Experts Checked the Quality of Autogas in Ukraine After the Sharp Price Increase

Recently, the price of autogas at gas stations has risen to 18 UAH per liter, which has hit motorists looking to save money hard. But this is not the limit – according to several experts, in the autumn-winter season, when gas prices traditionally rise, the retail price per liter may reach 20 UAH for a liter of blue fuel. Considering that gas consumption is higher than that of gasoline, this price practically equalizes the cost per kilometer for gas and gasoline. Nevertheless, nearly a million cars in Ukraine are equipped with LPG systems and are refueled with autogas.

Undoubtedly, during such periods of rapid price growth, some individuals see an opportunity to gain super-profits by “tampering” with the quality or accuracy of dispensing.  Specialists from the Kyiv Consumer Expertise Institute decided to check the quality of the gas offered to Ukrainian consumers. A control selection of samples followed by testing in a certified laboratory revealed both positive news and serious violations.

Who Was Checked

Since the number of illegal “tanks” and standalone gas stations has almost been reduced to zero recently, experts focused on “majors”, large networks with high price ceilings (WOG, SHELL), the largest network in Kyiv (KLO), as well as several so-called discounters. These are also quite large networks but with lower prices than others (SunOil, Motto, Avantage 7). For contrast, gas was also purchased at a “tank”, with a price a hryvnia lower than even the discounters.  

“Overfilling” and “underfilling”?

Gas dispensing accuracy is the most criticized parameter by drivers. Many motorists measure distances and complain that they are filled with more gas than the tank capacity. According to standards, under-dispensing can be no more than 1%, but achieving this result at the station is quite difficult. Experts took a fixed amount of gas liters at each station and then calculated the volume using a formula considering density. The results were not comforting  – two discounters still showed under-dispensing.

But let’s start with the positive – in two networks (SHELL and WOG), they even “poured” more – 1% more than paid for! This is not surprising since reputation is expensive, and therefore, it is necessary to be meticulous about equipment checks.

Exactly as per the receipt, gas was dispensed at SunOil and Avantage 7 stations, at  KLO, the amount was slightly less but within the allowed margin of error by standards. Under-dispensing was found in the Motto network – (4%). Even more, a 14% under-dispensing was discovered at the “illegal” station!  If the first case can still be attributed to shortcomings in timely service of the stations, then in the case of the “tank” it’s a clear case of deliberate deception. As it turns out, the low price on the sign doesn’t correlate with the number of kilometers the car will travel. As a result, the intended saving effect is not achieved.

What Did Laboratory Tests Show?

Similar to gasoline tests, experts divided the laboratory results into zones – green, blue, and red. The first included networks whose results met all standards and had a “safety margin” in quality; the blue – stations whose fuel had no violations according to the relevant DSTU requirements, and red – networks where the fuel was substandard, i.e., had deviations in qualitative indicators. Incredibly, none of the tested samples fell into the “red” zone! It’s technologically difficult to perform “adulterated” manipulations with gas, which seems to be why factory fuel is sold everywhere.

Green Zone

In the laboratory, samples were first tested for compliance with the profile GOST’s “Component Composition” indicator. As known, automotive gas consists of a mixture of propane and butane, as well as other hydrocarbons (isobutane, propylene, ethane, ethylene, etc.). The greater the propane content in the gas, the higher the saturated vapor pressure, and the better the starting qualities and operation of the fuel system, especially in winter operation.

In the “green” zone were samples where the propane to butane ratio was almost perfect –  WOG (59/40), SHELL (58/37), SunOil (57/41), and  Avantage 7 (56/37).

These figures allow ensuring the most complete combustion of the mixture, meaning providing dynamics while maintaining driving economy. Also, samples from SHELL, WOG, and SunOil recorded low levels of harmful propylene for the fuel system. 

Finally, another important parameter – gas density – was tested. The higher it is, the greater the distance traveled on a single refuel. In this parameter, the highest indicators were shown by samples from KLO, WOG, and SunOil networks – 533, 532, and 535 kg/m3, respectively.

Blue Zone

All other research participants – KLO, Motto, and “tank” networks – fell into the “blue” zone. Here, the propane to butane ratio lags behind the leaders by a few percent, but nevertheless, all figures are within permissible limits.

In general, despite the crazy price increase over the past year, the quality of automotive gas has not deteriorated. Only factory fuel is sold, as proven by more-or-less equal prices (except for tax and receipt manipulations in some networks, but that’s a completely different story). However, under-dispensing, as the least provable and visible violation, remains a problem.

Alexander Babenko