Talk:Gasoline

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This article has previously been nominated to be moved. Please review prior discussions if you are considering renomination.

Discussions

The primary dispute has been whether the article should be moved to Petrol. Many arguments were presented for both sides, but after all else failed, consensus was to keep the original editor's title, as per the relevant style guideline:

"If an article has evolved using predominantly one [national variety of English], the whole article should conform to that variety, unless there are reasons for changing it based on strong national ties to the topic. In the early stages of writing an article, the variety chosen by the first major contributor to the article should be used."

Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination::

Move discussion: Gasoline → Petrol, 2005: Opposed. (Discussion)
RM: Gasoline → Petroleum-based fuel, 7 November 2007, Withdrawn. (Discussion)
RM: Gasoline → Petrol, 24 August 2019, Not moved. (Discussion)
RM: Gasoline → Petrol (gasoline), 22 March 2023, Withdrawn. (Discussion)
RM: Gasoline → Gasoline also known as petrol, 7 August 2023, Procedural close. (Discussion)

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Split proposal

Latest comment: 5 months ago3 comments3 people in discussion

The article has a large section devoted to the use of gasoline in WWI and WWII with particular emphasis on the US. I propose to shift this content to its own article (maybe Gasoline in World War II or Petrol in World War II?). But readers who seek general info on gasoline are unlikely to be so focused on the military angle and the US. --Smokefoot (talk) 16:34, 20 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Completely agree. Chattenoir (talk) 05:06, 9 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

i have to agree on this ~2026-32354-56 (talk) 04:16, 1 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

Flammability, flash point etc.

Latest comment: 6 months ago3 comments2 people in discussion

Unreferenced statement from the article.

"Gasoline is flammable with low flash point of −23 °C (−9 °F). Gasoline has a lower explosive limit of 1.4 percent by volume and an upper explosive limit of 7.6 percent."

My own estimate of the flash point is −36 °C (−33 °F) based on a simple observation that cars will not start in weather below that temperature. Gasoline condenses on the cold walls of the cylinder inside the engine and even under compression will not ignite from the ignition spark. A graph or chart of upper and lower explosive limits by temperature and pressure would be nice. Justina Colmena ~biz (talk) 12:55, 20 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

I was gonna say car engines have radiators and all that, however I did find mutliple good sources which state the lower flashpoint as -42C. https://www.fireandsafetycentre.co.uk/blogs/safety-storage/flash-points-of-common-flammable-substances http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph240/ukropina2/ https://taylorandfrancis.com/knowledge/Engineering_and_technology/Chemical_engineering/Flash_point/

I will try to find an academic journal which states the flashpoint Chattenoir (talk) 13:27, 20 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

I also see that on Flash_point it lists Gasoline as -43. And I have more sources now, one from University of Washington https://depts.washington.edu/vehfire/fuels/flashpoint.html and Stanford http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph240/ukropina2/

I will change the figure and give the citations Chattenoir (talk) 13:37, 20 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

Refinery photo needed?

Latest comment: 6 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Two of the article's photos are of "Upstream" items: beam pumping unit and offshore drilling and production platform. Not especially applicable; a generic refinery photo would be better. Casey (talk) 12:46, 29 April 2026 (UTC)Reply

There should be a list of countries that use each type of gasoline.

Latest comment: 5 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

It's like an Excel spreadsheet, where the countries are listed from top to bottom, and from left to right are the types of fuel currently in use, used, and to be used. Those already in use are marked with a red X, those currently in use are marked with a green V, and those to be used are noted. Nguyễn Quốc Anh (1248) (talk) 08:04, 20 May 2026 (UTC)Reply