Quote:
Originally Posted by Formulajones
Doesn't that seem strange when Phoenix and Tucson really don't have seasons?
I mean in the sense that it's pretty much warm year round.
We have what everyone refers to as mild seasons up here in Prescott where it's 50's during the day in the winter, but teens and 20's at night. Summer is over 100 during the day that tapers off to 90's then 80's as the fall gets closer. Seems the blended fuel for colder climate would make more sense up here. 
Not that I'm complaining, that crap don't work very well when it warms up outside. |
The blend is for meeting air pollution standards, it's not just for drivability, the winter air pollution standard is relaxed because fuel usage drops off beginning in the fall.
Also the fuel is the same at it comes from the refinery no matter what the season is, it's blended with additives as it's loaded in the tankers (loading racks) to go to the retailers. That is where the fuel is changed to different seasonal blends. That way it can be changed in a day. If the base fuel was changed, it would become obsolete sitting in storage tanks. That is also when ethanol is blended into the base fuel, as its loaded into tankers. It starts deteriorating as soon as the ethanol is blended, and the mixture is exposed to air. The pure gas can be stored, much longer than ethanol blends can be.
I drove tanker for Kenan Advantage tank lines, so that is real time experience, not from the net.