Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Use only approved containers for gasoline . . .
Does anyone else ever wonder about the quality of Mexico’s single brand of Pemex gasoline versus the USA’s plethora of brands?

As a combination car-guy / chemist, I have seen both the car problems and environmental problems that gasoline and gasoline stations can cause, but I never imagined that our local Pemex station would have such issues . . .
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http://yucalandia.wordpress.com/...-issues-the-article/
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E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

(This post was edited by YucaLandia on Apr 26, 2012, 1:19 PM)

cbviajero

Apr 26, 2012, 4:27 PM

Post #2 of 46 (3356 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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My issue with gasolineras in Mexico is that often the litros are only 7 or 8 tenths of a litro,hence the" litro de a litro"signs you see.

Rolly

Apr 26, 2012, 4:46 PM

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Re: [cbviajero] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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You can use this PROFECO website to check on the inspection reports of any station in your area.
Enter the state and city for a list of stations, then click on the station you are interested in checking on.

Rolly Pirate

playaboy

Apr 26, 2012, 6:24 PM

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Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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I don't wonder about the gasoline quality since I have a older diesel truck. The Mexican LSD diesel is much better than the ULSD they sell in the USA. I lose about 15% mileage when I am using ULSD fuel NOB versus when I am running on the diesel fuel in Mexico. My truck runs smoother on it too.

YucaLandia

Apr 26, 2012, 6:45 PM

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Re: [playaboy] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Great !

I was surprised by having nearly a tablespoon of sediment and rust laden water separate out from just 1 liter of Pemex gasoline. I have pulled several gas tanks here to replace fuel pumps, and have only seen a little water** - so, I hope this was an artifact of that one station. Since each station is owned and operated by (local?) franchises, the quality of the tanks may be a franchise by franchise issue? The energy content (Btu) per liter of Pemex gasoline seems low in any case, because all of our vehicles have gotten lower gas mileage when they came to Mexico - even with clean fuel systems.

Other people's experiences?

Is you gasoline mileage (fuel efficiency) equivalent both SOB and NOB?
steve

**These tanks were on cars that had run only on Pemex gasoline, and they had heavy heavy internal coatings of nasty orange varnish - far worse than anything I saw in 35 years of tanks pulled on buses, trucks, cars and construction equipment in the USA. I mention the heavy orange crap accumulated from Pemex gas, because you might find your fuel filter plugged by gelled orange varnish from using Techron on a car that has had only years of Pemex gas... (cumulative years of varnish and deposits released in a single tankful - yuck...)
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(This post was edited by YucaLandia on Apr 26, 2012, 6:53 PM)

chicois8

Apr 26, 2012, 8:10 PM

Post #6 of 46 (3291 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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I drive a 2011 Subaru Outback with a 4 cylinder engine, it has the built in computer for trips, MPG and amounts of miles to fill up...In the USA I get the same highway milage listed by the manufacture ay 30 MPGin California.....In Mexico I get 37MPG, must be the additives put into the USA unleaded gas...

While having the car filled I usually look at the pumps to see the last time it was calibrated, They all seem to have 2012 stickers from 2 different testing companies or agencies....

chinagringo

Apr 27, 2012, 9:43 AM

Post #7 of 46 (3211 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Steve:

If this is such a concern, I can offer an ancient and time tested solution that resolved these issues when we lived in India in the late 50's and early 60's. Even though my father worked for StanVac/Exxon back in those days, there was no overcoming the low octane and poor quality controls of the gasoline. The solution was a very large galvanized funnel with a large chamois cloth. Both the low octane gas from the pumps and the octane boosting aviation fuel was poured through the chamois cloth into the tank. This procedure wouldn't win any NASCAR pit stop speed competitions but it did help minimize problems in our Mercury station wagon with the high compression engine.

Certainly is a test of one's patience!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

mazbook1

Apr 27, 2012, 10:39 AM

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Re: [chinagringo] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Neil, Unless my memory is failing me, it's not "chamois cloth" that works, but the actual chamois, which is a thin, soft leather from the skin of a chamois antelope. My Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines it this way:

2. a soft, pliable leather from any of various skins dressed with oil, esp. fish oil, originally prepared from the skin of the chamois.

chinagringo

Apr 27, 2012, 11:11 AM

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Re: [mazbook1] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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By golly you are absolutely right! I was thinking (or not thinking) using today's terms.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

Apr 27, 2012, 11:43 AM

Post #10 of 46 (3186 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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So one guy gets significant crud in his gasoline and another gets significantly better mileage with same. Yup, sounds like Mexico!

Papirex

Apr 27, 2012, 12:13 PM

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Re: [Rolly] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Here in Cuernavaca in Morelos state, I try to buy all of my gasoline at Sam’s Club or at the Wall-Mart Super-center to get an honest measure.

A few years ago, before the first Super-canter was built, Sam's Club built a service station in their parking lot. There were several articles in the local newspapers about it at that time. Any gasoline vendor must be approved by the Federal government. If another business like Sam's Club, etc. wants o sell gasoline, they must contract with a licensed vendor to establish their own service station. I think Wall-mart Must have a very strong contract with their gasoline vendor, or maybe the vendor has always been honest.

We live in the north of the city. There is a Pemex station near us. My late wife remarked one day, that she could always drive further on the gas she bought at Sam's Club. That did it or me, I asked her to try to buy her gas at Sam;s Club whenever possible in the future, I now try to buy all of my gas at either Sam's or Wall-Mart. I have noticed that they always top the tank off manually after the pumps shuts off automatically, most stations do not. I think they may not want you to realize that their pump says that they have delivered more gas that your tank will hold.

The site that Rolly posted is useful, but the problem I have with it, is that it will tell you about the number of complaints, but not what they involved.

For all of the bellyachers out there, if you own a computer, printer,TV, DVD player, etc. you probably have some things made in China, even if there is a US nameplate on it. When two Wall-Mart Super-centers opened in this area 4 or 5 years ago, it was a great improvement for local shopping.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

YucaLandia

Apr 27, 2012, 12:29 PM

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Re: [Papirex] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Hey Papi,
You might want to rethink the thing about having the gas station attendant "top-off" your tank after the handle triggers the automatic shut-off. Topping off a tank - filling it with gasoline up into the filler tube neck can cause problems with the vapor recovery system on cars. Modern gasoline tanks are designed to NOT be filled into the neck - because filling into the neck can flood the lines running between the neck, the tank, and the evaporative canister - fouling up check valves and lines with liquid gasoline - causing emissions controls problems. (See http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h62.pdf ).

The attendants often manually top-off the tank to get to round numbers, just to make it easy for making change - even though it is generally bad for your car. It's much better to stop filling with the auto-shutoff, and help them make change (since many struggle with calculating differences in their heads).
steve
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E-visit at http://yucalandia.com

Sculptari

Apr 27, 2012, 1:46 PM

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Re: [playaboy] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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I'm with playaboy, an older diesel engine is the way to go in Mexico. The Pemex stations are less frequent but you often have to go to the commercial truck pumps, and as far as I'm concerned - less likely to get screwed around with. The inventor of the diesel engine designed it to run on peanut oil. Running used vegetable oil in a diesel engine is common all over Europe - in cold countries they have to heat the tank first (about 30C). I don't know about right now, but a couple of years ago filtered vegetable oil sold in LA, via craigslist, for 50 cents a gallon, delivered to your door.

Here is another interesting problem - at first, a very impressive photo - 3 Princess Cruise Ships at port in Puerto Vallarta. Look carefully though and see the dual smoke plumes out of each one - they are using bunker fuel to run their generators full blast. The Port cannot supply enough shore power for them. Bunker fuel is only a little higher grade than tar, and it is filthy with toxins. Yuck, and for shame.

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/529939_394813803873012_116733888347673_1329070_1468340831_n.jpg

johanson

Apr 27, 2012, 6:29 PM

Post #14 of 46 (3110 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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I'm not very happy with what you wrote YucaLandia, because I want to keep my head in the sand. I want to pretend what you wrote is not true.

Thanks, I think :) for reminding me of how bad it is here.

joaquinx

Apr 27, 2012, 7:06 PM

Post #15 of 46 (3092 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Very interesting. I have seen at the local Pemex station, ramps for the rear tires of taxis. They raise the rear of the car about 4 or 5 inches so as to get as much gas in the tank as possible. Yet the taxi's seem to run forever.
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

Apr 27, 2012, 7:35 PM

Post #16 of 46 (3086 views)

Re: [johanson] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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At least 50% of all gasoline sold in Mexico comes from the USA.

Moisheh

Apr 27, 2012, 7:54 PM

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Re: [Bennie García] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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Bennie Garcia: Your statement is not quite correct. In MOST states (not near the border) Magna is made in Mexico. Most Premium is imported from the USA. Older stations may have steel tanks but any of the newer ones use those plastic tanks . Same as in the USA. Pemex has standards that all stations must meet. They send inspectors during construction to check the tanks and all the pipes before they are covered with dirt and concrete. BUT the actual quality of the Mexican fuel is not great. Not unusual to fill up and your engine will not run well. Some unscrupulous operators permit waste oil truck to dump some petroleum based liquids in the tanks. I once had a fill that contained oil based paint! Yuculandia: You never cease to amaze me. I never had you pegged as a car guy!

Moisheh

Papirex

Apr 27, 2012, 7:57 PM

Post #18 of 46 (3075 views)

Re: [YucaLandia] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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I'm not worried about passing smog tests here. If you know the right people, you take all the paperwork to them every six months, drive your car home, and come back the next day to get your new smog sticker. Guess what? My car passes every time. Corruption? I prefer to think of it as efficiency.

My old US state of residency, Alaska, just joined several other US states in eliminating smog tests altogether. Because of the lack of contiguity of the road system up there, only two cities required a smog test every five years, Fairbanks and Anchorage, and no vehicle had failed a smog test since 1997.

Requiring a emissions test every six months in México just highlights The inefficiency and corruption here.

It's México though, and I have learned to live with it.

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Apr 27, 2012, 8:08 PM

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Re: [Moisheh] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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In Reply To

Bennie Garcia: Your statement is not quite correct.

Moisheh

You will need to give something other than your word to disprove the following:

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/finanzas/92675.html

"Mientras cae en 56 mil barriles diarios la producción nacional de gasolinas, las importaciones del combustible crecieron 98% al pasar de compras promedio de 204.7 mil barriles diarios en 2006 a 405.2 mil, es decir, un crecimiento del 16 % anual.

A partir del promedio de 2011 al menos 5 de cada 10 litros de gasolina son comprados en Estados Unidos. De hecho, el mercado se mantiene estable entre 790 y 800 mil barriles diarios en los últimos tres años, por lo que el incremento en las importaciones es consecuencia de la baja producción nacional."

and there's this:

http://oilprice.com/...Of-Its-Gasoline.html

"According to the Petroleum Indicator of the Petroleos Mexicanos state oil monopoly, more familiarly known as Pemex, between January and July 2011, foreign gasoline purchases averaged 397,300 barrels per day, which represents 49.8 percent of the country's total consumption."

Both of the articles in those links are from 2011. Imports have been rising steadily each year so I don't see how my statement is "not quite correct".

Apr 27, 2012, 8:22 PM

Post #20 of 46 (3068 views)

Re: [Bennie García] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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The article you quoted says that (roughly) 50% was from 'foreign sources'. Is the US the only foreign source of gasoline for Mexico?

I also saw elsewhere that the US's 3rd largest importation of oil comes from Mexico (after Canada and Saudi Arabia)..... something like a million barrels a day. So does this mean that, in reality, the US refines Mexican oil and sells it back to Mexico as part/most of that 50%? Cheaper than building refineries?

(This post was edited by RickS on Apr 27, 2012, 8:24 PM)

Apr 27, 2012, 8:33 PM

Post #21 of 46 (3066 views)

Re: [RickS] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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In Reply To

Pemex owns part of a refinery in Deer Park, Texas, along with Shell. It is cheaper to have their oil refined there than to build new refineries here. They send crude north and bring back refined products.

Apr 27, 2012, 8:37 PM

Post #22 of 46 (3065 views)

Re: [Bennie García] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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So would these 'refined products' be a part of the 50%? If so, that's probably a distortion of the statistic.

Apr 27, 2012, 8:44 PM

Post #23 of 46 (3064 views)

Re: [RickS] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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No,read the articles I linked to previously. Over 50% of the gasoline sold in Mexico is imported. No distortion. Find your argument elsewhere.

Apr 27, 2012, 8:46 PM

Post #24 of 46 (3063 views)

Re: [Bennie García] Pemex Gasoline: Issues?

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No argument intended Bennie.... just a question. Calm down.

Moisheh

Apr 28, 2012, 4:33 AM

Post #25 of 46 (3036 views)