Operators should check the temperature of their bulk diesel deliveries, as hot fuel may be costing them as much as 1ppl, according to Neil Robertson, sales and marketing director at independent fuel supplier Prax Petroleum.
Fuel volume is measured at a standard 15C, so if fuel is delivered at, say, 18C and then cools to 7C in the operator’s on-site bunker, the shrinkage could cost the customer £400 on a 36,000-litre load.
“Fuel shrinks as it cools, so if an operator buys fuel hot from a refinery in winter he could be losing as much as 300 litres on a full tanker load,” said Robertson.
He added: “Because we import all of our fuel, our diesel is sold at ambient temperatures so there is no loss from shrinkage.”
Robertson advised operators to query with the supplier if the temperature is above 15C.
Prax opened a second site in Immingham in September last year after out-growing its terminal in Dagenham.