Fuel capacity question

Bill_R · Jul 25, 2021

HRL383 said:
Hum……intentionally driving ‘til running out of gas.🤦‍♂️

I remember years ago, a guy that worked in another department, decided he would figure out what mileage he gets per gallon of gas. He ran his vehicle out of gas, had a gas can that held a gallon and drove till it ran out of gas…..again. Then he said that was the mileage he was getting!🙄. I don’t think he had all his marbles in one bag! There are other stories of things that happened to him or what he had done and it makes you wonder about him.

stevepeq · Jul 25, 2021

brunet3000 said:
Your math is correct. You're just using the wrong formula.

Could you explain further? Which math is right, and what is the right formula?

silkiechicken · Jul 25, 2021

Ned Puddleman said:
As a general rule when I travel I don't let it get below 100 miles on the computer before I fill up. We live in a year of shortages and you can't exactly depend on stations being open and having gas. As a teenager I ran out of gas sitting on a Florida freeway in the summer heat due to being backed up in a multi vehicle accident.

I also like to refill circa 100 miles left.... Last thing I want to do is get stranded due to traffic or some other unfortunate event as my daily commute is 86 miles.

HRL383 · Jul 25, 2021

Bill_R said:
I remember years ago, a guy that worked in another department, decided he would figure out what mileage he gets per gallon of gas. He ran his vehicle out of gas, had a gas can that held a gallon and drove till it ran out of gas…..again. Then he said that was the mileage he was getting!🙄. I don’t think he had all his marbles in one bag! There are other stories of things that happened to him or what he had done and it makes you wonder about him.

Wonder if there will ever be a vaccine for SFB Syndrome?🤷‍♂️

HRL383 · Jul 25, 2021

Mods, please delete. Thanks.

HRL383 · Jul 25, 2021

Razor said:
You’re driving a truck. Put some spare gas cans in the back. 😉

Shush…..somebody will actually do that.

F6Hawk · Jul 25, 2021

HRL383 said:
Hum……intentionally driving ‘til running out of gas.🤦‍♂️

How ELSE would you know how long it will go, pray tell? My tarot card subscription had JUST run out...

HRL383 said:
Shush…..somebody will actually do that.

People have been doing that since 1900.

HRL383 · Jul 25, 2021

Yep…..you got me there. I do carry a 5 gal. container for mower gas from our house, to the station and back to the house, in the bed…..securely fastened down of course, but only occasionally. Can we presume you carry gas in the bed all the time? Guess that’s a good idea since driving ‘til it stalls out.

F6Hawk · Jul 25, 2021

HRL383 said:
Yep…..you got me there. I do carry a 5 gal. container for mower gas from our house, to the station and back to the house, in the bed…..securely fastened down of course, but only occasionally. Can we presume you carry gas in the bed all the time? Guess that’s a good idea since driving ‘til it stalls out.

Well, you are free to presume whatever you want, not my place to tell you what to think, lol.

But in the instance detailed above, I kept a can of gas in my truck bed so that I would be able to get going once again when the truck ran out during the experiment. Since said experiment was completed in 2017, I have not regularly carried a can of gas in the truck. It would be really old and not usable by now.

HRL383 · Jul 25, 2021

What does the forum do with an accurate tank capacity?......roll it up and smoke it? Got to be an invaluable piece of information, but maybe not since the gauge and light are fake news at best just warning it might be a good time to fill-up. 🤷‍♂️Especially for those few that don't cary a gas can in the bed of their truck. LOL

F6Hawk · Jul 25, 2021

Well, for me it was handy knowing what to expect when the light comes on, since most people know that the light and the miles til empty are not very accurate. But I if I see the light and get fuel within 50 miles, I know I am good. (My normal method of refueling is to do so when the gas gauge hits half a tank, unless I am on a long trip)

Silver 3.5 · Jul 25, 2021

I think it’s good to know the fuel reserve once the light comes on not for daily use but for emergencies. Shortly after a hurricane event, I had to travel from NY to Boston with an empty trailer to return it. The fuel mileage was lower towing the empty box and the power outages had shut down a lot of the gas stations along the way. I started to get low on fuel and started looking for gas stations but most were out of power. Do I go off the highway and look for fuel until I find it, but if the area was badly damaged due to the hurricane, I might not find fuel? Do I stay on the highway to cover more miles and find an area that has power? So the low fuel light came on and I estimated 3 gallons of fuel at 15 mpg. That gave me the range to go further and risk going to a known gas station that might have power and fuel. The gamble paid off and I got to the station to refuel without running out. Doing this at night made it that much more fun

. So, I think it’s good to know the true limits of what you have, not for day to day use, but for those unexpected scenarios.

Regarding the post about running the vehicle out of fuel, adding a known amount, and running it until empty makes me think it is the most accurate way to measure fuel consumption. Known fuel amount and observed mileage. The click method that we all use and the 30-second top off that TFL truck uses does not guarantee the most accurate representation of fuel used. At least they use the same station and the same pump for improved consistency. So, running out of fuel is not recommended but probably the most accurate way unless someone wants to build an auxiliary fuel tank in the bed on load cells.

stevem5215 · Jul 25, 2021

I ran mine down to zero on my 17'. When I filled up at the gas station at my exit off the T-pike it filled to within 1 gallon of rated tank capacity (in the manual). So, with zero left on the miles to empty you have aprox 1 gallon of gas still in there. But, I wouldn't do that if I were you regularly. It will likely shorten the life of the in tank fuel pump. LOoking up the manufacturer on them I found a statement saying that if the pump in not cooled by the gas (running it dry) you will fry the pump prematurely. Maybe not that day but some day after wards it'll quit.

trob · Jul 26, 2021

stevem5215 said:
I ran mine down to zero on my 17'. When I filled up at the gas station at my exit off the T-pike it filled to within 1 gallon of rated tank capacity (in the manual). So, with zero left on the miles to empty you have aprox 1 gallon of gas still in there. But, I wouldn't do that if I were you regularly. It will likely shorten the life of the in tank fuel pump. LOoking up the manufacturer on them I found a statement saying that if the pump in not cooled by the gas (running it dry) you will fry the pump prematurely. Maybe not that day but some day after wards it'll quit.

In very hot weather and very low fuel especially if stuck in traffic your fuel pump will be hurting.

Fuel capacity question

Bill_R

stevepeq

silkiechicken

HRL383

HRL383

HRL383

F6Hawk

HRL383

F6Hawk

HRL383

F6Hawk

Silver 3.5

stevem5215

trob

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