far as I can see as a non-expert, affect the CEN values. Diesel fuel as defined by EN 590 or whatever is the same stuff whichever pump it comes out of, just with or without magic additives. No?

There is potential for confusion here because there is such a thing as 'premium/super diesel' which has a higher cetane rating. And allegedly more of the 'deluxe' additives (green-lipped mussel extract and jojoba skin softener, presumably, although the companies won't actually say). Whether or not you think those premium fuels will be any better for your van is another question, but what we're discussing here is whether the standard diesel offered by say Shell is any better than the standard diesel sold by Tesco or Sainsbury.

 

[Borris]

I have used supermarket diesel in other cars for decades without any issues however that was mainly before they started adding ethanol.

However, since buying our first Cali in 2015 I have nearly always used BP Ultimate diesel. Why ?

1. My understanding is that Ethanol can rot seals and may cause premature failure.
2. My understanding is that apparently most diesel brands contains up to 7% ethanol.
3. My understanding is that BP Ultimate contains none.
4. My understanding is that the additive package that BP and others premium brands use helps to keep clean the system.

I also read in one of the hand books that VW ask you not to used Bio fuel so I have tried to comply.

Now whether I am right or not is open to debate. I don't have the answers. However, I have based my fuel buying policy on my limited research and limited it is. There seems to be lots of debate and opinion but little actual scientific evidence. If anyone can point to a more definitive answer then I may change my mind.

Sorry slightly off topic. I don't wish to restart the super fuel/supermarket fuel debate but if people are suffering issues could this be relevant?

 

[pjm-84]

You and me both. I was meaning Cetane not Cern.

 

[GrannyJen]

I wonder if in the future we are going to argue whether EDF electricity is better than NPower ?

 

[Lightning]

I wonder if in the future we are going to argue whether EDF electricity is better than NPower ?

3 – npower

npower was rated the joint third worst energy company of 2019. It scored two stars in each category and got an overall customer satisfaction score of 54%. One of the Big Six energy suppliers,

 

[ArunAlec]

I wonder if in the future we are going to argue whether EDF electricity is better than NPower ?

Depends on what additives they use. Must say my house lights seem a lot brighter since I moved to EDF.

 

[motacyclist]

Costco seems to be pretty good prices

According to my son, who used to work at Costco, they use Shell fuels. We're lucky enough to live only 2 miles from Costco and the fuel station was brand new in the last three years, so no problems with rusty tanks!

 

[GrannyJen]

Depends on what additives they use. Must say my house lights seem a lot brighter since I moved to EDF.

You must be on a premium tariff. Mine were quite dim on their advanced saver scheme.

 

[pjm-84]

I'm with Bulb! Great prices and renewable.

 

[Velma's Dad]

You must be on a premium tariff. Mine were quite dim on their advanced saver scheme.

My leccie supplier promises to help protect my health by preventing eye strain "as part of a balanced home illumination plan (actual results may vary depending on time of year, type of glasses worn and other user variables outside our control)".

 

[ArunAlec]

You must be on a premium tariff. Mine were quite dim on their advanced saver scheme.

I’ve got economy 7. The only problem is all the lights dim at night.

 

[Legin]

According to my son, who used to work at Costco, they use Shell fuels. We're lucky enough to live only 2 miles from Costco and the fuel station was brand new in the last three years, so no problems with rusty tanks!

Its good stuff where you live rest assured. Many of the refinery tanks are 40+ yrs old btw.

 

[pjm-84]

Above ground though! Less corrosive environment, considerably easier to maintain.