Fuel Quality

[carloi]

Guys, from some threads in this and other forums, I've noticed that a lot of people say that the gas from the big three are a bit dirty cause they are all locally refined and that the small players like seaoil, usa888, etc. are much cleaner because they are imported.

Has anyone verified this? The immediate benefit I see to swithching to the smaller brands is one, cost. Two, cleaner fuel means less gunk in the cylinders, valves, spark plugs, fuel lines, filter, etc. And third, cleaner emmissions.

If anyone knows of a site where I can read up, or if anyone knows any info / insights about this, let me know.

One sure way to check the quality of the gas is to check which station has the most jeepneys getting their tanks filled up.

[woodfire]

most of the independent gas dealers (seaoil, PTT, Flying V) get their refined products from COASTAL (depot in Subic) which in turn import it from Singapore.

thus far, no one has scientifically proven and published findings between the independent dealers versus the big 3.

i can tell you though from my experience that the diesel fuel of seaoil is much cleaner than the big 3. since two months ago, I switched to seaoil diesel and blended it with Senbel biodiesel (up to 10% blend). so far, emission and engine performance is excellent.

[OTEP]

Hindi ba ang jeepney ay pumipila sa CHEAPEST? Wala naman pakialam sa makina ang mga drayber nun. Basta umaandar at pwede ipasada.

[mazdamazda]

Guys, from some threads in this and other forums, I've noticed that a lot of people say that the gas from the big three are a bit dirty cause they are all locally refined and that the small players like seaoil, usa888, etc. are much cleaner because they are imported.

This is your typical Pinoy colonial mentality that anything imported is better than what was locally manufactured / processed / etc.

IMO fuel quality should be checked on a per location basis as there are also other factors determining fuel quality like transportation methods used. If you think of it, imported fuel undergoes more handling than locally processed fuel so that will increase the risk of it being contaminated.

One sure way to check the quality of the gas is to check which station has the most jeepneys getting their tanks filled up.

What is the basis for this? As OTEP said, Jeepney drivers don't give a **** on the quality of fuel as long as their engines are running and it is the cheapest fuel that they can find.

One sure way to avoid dirty fuel is to stay away from gasoline stations that are prone to flooding.

[Circle]

do we know any info about fuels coming from singapore? diba malinis sa singapore? baka malinis din fuel nila... :D

[badkuk]

there was this article sa Inquirer wherein meron daw mga maliit na "gas stations" were they sell very cheap(but also very dirty) diesel...i don't think they even have pumps for that..ala tabo/balde ung pagkuha sa malalaking drum. ewan ko na kung ano nangyari dun

a friend mentioned to me that basta diesel engine e within 2-3 years tiyak magkakaproblema ung makina...any truth to this? Me kinalaman kaya to sa fuel quality?

[paolorenzo]

A friend of mine (who works in one of the big 3 companies) once mentioned to me that the small players actually get their fuel from them din. Dunno how much truth there is to it, since he did mention it over a bottle of beer. =)

[carloi]

Colonial Mentality? Not really. It could just be possible that refining elsewhere is better than local refining. Parang Davao suha is better than from other places. Ever think about that?

PUJ pila=cheap gas. True. Forget that line. I was trying to make a point about something.

Which brings me back to the previous question. Which maker produces the cleanest fuels?

My brother's experience: His plugs foul up with one of the big three's fuel, but not with the others (95 octane lahat).

Any other inputs out there?

[1D4LV]

basta ako, mas maganda takbo ng oto ko sa unleaded ng shell kesa sa caltex and petron. mas pino.

[phillipogi]

have you heard of LANGAS? they use bunker oil and water to produce diesel and gasoline fuel sa compound ng DOST sa Taguig, they supply some fuel to Flying V and Seaoil...

[phillipogi]

an insider told me that LANGAS could produce a lot cheaper fuel with the same quality only using bunker oil, some chemicals and WATER!!! since water is cheap, the company could produce gasoline fuel for just less than 15 pesos.... but with the competition on, the prices could just be less than those of the big 3. They say na iniipit sila ng Royal Dutch Shell at Chevron Co. dahil pinipilit na bilhin ata yung formula, but the owner wants the RP govt to purchase it from him. Kaya ayun, iniipit daw ng US government yung project. DOST and may alam nita...

dunno if its really true ha. Insider nagsabi sakin eh!

[warbird]

gusto ko na maniwala medyo marumi sa big 3, tacky and sludgy plastic fuel filter every 3,000 km lang sa 2001 corolla LE ni bunsoy.galit din ang tiga casa TMBC marumi marrrruuuumiii!!!!!!

[ownertype]

ako naging habit ko na to comapre prices of Premium Gas sa mga nadadaanan ko Gas Stations from Marikina to Makati. Talagang mataas ang price per liter ng big 3 Gas Stations comapared to small players. Yung quality, di ko alam its really hard to determine who has the cleanest fuel unless ipa test mo talaga sa lab.

Kaya ako pag nadaan sa seaoil, nagpapa gas ako kasi mura. Also there's new gas station in Marikina yung Power Gas 21.60 lang yung premium gasoline nila per liter comapred to 21.75 sa Shell.

[phillipogi]

basta ako sa Petron XCS ako eh, wala naman masama pang nangyari, ilang years na ako petron kasi libre ako gas sa sun valley station. pero kung bayad ako ng gas, sa total gusto ko.

[carloi]

Naka Total ako ngayon pero may knocking pag sudden acceleration. Sa Blaze lang hindi nangyayari sakin yan baka dahil particular talaga ang sentra sa octane rating. Di nga ako pwede gumamit ng lower than 95 octane. But, I'm willing to sacrifice not using 96 octane for cleaner burns, emmissions, and systems.

So, aside from pulling out my plugs after a full tank of a certain gas (medyo unreliable method but I can't think of anything else) to check the buildup, we really can't say kung kanino ang malinis na gasolina?

By the way, pinaka matipid sa consumption nga pala ang aking 2001 B15 Sentra with a QG16 engine sa Blaze ng Petron.

[mazdamazda]

my experience:

Mazda 323 1.6L

Unleaded form Sea Oil Station Meyc - engine chokes, rough idling
Unleaded from Sea Oil EDSA (just after Q Ave) - ok

Shell Unleaded - engine chokes, rough idling
Shell Velocity - high gas consumption

Caltex Silver - ok
Caltex Gold - ok

Petron XCS - best bang for the buck
Petron Blaze - zoom-zoom!

So most of the time I use Petron XCS for the Mazda. Fuel Filter is still relatively clean after 10K. Spark Plugs are not that fouled up after 10K.

[HBOY]

i dont really much know which one is cleaner or not.. as long as my engine is happy with the gas i'm putting in.. then im using that gas... or in my case.. diesel...

so far.. my car is happy with:

1) Petron
2) Shell
3) Caltex
4) Seaoil.. for some odd reason (compared to other posts) my car lugs with this diesel..
5) Total

That is in order of happiness for my car.. hehehe

[carloi]

Ok then. Thanks for your posts.

[roydok]

In my opinion any of the fuels from the Big 3 or the Small players are the same. They play with the same Octane ratings per fuel type and rated and checked by the Dept. of Energy. Medyo as they said inggat lang nga sa mga stations na prone sa flooding or dilapidated ones which sell adulterated (may halong kerosene) or smuggled fuels. Mayroon ding mga mdadaya sa mga pump calibration nila. All in all the price is what dictates mostly the successful winner though marketing is successful in some.

[Duke]

add ko lang sa coment meron akong friend na may gas station may mga ibang station na dinadagdagan nila other mixture ex. water para dumami or what.then nandyan din yung factor ng transportation nila ng fuel.at kung gaano kalinis ang bunker.older tanks are made of steel daw kaya sometimes may advantage ang newer stations.dahil they need to clean the tanks every 5yrs ata nakalimutan kona sabi..isang way para maging malinis ang gas is mag dagdag ka ng fuel filters kung type nyo..halos lahat ng refinery naman have dsame process of refinning yung octane level lang ang pinagkakaiba nya..