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From: Adam on 11 Jul 2007 12:50
Moe Trin wrote:
>> My father (who WAS a chemist) told me that even the same brand and
>> grade may be formulated differently depending on expected climate.
>
> Ask if he can explain "CBG" (Cleaner Burning Gasoline) and "RFG"
> (reformulated gasoline) ("We're the government, and we're here to
> help you!") hopefully in something approaching plain English. ;-)

He retired in '94, so he wouldn't really know what's happened since
then. And as far as being able to explain it to me, forget it. I don't
even have high school chemistry.

> The gasoline in "problem areas" such
> as the LA basin, and San Francisco bay area are formulated differently
> from that sold elsewhere in the state as noted above.

This area's like that too. The counties that are "near" NYC, like mine,
are required to have some special formulation to keep pollution down,
which sometimes is more expensive. For a while, gasoline was a good 20
cents per gallon cheaper just across the river, which is a county
considered /not/ near NYC and therefore carries more conventional
formulations.

Adam
From: Moe Trin on 12 Jul 2007 15:54
On Wed, 11 Jul 2007, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.os.linux.mandrake, in article
<0T7li.5671$475.753(a)trndny04>, Adam wrote:
>Moe Trin wrote:

>He retired in '94, so he wouldn't really know what's happened since
>then. And as far as being able to explain it to me, forget it. I
>don't even have high school chemistry.

I'd understand his not having "inside" knowledge, but I'd hope he
would be able to follow some of the shinanigings that are being
mandated.

>> The gasoline in "problem areas" such as the LA basin, and San
>> Francisco bay area are formulated differently from that sold
>> elsewhere in the state as noted above.

>This area's like that too. The counties that are "near" NYC, like
>mine, are required to have some special formulation to keep pollution
>down, which sometimes is more expensive.

"It's different!!! Raise the price." Interestingly, here in Arizona,
the reported price of gas is always higher (average 10-15 cents/gallon)
in Flagstaff compared to the Phoenix metro area or Tucson. I'm told
it's because of the altitude difference demanding a different blend.
Flagstaff is around 7000' MSL, compared to 1100-2200' here, and 2000-
2500' in Tucson. But even within our metro area, the average price
differs based on "what the market will bear".

>For a while, gasoline was a good 20 cents per gallon cheaper just
>across the river, which is a county considered /not/ near NYC and
>therefore carries more conventional formulations.

Are they making the differentiation on a county basis? I presume you
are referring to Ulster, not Orange county, and comparing it to
Dutchess county. What are the commute patterns like? Are there that
many people living that far North and commuting in to NYC by car?

In this area, a commute of longer than 20 miles is comparatively rare,
though it was not at all unusual in the San Francisco bay. I've got
friends working in San Jose who live in Los Banos (about 60 miles ESE),
and Manteca (about 50 miles NE). Their commutes are actually longer
because of the mountains between the Bay Area and the Central Valley.

Another factor is how the local terrain effects wind patterns. One of
the reasons the LA Basin or the Valley of the Sun has boutique fuel
requirements is that the hills tend to trap pollutant - often through
temperature inversion problems. That was the common problem with the
visibility in the 1970s in the Bay Area. At the surface, you might
have 2 miles in smoke/haze, while at 2500 feet (about the average
height of the hills), the visibility might be 30 miles or more. LA is
worse in this regard, as the hills around the basin are nearly twice
as high.

Old guy
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