Part 2: Technology, new rules a hot-fuel fix
OAHU, Hawaii | Idyllic weather, pounding surf and a warm, welcoming culture help make Hawaii unique in this nation.
So does its gallon of gas.
The Hawaiian gallon contains nearly 234 cubic inches of fuel — about three cubic inches more than is dispensed in the rest of the United States.
The extra volume, required by state law, helps offset the hotter temperature in this tropical climate, which causes the gasoline to expand. If the gallon wasn’t temperature-adjusted, Hawaiians would receive less energy per gallon than called for under the government standard. That’s because for nearly a century, gasoline and diesel have been dispensed across America at a more-condensed 231 cubic inches — based on the assumption of a fuel temperature of 60 degrees.
The larger Hawaiian gallon saves consumers in the state millions of dollars a year. But across the rest of America, consumers will lose an estimated $2.3 billion this year because of “hot” fuel. No other state adjusts for temperature fluctuations when dispensing fuel, including warm-weather states such as California, Texas and Florida, where drivers lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
In fact, few consumers even realize that they’re not getting what they pay for when they fill up at the pump. That’s because no national law requires retail station owners to sell fuel at the government standard of 60 degrees, or use pumps that adjust to reflect the hotter fuel.
That omission might seem odd, especially considering soaring gas prices and record oil industry profits. As Hawaii proved, states can take action to address the hot-fuel problem. Congress can step forward to require temperature compensation. And the industry itself could push for the change.
But don’t count on it.
The bigger Hawaiian gallon, which assumes a fuel temperature of 80 degrees, was introduced during the energy crisis of the 1970s. At the time, state officials considered it a temporary measure until the United States required fuel pumps that would automatically adjust the volume of gasoline and diesel to conform to the official standard.
They’re still waiting.
“We never gave it a second thought,” says George Mattimoe, former head of Hawaii’s department of weights and measures. “We thought the pump guys would do it.”
Instead, the energy industry has repeatedly blocked efforts in America to install retail fuel dispensers that automatically adjust for temperature change. The American Petroleum Institute (API), which represents the industry, contends it would cost too much to fix the problem. Moreover, it believes that consumers don’t want to be bothered by pumps that adjust the size of a gallon to make sure they get the same amount of energy no matter what the temperature.
“We’ve never supported it for retail” in the United States, says Michael Belue, a consultant for API.
Ironically, the industry takes the opposite stance in Canada, where cold temperatures give it a financial incentive to adjust the volume of gas at the pump and make more money. Nearly all fuel sold at retail outlets in Canada has been temperature-adjusted for years.
In retrospect, Mattimoe, who is now 83 and retired, says he isn’t surprised nothing has changed in this country. He says he should have taken the hint from the reception he got from Big Oil to a contraption that still sits in his garage in Oahu.
Mattimoe repaired radar units on Curtiss Hell Diver planes during World War II and is something of a gearhead. In the 1970s, tiring of the debate over whether fuel pumps could be automated to accurately adjust for temperature change, he went ahead and invented a solution.
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