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Oregon Self Serve Gasoline 683 1024 Star Oilco

Oregon Self Serve Gasoline

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signs historic Consumer Choice (Self Serve) Gasoline bill.

Oregon legalizes self serve gasoline.

Self Serve Gasoline law awaits Governor’s Signature.

Oregon Self Serve Gasoline FAQs:

Q: Can I self serve gasoline at a cardlock location?
A: Not unless you are doing so for a commercial use. 

The Gas Self Serve bill requires for retailers to provide Full Serve as an option alongside Self Serve gasoline.  Diesel fuel can be self served and the general public can fuel themselves with diesel at a Commercial Cardlock now.  For gasoline customers, as cardlock does not offer full serve we can not open it up to the general public.  Commercial Cardlock is regulated by the Oregon State Fire Marshall who still requires a business purpose for self serving gasoline at a 24-7 stand alone cardlock.

Q: When does Self Serve become available at a retail gas station?
A: Friday August 5th, 2023 is when consumers can opt to fuel their own gasoline in Oregon. 

Q: What if I do not want to self serve my own gasoline?
A:  The new Self Serve gasoline rules in Oregon require that any retail gas station offering self serve also provide full serve. 

There must be well marked islands for Self Serve Gasoline and Full Serve gasoline service.  Anyone wanting full service will still have it as an option.  The law also requires that all sites have no more Self Serve fueling pumps as Full Serve fueling positions. So Full Service gasoline will be readily available at any site offering Self Serve gasoline.  The law also expressly requires that there is no difference in price between Full Serve and Self Serve gasoline.

Oregon Self Serve is Legal in Oregon State

Oregon Self Serve at retail gas stations is coming to consumers who want it.  The Oregon Legislature has passed HB2426, a law that would give consumers a choice if they want to serve their own gasoline at a retail gas station. This law is awaiting the Governor’s signature to be signed into law.

As the Legislature has adjourned, Governor Tina Kotek has 30 days from when the Bill was passed to sign it into law, veto it, or let it expire without signature.

 

THE HISTORY OF FULL SERVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS IN OREGON

Oregon outlawed self serve gasoline in 1951.  The trend for self serve as a business model started in California.  The first self serve retail gas station was in 1947 in Los Angeles.  The restriction on serving your own gasoline had a basis in public safety and was not allowed by the Fire Codes in most states.   With the potential for large self serve gas stations coming Oregon made a decision to prevent the widespread adoption on a fire safety basis.

Inside the Oregon fuel industry there are anecdotal stories of the full serve mandate law coming from a coalition of consumers and local fuel sellers resisting bigger entrants to the market with huge numbers of fuel islands and few employees.  Full service gas was viewed as a competitive advantage for local gas stations that was also preferred by consumers.  In the 1980’s a few attempts were made to legalize self serve in Oregon and was resoundingly shot down by the public.  The growth of Oregon’s cardlock industry came out of this as business allowances were made for self serve gasoline with 24-7-365 access to fuel.

HB2426: SELF SERVE IS A CHOICE, NOT A REQUIREMENT

Talk to any longtime born and raised Oregonian, Full Serve Gas is a cherished right of Oregon residency.  This right will not be extinguished with this law.  Self Serve in the more populated parts of Oregon will require Full Serve as a choice.  The point of this law is to get wider service available for gas stations currently forced to close, operate at reduced island capacity, or reduced hours due to labor shortages.

BACKGROUND ON GASOLINE RETAIL IN OREGON:

Oregon has required gasoline be served by an attendant at retail gas stations.  Gasoline is a Class 1 Flammable Liquid.  Under a safety basis this fuel was restricted to only professionals and businesses to dispense it.  Diesel, which is a Class 3 Flammable Liquid because it catches fire at a higher temperature was not restricted from self serve.

In 2015 the more rural and less populated counties of Oregon were allowed to use self serve gasoline as a strategy to increase service hours at gas stations.  In 2017 this policy was expanded to more rural counties in Oregon.  The rules required options for full service gas service during predictable hours for those wanting or needing service.  During the COVID lock downs due to extreme labor shortages as well as fear of human contact self serve was allowed statewide.  With this House Bill 2426 all of Oregon can choose to serve gasoline themselves if they want.

HB2326 – THE OREGON SELF SERVE LAW:

HB 2326, as a statute, has a great deal of legal detail.  We have paraphrased and simplified the language of HB2326 as it relates to the self serve subject below:

A gas station selling gasoline at retail may not designate more than the same number
of fuel pumps for self-service as are available for full service.

Retail gas stations must:
Post signage clearly showing what fuel pumps are self serve and which are full service.

Designate at least one person to be available to pump fuel for those needing full service.

In the more populous counties of Oregon, any gas station must provide a Full Service attendant during any hours they offer the choice of self serve gasoline.

Gas stations opting to allow self serve fuel pumps cannot charge a different price for Full Service or Self Service gasoline at those pumps.

If you have any questions about Oregon’s Self Serve legal change please feel free to reach out to Star Oilco.  If we do not have the answer to your questions we will find it for you.

 

Excavator on construction site using off-road diesel
Diesel Loaner Tanks for Construction 683 1024 Star Oilco

Diesel Loaner Tanks for Construction

WE LOAN DIESEL TANKS FOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

DYED OFF ROAD DIESEL FUELING SERVICE BY STAR OILCO

Wethose Fueling for Construction

If you need diesel, kerosene, gasoline, biodiesel, or renewable diesel in bulk or as a wet-hose fueling service, we are ready for your project.  We also deliver Diesel Exhaust Fluid on jobsites. We won’t let your generators go down.  Daily routes for diesel fueling in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. 

Star Oilco serves the whole Portland metro area included the ex-burbs.  Our routes deliver to Salem, Oregon as well as Longview and Kelso, Washington.

Call and ask for our Dispatch to set up service today at 503-283-1256.

Off Road Dyed Diesel Delivery

All-dyed construction and generator fuel delivered by Star Oilco is premium diesel treated with Hydrotex PowerKleen. Star Oilco’s premium diesel is stabilized for long-term storage for the total up-time needs of construction fueling. There is an additional treatment of fuel microbiocide to kill and prevent growth of bacteria/algae in your diesel. Star Oilco can add Valvtect BioGuard to your fuel to stabilize your fuel for long term storage upon request as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction season is here.

Star Oilco still has loaner tanks immediately available for your job site, project or temporary fleet needs.  Make life easier and keep your team working hard. Get ahead of the rush and reserve your UL142 double wall loaner tank now.

Just let us know if you need a 12V pump (powered by your equipment’s battery) or a 110V plug in pump with your equipment set up.

Star Oilco has both 550 gallon and 275 gallon tanks with 110% containment meeting UL 142 for your next construction project.  Star Oilco can provide larger tanks if arranged with notice beforehand.  Larger tanks available for longer term project if needed.  We also provide remote tank monitoring on these tanks. These tanks meet fire code in Oregon and Washington for construction refueling and provide temporary storage of fuel on an ever-changing construction job site. Oregon and Washington fire code allow temporary double wall tanks for construction projects where an active permit has been pulled and needs diesel to complete.

Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is 15 PPM
Please also remember that ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) is the standard of off-road dyed fuel now as well. New off-road equipment will need ultra low sulfur diesel given the modern emission systems required.  This is a recent change.

If you are renting newer equipment, it will have a need for ULSD and Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). You will need to ensure that any fuel on a jobsite running newer equipment with diesel after treatment is ultra low sulfur diesel fuel. If you are operating your own tanks as you receive newer equipment, you will want to flush the fuel to make sure you get all the higher sulfur fuels out of it. All equipment from Star Oilco is drained as well as flushed prior to deliver as part of our set up.

If you are a contractor, project manager, or need a temporary tank for on-site fuel, we can help. In cases where you need an auxiliary tank, transfer fuel tank, an emergency back-up fuel supply, or even a long-term rented loaner tank for specialized equipment, Star Oilco can solve problems for you. For long-term projects, we can also work to get cardlock and other novel tracking solutions to secure your on-site fuel needs. Give us a call, we are here to help.

Kick the Can Card

Call our Dispatch at 503-283-1256 or tell us what you need in the following Contact Form.

We have loaner tanks immediately available. Open an account and get started today.

 

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Row of school buses using heavy-duty biodiesel fuel
Biodiesel as a Heavy Duty Low CO2 Solution 768 1024 Star Oilco

Biodiesel as a Heavy Duty Low CO2 Solution

Save money with Low CO2 Biodiesel in your heavy duty fleet.

In Oregon the state ensures there is a cost associated with the CO2 intensity of a fuel.  This is why Biodiesel is consistently lower cost than petroleum Diesel fuels on the West Coast.  Get ahead of this curve and ensure your fleet benefits.


Why B99 Biodiesel was used in the past?

Prior to 2007 emission systems on modern diesels B99 Biodiesel was commonly used by fleets.  The fact that Biodiesel is a domestic, renewable and low CO2 fuel with a benign tail pipe emission made it popular.  B99 was the preferred fuel of dozens of fleets in the Pacific NW.  After the EPA requirements starting in 2007 which added particulate traps, SCR, their dosing systems, and the general complexity of these clean diesel systems on modern diesels, B99 became problematic.  Specifically the Tier 3 and Tier 4 diesel emission systems had a habit of choking on high blends of Biodiesel approaching B99.  This issue has been solved by Optimus Technologies Vector System.

Why B99 Biodiesel is the solution for Heavy Duty Diesel fleets seeking a Low CO2 solution today?

The Optimus Technologies Vector System provides the solution by enabling two tanks of fuel.  One tank dedicated to the diesel or R99 Renewable Diesel and the other tank dedicated to B100 or B99 pure Biodiesel. These systems optimize the systems of your modern Diesel fleet while also optimizing the performance and realities of the emission systems.

Star Oilco at the National Biodiesel Conference in Las Vegas

Mark Fitz, the President of Star Oilco, was invited to speak in front of a bunch of soy bean farmers on the subject of decarbonizing Heavy Duty diesel fleets.  Below is a walk through of his view on where diesel fleets can go to cut their CO2 emission in half or more today. NOTE: Mark Fitz’s portion begins at 18 minutes.

 

Please reach out to Star Oilco if you have further questions about using B99 or other blends of Biodiesel to reduce your fleet’s operating cost while cutting CO2 emissions in half.

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Mobile fuel card app interface showing pump activation and driver info
How to save money with a commercial fuel card 1024 544 Star Oilco

How to save money with a commercial fuel card

Save money with a commercial fuel card by avoiding the credit card retail price and preventing fuel theft in your business.

How do you avoid the higher credit card prices at gas stations?

Buy Your Fuel at a Commercial Cardlock

Make sure that employee fuel theft is not robbing from your bottom line.

 

 

  • Buy Diesel from Pacific Pride and CFN Commercial Cardlocks over retail gas stations.
  • Use a secure Fleet Card that ensures that employee theft is locked down.
    • Make sure your company’s Fleet Card is secured for:
      • A Fleet Card attached to the individual vehicle with a secure identifiable PIN for each employee.
      • Only the times of day you operate.
      • Only the days of the week you operate.
      • Only the fuel products your vehicle uses.
      • A limited number of transactions a day to ensure if a card gets misused the amount is extremely reduced.
      • A real time “E-Receipt” that notifies you of fuel purchases in real time to better manage employees for your fuel costs.

Wholesale pricing at a Pacific Pride commercial cardlock.

 Take control of your fuel spend by buying wholesale instead of retail gasoline.

Over the last year fuel costs have jumped to record highs.   Retail gas and diesel prices in particular are high compared to wholesale market purchasing opportunities for fleets.  Retail posted prices for credit card purchases further increase the cost on your business.

Commercial gas station cards that direct your fleet to buy fuel at convenience stores cost far more than the posted price for fuel.  Many of these gas stations also price diesel fuel with the same mark up as premium gasoline. By getting your employees out of the retail fuel line save in several ways.

How do you save with Commercial Cardlock over a retail gas station?

PRODUCTIVITY – Get out of retail gas lines and self serve your fleet 24-7-365.

PURCHASE CONTROLS – Lock down your fleet cards by vehicle, fuel type, time of day, and Zip Codes to ensure a either a well meaning employee doesn’t buy the wrong product or  a stolen wayward card does not rob from your bottom line.

WHOLESALE AVERAGE BASED PRICING – Buy your diesel and gasoline from a verifiable wholesale index.  Pacific Pride Commercial Cardlock sites are all based from an auditable OPIS Average market index plus our agreed margin. Know what and why you are paying for fuel.  (NOTE: Star Oilco will gladly help you audit your current fuel purchase program)

FLEXIBLE – Star Oilco can combine our fleet card program with Mobile Onsite Fueling and our billing simplifies your fuel program management by consolidating all purchases by your license plates on one invoice. Our Mobile Onsite Fueling and Commercial Cardlock invoices are combined showing you all purchases on one invoice also available for export in a CSV file.

You will first of all pick up productivity, a lack of managerial control, as well as a system that conceals employee theft is tied to the cost of buying fuel.  Move your fleet fuel purchases to Pacific Pride’s network card and save per gallon as well by restricting the fuel purchases you would not want.

Now is the time to look at your total cost of fuel.

Let us help you audit your fuel program.

We will help you clarify your bill by showing what you pay, what’s in that cost of fuel, and how you can save going forward. We do this by concentrating on one fact: there are only three fees in the total cost of a gallon of gas or diesel.

How we approach buying commercial fuel with a gas card.  There are only three parts of your fuel cost.  Let us help you understand what you pay for fuel:

  1. The commodity cost of fuel (the wholesale and verifiable fuel cost itself),

  2. The fuel taxes charged by the feds, state, and local governments on top of that, and;

  3. The margin your fuel vendor puts on top of those two very transparent costs.

Fuel bill audit best practices

Tax time is a good time to revisit your policies and systems.

Let us audit your bill and catch inconsistencies and over charges.

We have a transparent way to analyze your fuel expense that breaks it down in an easily understood format. Our approach will demystify what you’re paying in fuel so you can grab control of your gasoline and diesel bills. Our mission is to ‘Keep it Simple’ and make fuel make sense. There are several types of expenses that get added to your cost of fuel.

Pacific Pride Fuel Security

At Star Oilco, we ‘Keep it Simple’ when analyzing fuel bills.

Today, two trends can be witnessed in the Pacific Northwest: fuel prices are all over the place, and wages are rising against that trend. This makes managing for a low cost of gasoline or diesel extremely hard given the labor that might be involved in chasing that price.

Add to that the fact that retail gas stations are keeping more margins than ever in retail fuel history. With minimum wages approaching $15 in parts of the Pacific NW, the cost of retail gas stations is rising faster than inflation.

Stand-alone commercial cardlock locations such as Pacific Pride and CFN help you save on your own labor, as well as avoid the higher retail cost. One additional feature is you can audit a commercial cardlock fuel seller against the commercial wholesale rack price. Retail sellers promising discounts are discounting from a posted price that is based solely on what they decide a good price can be. Today, that’s a historically high margin above wholesale cost price.

Dig into your bill for an understanding of what you are paying and what you are paying for. Let us demystify the fees, charges, and hard-to-understand line items of our competitors. It seems that many of our competitors, much like cell phone companies, want to give you a bill that is as complex as possible so it’s difficult for you to understand your cost of fuel.

We can clarify your bill by showing what you pay, what’s in that cost of fuel, and how you can save going forward. Commodity cost of the fuel, fuel taxes and the margin of the vendor make up every fuel bill.

Wholesale Fuel Cost + Taxes + Margin = Total Fuel Cost

These three costs can be audited and confirmed. When we quote a prospective customer, we take their existing fuel bill and break it down into a spreadsheet that is easy to understand thanks to these definable costs. Take your existing fuel bill. Choose a few locations that are most commonly used by your fleet. Usually just the two most-used sites are enough to gauge if savings can be gained by changing vendors. Focus on the cost there, as this simplifies your focus as a representative sample of your fuel expenses.

In a spreadsheet, make easy-to-read tabs for each fuel and location. Then gather the dates fuel was bought at each location. Place the date and the price per gallon paid in their own columns. Now you know your cost. In the next column, enter the wholesale price of fuel to compare. This is going to be pretty close to what your fuel vendor was paying for it on that day give or take a few pennies.

The commodity cost of fuel is established in the market. Though different size players have discounts, these discounts are usually pennies per gallon and aren’t substantial overall. You can request a 30 day free trial of the Oil Price Information Service or “OPIS” for your local wholesale market for fuel. Government bids often use this service as a transparent bid price for fuel. NOTE: If you are buying with a Pacific Pride or CFN fleet card that uses stand-alone 24-7 commercial cardlock sites, the price will be based on OPIS as well. If you want help with this, Star Oilco can provide you with a copy of OPIS.

After that, the next column is the fuel taxes on that fuel. In another column next to the wholesale cost of fuel, you place the local taxes associated with that fueling site. Your state will usually have a “Fuel Tax Group” or some variation of that name where the state’s website will list all state and municipal taxes.

After seeing the wholesale cost and fuel taxes charged, all that remain is the margin. Many fuel sellers will try to complicate this by passing costs through, but at the end of the day, this is still their markup regardless of what they call it. This enables you to really have a discussion on what price you are charged to use their fleet card.

Our next step is to determine the typical margin you are being charged. Take the real price you paid on a day. Your next column on the spreadsheet will be the following formula:
NOTE: Margin Charged is the result that should be in your new column.

(Cell with the ACTUAL PRICE PAID) – (Cell with the WHOLESALE COST) – (Cell with FUEL TAXES) = MARGIN CHARGED

If you line up all the days for MARGIN CHARGED and average those (select a cell at the bottom of the column and type “=AVG” and select the data in the MARGIN CHARGED column), you will find the average margin. Usually this is about the same on every one of the sheets for the type of fuel you are buying. Diesel and gasoline margins are typically different. Retail gas stations, in particular, will treat diesel like a premium product so don’t be surprised if those margins are over $.40 a gallon in some places.

If you want help with this, call us!

We will empower you with the knowledge of what your vendor is charging you and determine if it is a fair price for the service. Beyond that, there should be no other costs. If your vendor has other costs (fees, invoice charges, etc.), we’ll show you what those really cost per gallon so you understand your true cost fuel.

Star Oilco makes this clear and easy to understand. Let us know if we can help.

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For more on what is required to self serve gasoline as a small business in Oregon.

For more on Fueling Solutions developed for small businesses dedicated to managing a fleet and drivers for local Delivery. 

Call for service.

 

 

 

Pacific Pride commercial fuel station with service vehicles fueling
7 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft Before it Happens 1024 556 Star Oilco

7 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft Before it Happens
STOP FUEL THEFT

IN YOUR BUSINESS TO REALLY SAVE ON YOUR COST OF DIESEL AND GASOLINE

Save money by managing  your diesel and gasoline fleet cards. Know who, how, and where fuel is bought.

In the new world of diesel and gasoline over $5 you need a strategy to control where and how fuel is bought by your business.

Controlling your fuel expense can be time consuming and vital for any business. We recommend approaching it from a Human Resource management perspective.

Seize control of the use of fuel cards with real time feedback:

  • Who is buying
  • What type of fuel
  • Where it’s bought
  • When are they buying

Set a clear standard and make sure you put controls on your fleet cards to ensure you keep honest employees from doing something that requires discipline.  Below are some of the best practices for controlling your fleet’s fuel purchases.

7 Ways to Stop Fuel Theft Before it Happens

Why Pacific Pride and CFN Fleet Cards?

Often we are asked how to save money on fueling a small business fleet.  Usually the biggest cost isn’t the pennies you save per gallon, but the gallons you can save by stopping theft.  To save money on gasoline, make sure you aren’t paying for thieves to use your small business fuel cards.

Every fuel business seeks to avoid fuel slippage – the loss of fuel due to theft, waste or buying the wrong and/or more expensive fuel product. How can you secure the slippage, once and for all?  These steps not only help with managing employees, but they can help you spot unusual purchases from stolen or skimmed cards. Skimming is when thieves hide a device that copies cards information and pin information. Thieves then clone the card and can attempt to use them in other locations.  Using fuel cards vs Credit cards can save owners thousands of dollars.  Employees have less access to non-authorized purchases and thieves can’t use fuel cards to purchase other items.

Star Oilco can help you establish a program to eliminate fuel slippage that includes an easy-to-use management process and enforcement of a “No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy.”

Star Oilco has a simple and effective approach designed to empower you to easily manage your fuel cards.

Cardlock and secure fleet cards have been around since the 1970s and oddly enough, our competitors fail to field them properly. Star Oilco is here to help and would like to give you some simple and efficient practices to eliminate fuel slippage. We have an easy to implement strategy to lock down your cardlock and fleet cards in order to knock out the opportunity for fuel theft in your business.

Fuel cards assigned to the vehicle not the person

By attaching the fuel cards to the vehicle and not the human being, you immediately break the driver’s belief that the company is providing fuel to them and not the company vehicle.

That’s why we recommend you attach the fleet card to the vehicle key chain and NOT in a driver’s wallet. For additional security, employ a Corporate Fleet Card that is secured by a PIN.  Star Oilco recommends either Pacific Pride or CFN, both of which are in the Fuelman Network. Star Oilco will provide you with a keychain designed to hold up to two fleet cards.

Each Person has a secret PIN

Use a “Floating PIN” system where every member of the team has a secret PIN that is only to be used by them.

We recommend attaching fuel cards to the vehicle key chain and having each driver use their own secret PIN to purchase fuel. With this secret PIN, Star Oilco’s Fuel Cards track their name with every fuel purchase. Their name will appear next to the transaction on the bill and on an E-Receipt confirming who bought what, when, and where. This personalizes all fuel usage. Many companies already have a secret PIN policy around time cards and clocking in and out of work. This Best Practice stacks well with that.

Enforce a "No Tolerance Fuel Theft"

Implement and enforce a “No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” that every employee must sign.

Policies vary but should generally include language that requires the use of a fleet card for fuel purchases, states that PIN use is tracked by employee, confirms that employees are held accountable for any wrongdoing associated with their PIN and acknowledges that fuel theft will lead to immediate termination.  Star Oilco’s approach documents and provides evidence as well as real time knowledge for you to respond and ensure a fuel theft culture doesn’t grow in your business.

If you have fuel thieves in your business, make sure you document it at a Human Resource level.  In many states a first time a fuel thief is caught they may still qualify for unemployment when dismissed.  A No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy when you on-board a new employee protects your from thieves getting away with it at the expense of your business.

Set-up E-Receipts for purchases

Use E-Receipts to reinforce your fuel policy.

An E-Receipt is a real-time email showing who bought what fuel, when and where, as it happens. Make sure this E-Receipt is going to several levels in your office, where employees are paying attention to what your drivers are doing.  If your fleet knows that their fuel purchases are completely transparent, they will think twice before doing something convenient for themselves over what the company needs. When a driver buys the wrong product, or was getting fuel out of route, you can follow up immediately to reinforce your fuel policies without waiting for a bill to show up at the end of the month. This is a great tool to spot additional transactions that may not be coming from your employees.  “Get an email every time your fleet stops for fuel” is another article that talks about this if you would like more information.

Limit hours and locations for Usage
Star Oilco can limit your fuel cards to work only during your business hours and/or within your territory.

Whether your territory is an entire state or limited to specific zip codes, you can define where your fleet can get fuel and where they cannot. And to avoid late night or early morning fuel theft, consider disabling your fuel cards during specified periods of the day or week, so that your cards don’t work when you don’t want them being used. This can easily be done as you need it by either contacting Star Oilco and asking us to do it for you, or by logging into your online Pacific Pride / CFN portal to set these restrictions yourself.  Cards with limits are less attractive to thieves the more you can limit the usage the less appealing your card is for skimming thieves.

Limit the amount of fuel per purchase

Set up your cards to only allow for a certain quantity or specific grade of fuel.

Consider limiting the volume of fuel purchased to match the size of a vehicle’s tank. Also, limit the number of transactions per day as well. That way, if for some reason that card gets stolen and someone has a working PIN, their theft is thoroughly limited.

Review your bill - Annual audit at least

Ask your vendor to review of all the cards and PINs you’ve used throughout the year.

Star Oilco seeks to do this annually. As per the state of Oregon (where Star Oilco is located), we receive a Fire Marshall audit every year and as they audit our cardlock records, we do the same and review every card and PIN for that year. You should do this too and Star Oilco can help. We recommend turning off all cards that are not being regularly used, which also allows you to adjust other details as needed. If you would like more information about this ‘What’s in a “Keep it Simple Fuel Audit”’ tells a little more about how we can review your current bill and simplify what you’re spending, where you’re spending it and give you tips on how to save some money.

Why use Commercial Cardlock over a retail gas station fleet card?

Commercial Cardlock locations in the CFN and Pacific Pride network are designed for business.  Fast and easy in and out to save your business on labor as well as far more competitive prices especially on diesel.  In Oregon where self serve gasoline is limited there are rules to using fleet cards at stand along cardlock locations.  Here are the rules involved with getting a Pacific Pride or CFN commercial cardlock card which enables you 24-7-365 access to stand alone commercial fuel stations.

If you would like to learn more fill out the following form.

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Pacific Pride fuel card network sign against a blue sky
What does a business need to use Pacific Pride or CFN in Oregon? 1024 931 Star Oilco

What does a business need to use Pacific Pride or CFN in Oregon?

How to Get a Pacific Pride fuel card in Oregon

If you have ever wondered what was required to use a stand alone commercial cardlock location in Oregon – we have answers.  Any user of diesel can self serve diesel at a Pacific Pride or CFN cardlock.  If you need gasoline for a commercial purpose in Oregon and buy over 900 gallons a year you can pump your own gas at a Pacific Pride commercial cardlock.

Proud provider of Pacific Pride and CFN Fleet Cardlock CardsStar Oilco is an Independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

Pacific Pride and CFN stand-alone cardlock sites allow commercial users to self serve gasoline 24-7 with security you can not get at any retail station.

Get your employees out of gas lines and ensure control over what they buy.

 

Pacific Pride and CFN are the most secure and convenient ways to buy commercial fuel.

Corporate gas cards are extremely attractive to thieves.  If you are a large purchaser of fuel, having a clear system in place to secure your employee’s fuel buying will be the single most critical component to control your cost of fuel. If you have a small fleet of even one vehicle every purchase can mean the difference of a profit or loss for that day.  Controlling where, when, what fuel, and how much they can buy at some point will be the biggest cost saving strategy you can have. Otherwise fuel theft will creep.

Use Pacific Pride commercial cardlock so your business has twenty-four hour access to fuel.

Star Oilco fleet card program has a clear and simple system to enable your business to seize control of fleet fuel purchases.

If you have a fleet operated by employees and face regular turn over in your business, you are exposing your business to fuel theft. You have to ensure these vehicles can get fuel, while not endangering your bottom line to thieves either inside or outside of your business.

Pacific Pride and CFN fuel cards are designed for small business fleets in mind. They are gas or diesel fleet card options focused on eliminating theft in your operation. They are designed to protect small businesses from fuel theft and give management control over when, where, and what is bought. However, Oregon has limits on self-serve in urban areas. Therefore, there are rules associated with using unattended fleet cards, or “cardlock” fueling, as it is commonly called.

Using Commercial Cardlock in Oregon is a solution to both fuel theft and lost driver productivity.

Whether you are a large dispersed fleet or a small business with a fleet of one.  We can secure your fueling needs from theft. Send any questions you have our way.

Use of a fleet card dedicated for service at a commercial cardlock is the best way to secure your fleet from fuel theft. This will guarantee you seize control of your fleet fueling. For this reason, in Oregon where self-serve is not the standard way of fueling, far more stand-alone 24-7 cardlock locations are available under the Pacific Pride and CFN brands. In Oregon, gasoline is not legally dispensed without a few safety precautions required by Oregon state, so there are other factors a business needs to consider in using it.

Oregon law does not allow self-serve gasoline along the I-5 corridor.  Diesel is legally allowed for self-serve, but gasoline as a Class 1 flammable liquid is not. “Class 1 Flammable Liquid” means any liquid with a flash point below 25 degrees Fahrenheit.  Note: Diesel fuel is not a Class 1 flammable liquid.  Therefore the Oregon fire marshal has rules restricting the use of commercial cardlock gasoline for individual uses. For commercial uses, Pacific Pride, CFN, Comdata, Voyager and other commercial cardlock networks are allowed for businesses in Oregon.  If you are a fleet operator or an individual outside of Oregon, these requirements do not apply in your home state, but if you substantially operate in Oregon, the state fire marshal will have an expectation of these rules applying to you.

Pacific Pride Fueling Network Provider

What are the rules for using commercial cardlock in Oregon?

  • Business usage is required for gasoline cardlock fleet card use in Oregon (not any other state).
  • If you are using solely diesel, commercial cardlock is available to everyone (individuals and businesses).
  • If you are planning on fueling gasoline vehicles, you must have a business license (or prove it’s for commercial use).
    • NOTE: Self-serve laws have changed and allow for rural Oregonians outside of the Willamette Valley to use cardlock for self-serve in parts of Oregon. Call Star Oilco for more information on this.
  • To access gasoline at cardlock in Oregon, you must be able to prove that you use over 900 gallons of fuel a year.
  • To access gasoline at cardlock in Oregon, someone in your business must also take a Oregon Fire Marshal Safety Test.
    • NOTE: Message Star Oilco below for a copy of the Oregon Fire Marshal Safety Test.

If you have questions about Pacific Pride or other cardlock systems please don’t hesitate to contact Star Oilco with any questions you may have. Star Oilco has a long tradition of making cardlock easy for businesses large and small. In particular, we specialize in helping you secure fuel usage to eliminate fuel theft and reduce any chance or opportunity for thieves.

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For More on Using Fleet Cards and Cardlock Cards as a Management Tool:

For more on using a cardlock card as a Pre-Set Fuel Card similar to a prepaid credit card please read this article. 

Star Oilco recommends that fleets use a “Zero Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” as an Human Resource tool to document that fuel theft is a firing offense on the first event. For more information and an example of a “Zero Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” please see this article.

If you are interested in using a secure Commercial Cardlock card with Wet-Hose Refueling together as a fuel buying and labor efficiency strategy, here is an article on improving your fleet fueling efficiency. 

For a downloadable white paper on how to eliminate fuel theft in your business please see www.NoMoreFuelTheft.com for this shareable PDF.

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On Site Refueling in Oregon 1024 664 Star Oilco

On Site Refueling in Oregon

6 reasons to use Wet-Hose diesel and gasoline fleet fueling in Portland, Oregon.

The best strategic decision to reduce needless driver hours and keep your fleet on the route without excuses.

Mobile Onsite Fleet Fueling Service for diesel and gasoline available in Oregon and Washington.

If some days you have more work than drivers…  Wet Hose Fleet Fueling is your solution!

 

There is a reason that fueling on-site and after hours is the preferred fueling method of growing fleets in the Pacific Northwest.  The fleet refueling solution that solves the complex problem of dispatching in a world short of drivers and facing unpredictable traffic. Mobile Onsite refueling or “Wet Hose” fueling is a solution that will push more money to your bottom line and reduce stress on your drivers.  Star Oilco can also merge our mobile onsite refueling service with our national Fleet Card system to give you one bill and easy reports for your fuel tax reporting by license plate and equipment number.

 One bill for On Site Fueling and Fleet Cards, labor saving in town and low prices over the road. 

Make your IFTA and PUC’s fuel reporting simple.

Secured fleet fueling while over the road.  Simple labor saving fueling in your yard.  Track equipment by license plate and equipment number on one invoice.

Reefer trailer fuel service

  6 Reasons to Use Wet Hose or Mobile Onsite Refueling

On Site refueling or “Wet Hosing” is a preferred method for fueling these days. Fleets of all sizes prefer getting their fleet fueling delivered after hours in their yard. The reasons are numerous but at the top of the list, labor is the driving force behind it.

Shaving off even fifteen minutes of labor–which is one of the two highest costs for most fleets, right after diesel–can have a huge payback to the bottom line.

If your fleet is consistently on overtime or short that one extra hour of legal driver time, picking up fifteen to thirty minutes per truck a few times a month can be a huge opportunity. If your drivers always seem to be bleeding into overtime or missed stops, you want on-site fueling.

Streamlining their route without a consideration for fuel will pay back rapidly. With a simple change in what a driver has to consider at the start and finish of their day, efficiencies are immediately seen with wet hose fueling. Most of all, this is seen if you are pulling your drivers out of the productivity killing vortex that is truckstops. Truckstops may show a good diesel price but they are making it up when your drivers wait in line inside the store while on the clock.

Call Star Oilco if you have questions and want to examine the payback value of Wet Hose Refueling compared against your current vendor for diesel. You might be surprised how much it will save you in time, money and management effort.

Six reasons why you should consider wet-hose diesel fueling:

  1. Driver Time – The most valuable resource your fleet owns.

    • Truck drivers are a limited resource and they cost more than you can usually measure in money alone. Without calculating the lost productivity of your truck, you are paying over $10 each time your drivers stop for fuel. The out of route stopping, refueling, and getting back on the road time could be half hour of lost time. As the average fill up we see is under 50 gallons, fueling your own trucks will cost you $.20 to $.50 a gallon in labor costs alone.

  2. One More Stop – Picking up productivity in your fleet.

    • Getting drivers on the road and without a reason to be out of route pays back dividends. If you pay productivity bonuses, your most productive drivers will thank you as well. Even in fleets where pay is by stop, not based on hourly wages, the ability those few times a year when drivers are so busy they are bumping up against DOT work rules, they will thank you for the convenience of being ready to go the start of each shift and not having to worry about that one more stop on the way back to base. A few extra stops a year is often worth thousands of dollars to your bottom line–more than a cost of a tank of diesel.

  3. Control Fuel Taxes – Track your taxes without chasing paper receipts.

    • Pay the right taxes. We have audited and seen where mobile on-site refueling pays back thousands of dollars in savings. Typically from just this often unnoticed needless expense alone. In Oregon many small towns have add-on taxes of their own that hide out in your fuel bill. Portland, Oregon’s diesel tax is a $.10 a gallon (or more for weight mile). Regardless, you can avoid these taxes and nail down a totally known cost of fuel.

  4. Control Your Type of Fuel – Ensure you are getting Premium Diesel, Dyed Diesel, or B20 Biodiesel.

    • If you are trying to guarantee the highest performance in your fleet the quality of your diesel matters. To guarantee you receive Premium Diesel, ensure one point of responsibility for the diesel fueling of your equipment.
    • Easily track what fuel went where for tax purposes. Wethose fueling provides the gallons moved by piece of equipment, license plate, and even VIN if that’s what you want it tracked by. Make fuel tax reporting easy and consolidated.
    • If you are working to guarantee a low CO2 footprint for sustainability reasons. Wethose fueling services are a great way to simplify that effort. Commercial prices for B20 Biodiesel are often more competitive than retailers selling the fuel as premium product as well. Additionally, with a single fuel vendor you can track back the source of the fuel for CO2 or other footprint analysis. Know what your impacts are.

  5. Easily integrates with cardlock and other fleet cards onto one bill.

    • If you have a major hub with a critical mass of trucks in town, wet-hosing yPride Advantage Sample Cardour fleet can pay back rapidly. Even if the majority of your fleet is over the road and out of town, on-site refueling can be a money saving proposition. You can also integrate it seamlessly with a Pacific Pride, CFN, Fuelman, Voyager or other fleet card program as well. Star Oil can provide a Pacific Pride or Fuelman card that will work over the road consolidating all your fuel into one bill. Star can also accept Fuelman, Comdata, WEX or Voyager and bill those fleet cards directly with onsite refueling. If your fleet uses one of these national fleet cards, call us to move to wet hosing. We bill directly to the card and license plate of each one of your trucks. (For further reading on corporate fleet card security features please read our article on Upgrade your Fleet Card’s Security Features.)

  6. Cost Plus Diesel – Budget to know every day you are getting a good wholesale rate for your fleet.

    • Star Oilco can connect your fleet to an agreed and easily verifiable cost plus supply agreements. Be it OPIS Average or Low Rack Plus agreements, we can guarantee you have a good wholesale price of fuel.  You can also use B20 Biodiesel or Renewable Diesel fuels at a discount price to reduce your fleet’s emissions if that is a priority for you.  Onsite refueling will provide a simplified fleet management experience for both your drivers and your Accounts Payable department. Call us if you want to talk about what this can do for your business. ( For further reading on the benefits of premium diesel and a wholesale partner for diesel, read our article on What is the benefit of Premium Diesel versus untreated diesel?)

Contact Star Oilco with any questions you may have about Wet Hose Fueling your fleet.  

We are here to serve you and make Mobile Onsite Fueling simple.

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For more on Fleet Fueling Best Practices read these other Star Oilco articles:

Upgrade your Fleet Card’s Security Features

The difference between Portland, Oregon Diesel and the rest of Oregon.

Seven ways to stop fuel theft before it happens.

Eliminate Fuel Theft and Save Money

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BioGuard Plus 6 Stabilize Your Diesel Tank 1024 683 Star Oilco

BioGuard Plus 6 Stabilize Your Diesel Tank

Fight Humbug in your Diesel Tank!

Fall weather is around the corner and moisture is depositing in your diesel tank.

Treat your diesel; keep things from growing in your diesel.

Prepare your diesel fuel, heating oil, kerosene, or boiler fuel for storage.

Make sure your fuel works when you need it. If you have a bulk diesel tank, stop stuff from growing in your diesel before it starts.

Star Oilco provides complementary diesel fuel quality testing for tanks in our service area.

Valvtect BioGuard Plus 6

Valvtect Plus 6 – Stabilizer and Biocide

Use every spring and winter to guarantee your tank is not providing a habitat to fuel system spoiling microbes.

Water in diesel is a fact of life these days. Biological growth spoiling your fuel quality does not have to be. Ultralow sulfur diesel and biodiesel have water in them. Over time, water entrained in your diesel fuel can fall out of solution. Add to that they condensation that will natural develop in your fuel tank and you have an environment for hum-bug to grow in your heating oil, diesel, or boiler fuel storage tank.

 

If you are storing diesel for longer than six months you want to stabilize that fuel.

In the summer when temperatures swing at night, your tank is breathing air in and out.  If it is raining, your tank is likely also breathing in the water. With the rainy season and long after it passes, be aware that water is everywhere unless you work to seal it out of your fuel storage system.  You can use a desiccant breather as a way to filter moisture from the atmosphere from getting into our tank.

If your tank does not have a desiccant breather on it, your fuel tank can collect condensation. As air moves in and out of the tank with temperature changes, moisture will collect on the wall of the tank. Yeasts, bacteria, fungi, and algae can grow in that water which collects on the bottom of the tank. Make sure your tank is not a habitat for growing bugs every spring and winter.

Microbiological growth in diesel fuel, also known as “humbug” in fuel, can start growing and if unchecked, will wreak havoc with your fleet. Once it starts in your fuel tank it will spread throughout your fleet. If you see a random need to spin filters between services or odd fuel-related maintenance issues, you likely have bugs growing in your fuel tanks.

Star Oilco recommends BioGuard Plus 6 as a regular biocide for routine maintenance.  

BioGuard Plus 6 is the only EPA certified biocide product that has both a biocide as well as a fuel stabilizer with detergent in one product. This detergent stabilizer acts as an aggressive tank cleaner (NOTE: BioGuard available without Plus 6).

When using Valvtect BioGuard, treat first with a kill, done in your bulk diesel storage. That will spread and kill the growing bugs in your fleet. Maintenance will clean up any remaining bacteria. If you do not have a known or seen problem, a kill twice a year is a great way to guarantee it does not appear and treat the individual tanks of your fleet.

ValvTect BioGuard™ PLUS 6Valvtect BioGuard Plus 6

BioGuard® Plus 6™ is the ONLY EPA registered diesel additive that combines a biocide with a multi-functional diesel additive to prevent bacteria, algae and all other major diesel related problems.

BioGuard Plus 6 is the perfect solution for ultra low sulfur diesel and biodiesel problems; such as bacteria, algae, excess water, sludge, filter plugging, injector wear & deposits, poor fuel economy and unstable fuel.

Only BioGuard Plus 6 prevents bacteria and algae growth, plus:

  • Stabilizes fuel for up to 2 years
  • Prevents rust and corrosion
  • Lubricates pumps and injectors
  • Cleans-up injector deposits
  • Disperses moisture
  • Increases cetane

ValvTect BioGuard Plus 6
“It’s ALL Your Diesel Fuel Needs!”

32 oz Bottle treats 375 Gallons
1 Gallon Bottle treats 1500 Gallons
Also available in 2.5 Gallon Plastic Bottles, 55 Gallon Drums and 300 Gallon Totes

BioGuard ULS Fuel Microbiocide

BioGuard is an EPA registered dual soluble (fuel & water) microbiocide that effectively kills bacteria and fungi that grow in diesel fuel, heating oil and gasoline. It prevents bacteria caused filter plugging and bacteria caused corrosion of the fuel system.

BioGuard typically works in 2-3 hours versus 24-36 hours needed by other biocide products. BioGuard has also been found to be up to twice as effective as other biocides.

This additive can be used in all diesel and gasoline bulk tanks and vehicle tanks, including marine, farm, truck fleet, home heat, generators, and railroad storage tanks.

  • Kills bacteria and other biocontamination quickly
  • Twice as effective as other biocides
  • Breaks up sludge and slime
  • Prevents bacteria plugged filters
  • Prevents bacteria caused corrosion
  • Bottle contains easy measuring spout

16 oz. container treats 460 gallons of diesel fuel at the initial kill treat rate.
16 oz. container treats 920 gallons of diesel fuel at the maintenance treat rate.

 

For a more in depth description of Valvtect BioGuard Plus 6 please click here.

If you have any questions about routine tank maintenance or to order Valvtect BioGuard products, please don’t hesitate to contact Star Oilco directly by email, message, or phone.

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For more information on storing diesel fuel please see the following articles from Star Oilco:

If you are interested in getting a Diesel Storage tank Star Oilco can help.

For a great document on everything diesel we recommend this Diesel Technical Review.

For best practices on storing generator fuel we recommend reading this Emergency Back Up Generator Fuel Storage.

If you are trying to keep your stored diesel dry here is an article we wrote on Desiccant Breathers for your fuel tanks.

If you are looking at getting serious about Diesel Fuel Quality Assurance here is an article we wrote about keeping your diesel cleaner and drier.

Modern fuel station with multiple fuel dispensers and no vehicles
Use Pacific Pride Fuel Cards as a Management Tool 1024 428 Star Oilco

Use Pacific Pride Fuel Cards as a Management Tool

 

Pacific Pride fuel cards. Stop employee fuel theft by using the Star Oilco Fuel Card solution.

Star Oilco Pacific Pride Pride Advantage Card

The turn-key fuel card solution for small business seeking to stop employee fuel theft.

Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride card can give you control over when and where fuel is purchased.

Use Pacific Pride fuel cards as a management tool for your business.  With rising gas prices and a shortage of drivers being  a problem, secure your fleet cards to keep honest people honest.  Remove the temptation and save money in your small business.

 

Use Preset fuel cards to control every gallon of fuel your employees buy.

Make managing drivers buying fuel a simple system that let your dispatch know in real time as fuel is purchased.

We promise the highest level of control for your small business.  Star Oilco offers human support designed to make it easy for a small business. Our moto is to Keep it Simple. We help you deploy and manage your secure fleet card program in your business.  You have enough to manage and don’t need another website to log into. We make it easy for you to know who bought what, when, and where — in real time — to better manage the buying decisions by your drivers.  We will make sure you are successful.

Star Oilco Crest

You can use Star Oilco’s Pacific Pride card to:

  • Know who – the name of the driver purchasing and the vehicle they have
  • What fuels – control the products available to avoid costly premium gas purchases
  • Control gallons – the total gallons that can be bought at one time
  • Limit transactions – control the number of transactions a fuel card can have in one day
  • Time – predetermine the time of day that a fuel card can be used
  • Where – zip codes or states that a fuel card can be used in

The Star Oilco secure Pacific Pride card- The best option to knock out fuel theft.

Pacific Pride, CFN, WEX, Voyager and other fleet cards all have similar tools. We find that small businesses need one extra tool: a human being on the other side.  Star Oilco helps make sure the total program is working. We assist in your team grabbing control of every drop, every dollar and every driver.

We are your partner in Fleet Card and Cardlock Card success.

Star Oilco makes sure you are successful in fielding a secure fuel card.  We keep things simple and we make it easy for you. This is done with the obvious human element and best practices to complete the full value that a secured fuel card offers.

Call us and get to know what makes us different!

You tell us what you need and we’ll consult with you to get a working card program.

How Star Oilco secures your business from fuel thieves.

This is what we recommend for your non-management cards:

  1. Secure your fleet card to a vehicle (attached to the license plate on the bill or place the fleet card on the key ring of the vehicle).
  2. Designate your vehicle cards to only work in the state’s zip codes that you service during the times of day you operate as a business.
  3. Give each driver a unique and secret PIN attached to their name (so when they use a card, their name appears on the bill next to the transaction).
  4. Implement a “No Tolerance Fuel Theft Policy” with your Human Resource policy. Have every employee sign a contract with your business that they own their personal secret PIN and it is only for them to use. Star Oilco can provide a recommended policy for you to use. Then, if they share their PIN with someone else, they will be responsible for anything that happens. If theft is happening, it is a “No Tolerance” dismissal offense on the first occurrence.
  5. Use the e-receipts to see in real-time fuel purchases. An electronic receipt is emailed to your Controller or Dispatcher to watch for off-policy fuel usage in real time, which allows your Dispatch or Management to respond the same day to questionable decisions around fuel cards.

Now, imagine how this works for your business in practice.

You can set up restrictions by days of the week, hours of the day or even by zip codes. If your business does not operate on weekends, turn off the fuel cards during the times you do not operate. If your fleet is never on the road before 7am and is back at home by 7pm every night, set up those time restrictions to make it that much harder for fuel theft to occur.  If you need to update this, change something, order cards, etc., just call our office and we take care of that update for you.

With our e-receipts, your Dispatch will get an email every time fuel is purchased. You will see where, what, when and with whom this occurs. You can reinforce your company fuel policies at the local level the same day — No more waiting for the bill to see if a driver did something that cost you money. By seizing control of your fuel, your drivers will also respond to your new level of control as well. By having control and transparency of what your drivers do, they will require less management as they know you are watching.

Often the most controllable expense related with fuel is the fuel that might slip through a business due to unethical employees or outside theft. Fuel slippage is the industry term for unauthorized fuel taking. With Pacific Pride cardlock fuel, you can take control over fuel purchases and avoid the loss up front with card controls. Contact Star Oilco for a total fuel security solution for your business.

 

Seize control with Star Oilco’s corporate fleet card solutions.

Star Oilco will assign you a Card Administrator to help you be successful with this.  Where other programs promise tools but don’t follow up, we follow up.  We are here to make sure you are successful with our program.  Human beings answer our phones and long term employees staff your needs being met.

If you have further questions about Pacific Pride and control of your fleet fueling, call us at 503-283-1256 or contact us using the form below.

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Star Oilco has a white paper outlining how you can secure your business from internal fuel thieves. To download this guide on fleet card best practices please go to www.NoMoreFuelTheft.com or message Star Oilco for help.

Star Oilco is a proud and independent Franchisee of Pacific Pride

Pacific Pride Commercial Fuel Card

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Bulk Transporter Article on Star Oilco B99 Biodiesel use 1008 350 Star Oilco

Bulk Transporter Article on Star Oilco B99 Biodiesel use

Star Oilco graces the pages of Bulk Transporter Magazine.

Read the Bulk Transporter Magazine article about Star Oilco’s pioneering use of B99 Biodiesel in 105,500 GVW petroleum truck and trailers in the Pacific Northwest.

You can read the article by following the link below.

Star Oilco delivers sustainable fuels to Oregon in near-zero carbon trucks

 

 

If you want to talk about what Star Oilco has been doing with B99 as a major transportation fuel we look forward to talking.

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