Randomness (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
randomness) wrote2011-03-07 03:03 pm
randomness) wrote2011-03-07 03:03 pm
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I'm all about Some Other Answer, as we have no car. :)
Sure. :)
But what did you do when you did fill the tank in a vehicle? I mean, if you ever did fill the tank on a regular basis.
But what did you do when you did fill the tank in a vehicle? I mean, if you ever did fill the tank on a regular basis.
I do not currently own a car, but when I did I would fill it around 3/8 full.
We fill it when the little "Fill Me, Seymour!" light comes on, which is around 1/8th of a tank.
I almost always wait for the fuel indicator as well, and I count that as "empty", even if it's technically more like 1/8 tank. :-} (Mine actually seems to come on around 1 gallon remaining, out of an apparent capacity of 11 gallons.)
Technically it is when the gas light comes on, which is probably closer to 1/8. But I rarely am further than a couple of miles from a gas station, and my daily commute is shorter than the amount of gas left if I can't fill right away, as I can do it the next trip. Your "at what level" question is vague--I go seek a gas station at empty, and fill to full. Who refills their tank at full?
When on road trips I keep a closer eye on it. I have never run out of gas enough to stall.
And because my driving is very predictable, I tend to go empty about once every two weeks, and so I get a car wash at the same time at one of those drive-through washes, which is only $3 with gas. When I have to fill at a different gas station, my dusty car bugs me.
When on road trips I keep a closer eye on it. I have never run out of gas enough to stall.
And because my driving is very predictable, I tend to go empty about once every two weeks, and so I get a car wash at the same time at one of those drive-through washes, which is only $3 with gas. When I have to fill at a different gas station, my dusty car bugs me.
Your "at what level" question is vague--I go seek a gas station at empty, and fill to full.
How would you clarify the question? I mean to ask what level the respondent decides to refill the tank.
How would you clarify the question? I mean to ask what level the respondent decides to refill the tank.
I'm a slacker - I almost never fill it up unless it's on empty :) The one exception is if I'm coming across the border from the US to Canada, where I almost always fill up on the US side because gas is so much cheaper there.
No car. No gas. No problem. :-)
Sure. :)
I am wondering, though, what you did when you did fill the tank in a car, assuming you ever did so.
I suppose I should think of a way to clarify that.
I am wondering, though, what you did when you did fill the tank in a car, assuming you ever did so.
I suppose I should think of a way to clarify that.
I drive zipcars; the rule is that they must be returned with at least 1/4 tank, so I refuel then. When I drove my own car, I would refuel at the last possible moment.
I don't drive much anymore. But if I borrow somebody's car, I always refill it after I am done as a thank you for letting me borrow their car.
When I had my own car, I would refill it at around a quarter tank.
When I had my own car, I would refill it at around a quarter tank.
2) Often Rich fills it
3) What fraction does "soon after the indicator light comes on" correspond to?
3) What fraction does "soon after the indicator light comes on" correspond to?
3) What fraction does "soon after the indicator light comes on" correspond to?
I believe this is vehicle-dependent, so I thought I would leave that to the respondent to answer.
I believe this is vehicle-dependent, so I thought I would leave that to the respondent to answer.
I marked 1/8 but my refuel notice comes on at more like 1/10 remaining, and that's when I really do it.
There's a point - it's about halfway between 1/8 and Empty - where if I have to park my car facing downward on a hill, the gas is wrongly positioned to flow into the intake (or something - I've never seen the inside of my gas tank, so I'm really guessing). Therefore, I have to refill when it gets to that point, or I risk embarrassing calls to AAA.
I tend to fill mine around 1/4 tank, but if I know I'm going to be going someplace and have around or less than half tank, and think I may need to gas up enroute, then I will fill it before I start my trip.
So it really depends on the circumstances for me.
So it really depends on the circumstances for me.
Do you mean you have an all-electric car or a hybrid?
"tank" implies there's liquid fuel, not batteries, but I will certainly change the question to clarify.
"tank" implies there's liquid fuel, not batteries, but I will certainly change the question to clarify.
During the cold season, Anton told me to fill it up whenever it gets to about half a tank because he said you don't want your gas tank too empty when it's cold out. Since I grew up in lands of year round warmth, I take his word for it, although it varies depending on how cold and windy it is outside when I get close to half a tank. During the warmer months I tend to fill it up at around 1/4 tank, because I'm paranoid.
To be fair, that's sound advice, but not current. It used to be that you worried about the gas in your tank freezing, but with all the additives in gas these days it's not a problem (I believe antifreeze is one of the additives). It's more likely that gas would freeze in a pipe than the tank anyway, and that could theoretically happen no matter how full the tank is.
I grew up with "your gas tank could freeze" so I am used to filling it at 1/4 tank. Interestingly, my parents grew up in Israel, so I have no idea where they heard that adage. anyway, I found it's nice to not have to *worry* about filling the tank, so filling it at 1/4 means that I don't start the car to rush off somewhere and find i have no gas.
I grew up with "your gas tank could freeze" so I am used to filling it at 1/4 tank. Interestingly, my parents grew up in Israel, so I have no idea where they heard that adage. anyway, I found it's nice to not have to *worry* about filling the tank, so filling it at 1/4 means that I don't start the car to rush off somewhere and find i have no gas.
Because my abode is about 1/6th of a tank away from the nearest metropolitan area, if I'm at 1/4 and I expect to go metropolitan twice, I'll fill or top up. Fuel prices in NZ are rocketing at the moment.
Quite a lot of my driving is in the 100-mile round trip range (that's the round trip to my mom's house, for instance), and I don't care to set off for that with less than a quarter tank, so it seems like that's usually about where I end up filling it. If I'm just tooling around locally, though, I'll let it get to the point where the indicator comes on (just below 1/8), and then go fill it up as the last thing before I go home on that particular trip out; I've discovered through practical experience that if I decide I'll wait till the next time I head out, I will be running late that time. :)
Oh, one modifier: if it's hurricane season, I keep an eye on the weather, and if there's a storm in the Gulf at all, even if it's not predicted to head this way, I keep the gas tank pretty darn close to full, and almost never below 3/4 -- if it's nearing 3/4 and I spot a station without a line, I'll go ahead and stop to fill up. Gas stations go INSANE around here if a storm is actually headed for anywhere from Mexico to Mississippi, and if one actually comes toward us or slightly east of here, it does pretty seriously disrupt supply for a bit.
Usually it's somewhere below 1/4 but can be higher if it's Friday. This is due to passing three gas stations on the way to/from work but it requiring a special trip otherwise. Thus my fill level is most strongly correlated with my own laziness/convenience.
Yeah, I figured "My refueling decisions are not well correlated with the level of fuel currently in the tank" might be the answer for some people as well as me. :)
I object to the analog nature of the scale :-). My car has ten little boxes ("too-ticky boxes", according to Teo) that indicate the fuel level. I refuel when the tank is at 20%, unless I'm about to drive to Southern California, when I fill up regardless of what the fuel gauge shows. I was told when I bought my hybrid that it's very bad to actually run out of gas, as it's even worse to drain the battery, and it requires some kind of re-calibration when that happens. I don't remember the details, just "don't run out of gas".
:)
Alas, I am stuck with representing what most vehicles have. (I follow rental car return practice here.)
Alas, I am stuck with representing what most vehicles have. (I follow rental car return practice here.)
So i had this long answer/rant and then my internet died and took my comment along with it. Boo!
But, basically, it's funny you ask this, because this issue is a source of (minor and mostly amusing) contention in our household.
Jeff and I share the car, but he drives it to work 80% of the time and does most of the driving when we're going some place together (which matters in our car because you can't see the fuel gauge from the passenger's seat).
Back when i had my own car i always filled up before the tank reached 1/4 -- and often didn't let it get below 1/2. I just like having a tank of gas and always being ready to go.
Jeff, on the other hand, will drain the tank to empty before refilling. I think for him it's a game and he's always pushing to see how far he can go.
This drives me nuts! It totally stresses me out when he says we need gas now, because i know that basically means the light is on. I keep telling him that some day he's going to run out of gas and i'm going to laugh and refuse to help (except, of course, we both know that's a lie.)
Anyway, we can't be the only car-sharing couple with this issue, can we?
But, basically, it's funny you ask this, because this issue is a source of (minor and mostly amusing) contention in our household.
Jeff and I share the car, but he drives it to work 80% of the time and does most of the driving when we're going some place together (which matters in our car because you can't see the fuel gauge from the passenger's seat).
Back when i had my own car i always filled up before the tank reached 1/4 -- and often didn't let it get below 1/2. I just like having a tank of gas and always being ready to go.
Jeff, on the other hand, will drain the tank to empty before refilling. I think for him it's a game and he's always pushing to see how far he can go.
This drives me nuts! It totally stresses me out when he says we need gas now, because i know that basically means the light is on. I keep telling him that some day he's going to run out of gas and i'm going to laugh and refuse to help (except, of course, we both know that's a lie.)
Anyway, we can't be the only car-sharing couple with this issue, can we?
...except if I am driving out of NJ for any distance at which I expect to have to fill it _before_ returning to NJ. In which case, I fill it up in NJ.
Because it's NJ, duh.
Because it's NJ, duh.
With a motorcycle it's a little different. Motorcycles generally don't have a fuel gauge. Mine has an idiot light that comes on about halfway through the 4 gallon tank. What I do is reset the trip odometer on every fill, and estimate the tank's fullness from the mileage (I get about 40 mpg using past data). I do generally fill it by the 1/4 point, because this method is approximate, and I like the secure feeling of a fullish tank. Do not fill it brim full in warm weather, because the fuel expands some in the heat and may overflow.
Yes, this - sort of.
My bike doesn't have a fuel gauge and only holds 2 gallons, but I get ~65-75 mpg in the warmer months and ~55-60 mpg in the now-like months. I don't have any lights to indicate when my fuel is down, so I set the trip odometer at every fill and watch the regular odometer just in case the trip odometer gets reset by accident - and I like to (therefore) fill the tank when I reach some easy to remember & easy to sum up number on the regular odometer (like xyz,125 and then at xyz,250 and then at xyz,275, etc).
(My fall back low fuel warning system is that when the ride gets a little rough / the engine starts to cut out, I switch to the 1/4 gal of reserve by throwing over the petcock...and then I know I have to should really get gas before my next commute or commute+return.)
My bike doesn't have a fuel gauge and only holds 2 gallons, but I get ~65-75 mpg in the warmer months and ~55-60 mpg in the now-like months. I don't have any lights to indicate when my fuel is down, so I set the trip odometer at every fill and watch the regular odometer just in case the trip odometer gets reset by accident - and I like to (therefore) fill the tank when I reach some easy to remember & easy to sum up number on the regular odometer (like xyz,125 and then at xyz,250 and then at xyz,275, etc).
(My fall back low fuel warning system is that when the ride gets a little rough / the engine starts to cut out, I switch to the 1/4 gal of reserve by throwing over the petcock...and then I know I have to should really get gas before my next commute or commute+return.)
It's actually at "two bars" that I try to do it. I *think* the meter has ten bars, or eleven, so it's either 1/5 or 2/11.
My mom always refills hers when it gets to 1/2 on the gauge, because she *firmly* believes that it gets better mileage in the top half of the tank. No amount of explaining how the floater in the tank works can dislodge this belief; it's clearly an article of faith and not a reasoned position.
This is made *much* funnier when you know that my mom has degrees in math and petroleum engineering. :)
This is made *much* funnier when you know that my mom has degrees in math and petroleum engineering. :)
That's not an unreasonable conclusion; on my last car and my current one, the needle doesn't budge off the peg for the first 100 miles or so, then drops much more quickly once it's down past ½. Is that due to how the floater works, and if so, how does it work?
Note that I fill at "empty", but I've still got about 100 miles at that point so it's not, really. (Also, of course, leaving the US for Canada.)
I don't know what happened in NJ, but it doesn't really seem to have cheap fuel anymore. The lowest prices I see in Mass. aren't a heck of a lot more than NJ, and cheaper than what used to be the string of ultra-cheap stations on route 4 in Lee.
I don't know what happened in NJ, but it doesn't really seem to have cheap fuel anymore. The lowest prices I see in Mass. aren't a heck of a lot more than NJ, and cheaper than what used to be the string of ultra-cheap stations on route 4 in Lee.
I mostly drive a minivan, which tells me approximately how many miles until empty. The gas station is very close to our house, and we always seem to be really busy so we end up not filling it until we absolutely have to, usually when it's claiming to have less than 10 miles left.
I less frequently drive the back-up car, and I am suspicious about the gas gauge and warning light, so I tend to fill it up closer to a quarter tank because I'm not sure how much is really left.
I less frequently drive the back-up car, and I am suspicious about the gas gauge and warning light, so I tend to fill it up closer to a quarter tank because I'm not sure how much is really left.
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