Whats in our petrol

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Whats in our petrol

1101

3122 posts

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#310931 30-Nov-2023 21:43

Just wondering .....Whats in our petrol ?

Petrol no longer smells like petrol.
To me, it now has a solvent smell that lingers longer and is much smellier than petrol used to be .
Is it being ~watered down~ with other products to save money ?

Goosey

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#3166623 1-Dec-2023 06:09

It’s because it’s being refined off shore.
also different fuel brands add different additives as a point of difference,

which specific grade and brand are you referring to?
Are you specifically referring to one fuel station or multiple?

https://fuelquality.tradingstandards.govt.nz/automotive/for-consumers/information-about-fuel/

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
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#3166625 1-Dec-2023 06:56

Goosey:

also different fuel brands add different additives as a point of difference,

That sounds like a quote from the website you linked. I have no knowledge of this but I can understand the statement being made when petrol was being distilled in NZ.

However now that it's being imported as a finished product, I find it hard to believe that the petrol sold by Z, BP, Mobil and Shell are in any way different to each other. Unless each shipment is dedicated to a specific brand and is stored separately etc.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Goosey

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#3166626 1-Dec-2023 07:00

I wasn’t quoting anything.
It’s from my personal knowledge.

Eitherway you could find the additives are potentially mixed locally once the mother loads are delivered to the tank farms.

It’s been awhile since I was close to the industry…. But that’s how it worked when I was close to it.

SATTV

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#3166693 1-Dec-2023 07:31

Gull used to bring 100% of their fuel in, they never sources any locally, I dont know if they blended it locally, I suspect they do as the methanol in their E10 is from Fonterra

Locally, Z, Mobil, BP etc used to use a mixture of locally refined fuel and imported fuel, they would then add their own additives. They have their own storage facilities around the country.

Roughly 50% of 91 petrol it additives, the remaining is petroleum.

Until not long before the refinery closed down, we could not refine NZ crude oil as it was too waxy. NZ relied on importing Crude for refining locally.

John

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eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
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#3166709 1-Dec-2023 08:18

Goosey: I wasn’t quoting anything.
It’s from my personal knowledge.

Eitherway you could find the additives are potentially mixed locally once the mother loads are delivered to the tank farms.

It’s been awhile since I was close to the industry…. But that’s how it worked when I was close to it.

My apologies - I thought I saw the same words on the website but looking again I don't see them. Sorry.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Batman

Mad Scientist
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#3166729 1-Dec-2023 09:40

1101:
Petrol no longer smells like petrol.

sorry i have no idea what petrol should smell like but i am interested to see what others have to say!

myopinion

938 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3166737 1-Dec-2023 10:05

I actually noticed this different smell for the first time around 2 weeks ago so I agree, somthings changed.

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coffeebaron

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#3166782 1-Dec-2023 13:36

A bunch of Geekzoners get kick out of their meet up due to sitting around sniffing cans of petrol :)

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wellygary

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#3166784 1-Dec-2023 13:39

coffeebaron:

A bunch of Geekzoners get kick out of their meet up due to sitting around sniffing cans of petrol :)

No, no, this is a technical discussion about the chemical composition of a known carcinogen,

The blind "sniff'n'score" only happens later in the evening

"whoar that was a real fruity '91 with a tangy afterglow... .. its gotta be the Gull 😀

Bung

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#3166791 1-Dec-2023 13:49

SATTV: Roughly 50% of 91 petrol it additives, the remaining is petroleum.

50% might be Benzene, that's not to say that the other hydrocarbons don't come from the same crude.

richms

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#3166800 1-Dec-2023 14:07

My toyota with no cats now in it makes some really weird smells on the last tank compared to before.

Not sure if that is because of the change in oil that its burning or the fuel but I think its the fuel as the mower also has a different smell when it decides to actually run.

Richard rich.ms

johno1234

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Uber Geek

#3166816 1-Dec-2023 15:04

coffeebaron:

A bunch of Geekzoners get kick out of their meet up due to sitting around sniffing cans of petrol :)

Never mind the smell. How does it taste?

Goosey

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#3166828 1-Dec-2023 16:22

Believe it or not. In my younger years I could tell which grade of fuel by smell and taste and this extended to grades of engine oil….

It made for good convo when punters had no idea which fuel or oil grade they needed…
I’m out of touch these days… so couldn’t do a blind smell test.

Bung

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#3166832 1-Dec-2023 16:30

I think your replacement fuel taster lives near me going on the number of short lengths of garden hose I find in the long grass at the side of the road.