The Clean Energy Blog

With gas prices continuing to soar, consumers are looking for every possible way to save money on it. If you take a look at what is offered you will find plenty of different gas saving devices offered. Most of them don’t seem to be very effective though. This is quite disheartening when you consider that this is a $25 million industry in 2007 alone.

According to the experts, about 95% of the gas saving products offered don’t stand up to the claims they make. They also don’t make enough of a difference to justify buying them. That can be extremely disappointing but that is the reality of it. So why do so many consumers continue to buy them?

First, they want to believe they work because they do want to be able to save money on their fuel costs. That is certainly understandable as we have all been affected by the high prices. They also see so many of the products on the market that they assume they must be working or they wouldn’t be offered. This is why such products continue to sell at very high rates.

Those are the consumers who aren’t taking the time to do their research before they invest in them either. They many end up purchasing several different gas saving products and devices before they finally see the big picture and how ineffective they have been.

They read the testimonials with the products or see the advertisements and decide that is what they need to purchase. They are in a hurry to access it and to benefit from it. Instead they end up losing their money and being disappointed. You should always pursue a refund when such gas saving products fail to give you the results that they advertise.

Some of the research conducted by Popular Mechanics has even proven that a handful of these so called gas saving devices actually end up increasing the amount of fuel that you use. That certainly isn’t the type of result you want to get from something like this that you pay for to use in your vehicles.

Therefore consumers really need to take their time choosing such products that are right for them. Take the time to read information online and see what is really going on with them. The information you get from other consumers is going to prove to be extremely valuable to you.

It should carry more weight with you than the business advertisements for such products. These will be honest reviews from real people who have been in your position before. It is quite likely the information they offer will prevent you from making a purchase of that particular gas saving device.

Making a well informed decision before you invest in this type of product is very wise. You don’t want to become frustrated or disappointed due to the results you get. It is also a good idea to look for those that offer a money back guarantee. This way you will be able to get your investment back if you aren’t 100% satisfied with what you purchase.

There is no argument that everyone needs to do what they can in order to save money on gas right now. But that doesn’t necessarily mean buying gas saving products is the way to go. Many consumers have been able to successfully incorporate the concepts of hypermiling to save money without any real investment.

For example, simply changing your driving habits can result in a significant amount of gas being conserved. In the end you will have to decide which gas saving methods are right for you. There are certainly many different choices that you are being offered right now.

From what has been reported from reputable agencies, there aren’t really effective gas saving devices and gadgets out there to really help you. There are plenty of in depth reports online about specific products you can read. This is better than buying them and trying them out on your own.

It can be frustrating paying high gas prices but be careful what you get encouraged to buy on the market during this difficult time. Your best bet is going to be to keep your car running properly and improving your driving habits.

Read my lens on Electric Car Conversion as this is the future of alternative energy for cars.

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With all of the negativity out there about gas saving devices and products that just don’t work, you may be better off to put your time and money into other efforts that have been known to work rather well.

You can be sure if a really effective gas saving device does come onto the market it will be in the news, online, and people will be talking about it. In the mean time do what you can to save yourself as much money as you can. It can prevent you from being as stressed out when you see that gas gauge towards empty.

A very effective method you may want to incorporate into your gas saving efforts is hypermiling. It means you will be able to change some of your behaviors, get your vehicle in top operating shape, and maximize fuel efficiency. You will also be able to monitor your progress without any gadgets.

This is a proven way for you to save money without buying any type of product at all. In addition, it will help you to have a vehicle that last longer. You won’t be needing a new one any time soon when it is well maintained. It will also help to reduce the risk of vehicle related accidents.

How often do you change the oil on your vehicle? This should be a standard practice every 3,000 miles or every 3 months. Which every one you get to first is what you go with. Most places that change your oil will put a sticker on the inside of the windshield. It will tell you the date and the mileage so you can easily view that information.

Having the right amount of air in your tires will help to reduce the amount of fuel you use as well. You need to check your owner’s manual to see how much pounds of pressure you should have in each of them. Too much or too little isn’t safe either so always keep a close eye on this.

Get your vehicle a tune up every six months to a year as well depending on how many miles you put on it. At this time they can do a complete inspection for you. Don’t wait until something is really wrong with your vehicle before you get it looked at.

A leaking fuel injector, clogged air filter, or an old oxygen sensor won’t prevent your vehicle from operating. However, it will increase the amount of fuel you have to use in order to get around. It is more cost effective to repair or replace these items in order to save you money in the long run.

By maintaining a constant speed you will use less fuel in you vehicle. It is when you accelerate and slow down all the time that you end up using more of it. If that is your style of driving then you can modify it. Stop speeding to get places on time and plan better so you can leave earlier.

Instead of rushing to pass the cars in front of you set your cruise control. This way you can stay at a constant speed. You also want to leave enough room between you and the car in front of you. This will require less breaking and so your car won’t use as much fuel to get back into motion again.

Making changes to your regular routine is also a big part of hypermiling. Think about carpooling to work and for your children’s activities whenever possible. This will reduce the amount of trips you make per week in your vehicle.

You also need to schedule errands and other outings so you aren’t covering the same ground over and over again. Plan when you will go to the grocery store and everything you need for a one or two week period. This way you won’t be having to go back and forth for select ingredients to complete your meals.

Hypermiling has become quite popular as a method for saving money on gas. It doesn’t require buying any type of device and most of the options are extremely affordable or cost nothing at all. An oil change generally runs about $30 which is no big deal. Other vehicle repairs are going to cost more but you still need to get them taken care of.

It is great if you can do the work on your own as you will only have to pay for the cost of the parts. When a mechanic does it for you there is also the cost of labor included. The sooner you get such repairs done though the faster you can start saving money on your gas expenses. It will also help you get more life out of your vehicle.

These strategies are definitely worth looking into to see how you can benefit from them. Since they are supported by the United States government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Public Safety that makes them very credible too in the eyes of the consumer.

Hypermiling has proven to be much more valuable for those interested in saving money on gas than various types of devices and products on the market. If you want to see how they can work for you get a tank of gas. Keep track of the mileage and how many gallons of fuel you put in.

When you are out of gas determine how many miles you went on that tank of gas. When you divide that amount by the number of gallons you purchased you get the amount of miles per gallon.

Now Implement one or two of the hypermiling strategies before you fill up the second time. Keep track of your miles per gallon using that same formula. You will see some differences and hopefully that will encourage you to continue with these methods. You can also consider implementing a couple more of them to give yourself even better gas mileage.

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Many of the gas saving devices on the market right now fall into the category of a vortex generator. The name of it sounds like something very fancy and that would be complicated to work with. Once you understand the concept of it though it is easy to see how people would assume it could help cut down their use of gas.

This allows there to be air mixed between the air cleaner and the intake manifold. The process resembles a tornado but on a much smaller scale. There isn’t anything type of additive with various ingredients being added to your vehicle which makes consumers happy.

Since there is an unlimited supply of air nothing has to be added to it later on either. These products claim to work by mixing more air with the gas in your vehicle than what is normally found in it. This is to allow it to burn cleaner when it enters the combustion chamber.

Yet what you will find is that your speed is reduced due to this method and so that can result in gas being saved. For those that drive over 60 miles per hour the most, savings will be evident.

However, if you plan to be taking that vehicle on a highway with a speed limit of 75 miles per hour you will have a hard time getting to that speed as well as maintaining it. Your vehicle may start to run sluggish which can mean something with it isn’t being properly operated like it should.

Your vehicle will have to work very hard and that can result in more wear on it. If you have to slow down or stop often it will also reduce fuel efficiency. When you consider the distance a person may travel for fun or to get back and forth to work at those higher speeds it can really be a recipe for disaster for our vehicle. Some of the air injection products offered claim that they can create more heat, and that reduces friction.

As a result of less friction there is less fuel consumed. It is said that there is less work for the liquid gas to be changed into a vapor. The understanding of this particular technique is complex to many people. Therefore they don’t look into it any further.

What is often ironic about gas saving devices and products is that is seems the more complicated they are to understand the more people invest in them. The general consensus of this is that it must be some scientific formula that will work and so it doesn’t matter if the consumer understands it or not.

Well, you can be sure that the manufacturers and the marketers know this. If the gas saving device is too simple then it won’t hold water with most people. Add some tricky terms though and a process that is complex to follow and it will seem logical in many ways. After all not everyone knows ways to save money on gas so they may be on to something.

Regardless of if you understand what that process entails or not, the testing that has been done on many products by professional organizations shows they don’t really work. There isn’t enough significance with that process to allow you to save money on your gas expenses.

You need to get the name of the particular product you are interested in and do your own research on it as well. Chances are there have been reviews of it from individual consumers. You will also find those done by experts that aren’t biased one way or the other. They call it as they see it simply by monitoring their gas mileage before and after using it on a particular vehicle.

All of the data that they use is recorded and shared so there isn’t any secret about how they derived at their final report on things. It is hard to argue with such testing methods when you can see they have done every single step by the book and not gotten the promised results with the given product.

One of these testing gurus is Popular Mechanics. They are well known for offering information and advice about various types of vehicles. They stay on top of current issues and events including high gas prices. They aren’t about to allow their loyal readers to be taken for a ride to listen to what they have to say.

There are many air injection products for gas saving offered on the market. Yet according to Popular Mechanics many of them never even get around to actually adding more air to the fuel like they claim. They believe it just isn’t possible for this to really take place with the design of the vehicles system. This is due to the fact that there is likely to be too much space between where the air intake is and where the fuel is mixed. It doesn’t really matter which type of vehicle you are driving around in, this set up is standard. You can have it modified which will cost you a great deal of money.

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Magnets are quite interesting because they have the ability to attract and repel due to the energy they create. We can all probably remember science experiments in school that dealt with magnets. They were actually very fun to play with and to see what they could do.

Magnets of all different sizes are used in our society for a variety of things. We use them to keep things on the refrigerator, to search for items, and to operate various types of devices. Many people view magnets as something scientific though so they assume it may be logical to try using them to save money when it comes to fuel costs.

Many consumers like this idea because they aren’t adding anything to their vehicle in the form of a liquid which often makes them worried. The magnets can be added or removed any time you feel like it. They like the thought of being able to get results without the risk of ruining some part of their engine.

There is also the fact that you don’t have to remember to buy them all the time. With additives you need to get a good supply of them and then remember to use them at the right times. With the magnets you can simply put them on once and then not worry about it again.

Magnets that are offered for reducing the amount of gas that your car uses will cost you between $15 and $40 so that isn’t too much of an overall investment. They can improve your gas mileage ever so slightly but not enough that you will get any real savings out of it. We are talking 10th of a gallon when it comes to measuring the benefits.

These magnets are secured to the fuel line and are believed to change the molecular structure of the gasoline. As a result the types of metals that are used to ionize the fuel will no longer be there. This may all sound good in theory but the reality is that it doesn’t do anything for your gas mileage that is significant enough for you to save any money.

Magnetic gas saving products often have the biggest claims when it comes to how much gas you can save. Many of them boost about a savings of 20% -25% but the testing on such products hasn’t shown hardly any benefit at all, let alone something that substantial.

There is a popular TV show called MythBusters where they take certain products and test them out to see what the results are. They did a show about the use of magnets to increase fuel mileage a while back. You can see parts of it on their website if you missed it.

Several different brands of magnets advertised for saving gas were tried out but the results were similar with all of the ones they tried. They were able to control the variables and tried the use of the magnets under a variety of different conditions.

They didn’t find them to be difficult to put on the vehicle or to remove. They also didn’t find them to offer any significant benefit in the area of gas mileage from them. So the best bet is to skip these types of gas saving devices and use your money for something else.

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One of the most popular types of gas saving devices are oil and gas additives. Chances are you have seen many of them advertised in magazines and you can find them on the shelves of the stores you frequent. If you haven’t noticed them before you should take a look for them.

One thing you will notice is that they all have claims that they can provide you with better gas mileage than you get right now. Some of them claim to be FDA approved and such but that isn’t the case. It does make you wonder though why they are able to place such items on the shelves when the FDA denies approving such products.

Some of these are products you pour into your gas tank when you fill up at the pump. You simply put the contents into your tank first and then continue to fuel up as you normally would. Since it does take up some room it will reduce the amount of gas you have to put into it but not improve your overall miles per gallon that you will burn while operating your vehicle.

There are a variety of ingredients added to your gas when you pour such an additive into your gas tank. They include tin, magnesium, and platinum which these marketers will tell you is good for removing compounds that settle into the bottom of your gas tank.

Never use a fuel additive that contains acetone as it can damage plastic parts in your fuel system by dissolving them. Some individuals claim that a small amount of acetone won’t harm your fuel system but it can be hard to gauge when you have gone over that amount. Also, it really hasn’t been proven to help cut back on the cost of gas so that is quite a risk to be taking.

In general, these additive products won’t harm your vehicle but generally aren’t necessary to add. Such gas saving products are marketed in a way to give you the impression that you are getting something your gas tank needs to be more efficient.

That is the key selling point and many consumers take the bait. They go out and buy several bottles of this additive and keep it in their vehicle. Each time they approach the pump to fill up they dump a bottle of it in there thinking they are doing the right thing. However, doing so really isn’t necessary.
This is because gasoline has ingredients in it that will naturally do the same thing without you adding anything. Even though these fuel additives are very reasonably priced they still seem to be a waste of money as they haven’t been proven to be effective. The gas you have to pay for to move your vehicle is already taking care of the same concerns so why pay for something you don’t need?

Those that are offered for the oil generally come already mixed in the oil for your car. You just add it like you would any other brand or type of oil. It is important that you always use the right grade of motor oil in order to get the most fuel mileage from your vehicle. You can find this information in your owners’ manual as well as on the internet.

The understanding of gas savings behind these oils is that the lower viscosity that is present the less friction will be created. However, you can really do severe damage to your vehicle if you are using something other than what it requires. You may end up needing to replace your entire engine before it is all said and done.

Some testing has shown changing the viscosity of the oil doesn’t seem to affect the operations of certain vehicles. As a consumer though you have to ask yourself if you are willing to take the chance that such a product may damage your vehicle. Most people will agree it isn’t something they want to risk being on the losing side of.

There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to take that risk either. There hasn’t been any substantial evidence to suggest oil additives are going to increase your gas mileage. Yet these are very popular products that people continue to buy and place into their vehicle.

Oil and gas additives aren’t very expensive and you can generally buy them at any location that sells automotive products. Most full stores offer oil, filters, and these various additives so you can get all the supplies you need for the maintenance of your vehicle at one time.

You may be tempted to buy such products that you see on the shelves while you are buying the other items you need. However, you need to be careful about what you put into your vehicle. It could end up doing more damage than good. You can read reviews about specific products out there online so it is a good idea to do so before you go ahead and purchase any of them.

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