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For me, when the tank is between a third and a quarter. Why risk it! Who here never fills up before the light goes on?
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Rarely but it does happen - more on the bike as it demands 98RON which requires some forward planning..!
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Filling stations are not my favourite places, so why visit them a third more often than necessary? Mapmaker's fill-up point equates to about 450 miles from full in my Volvo, but I know it will pass 600 before the light comes on, and still have at least 25 in reserve. Three more trips to work and back before that ten-minute stop, with zero risk.
If I'm in unknown territory I'll take an opportunity a bit earlier, but that doesn't often happen these days, at least in that car.
Perhaps MM has a secret Ginsters habit.
};---)
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"before the light goes on?"
No need to panic - another 100 miles worth of fuel left! I only ever fill up when the mileage shows near zero and I always fill the tank to the maximum. I will never enter a petrol station with a queue and never pull into one that is on the "wrong " side of the road.
Wife gets a bit edgy sometimes
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I can't resist the sport of seeing just how many miles I can squeeze from a tank. My Avensis frequently claimed a range of zero miles with the fuel light on and the gauge bouncing off the bottom and yet I was certain there was always loads of fuel in the tank.
So, one day I tested this theory and drove around 150 miles past the point when I supposedly had a range of zero miles... When I did re-fill I calculated there was less than 2L left in the tank... I was on the A9 south in Scotland, having just made it to the only filling station for some miles...some miles more than I'd estimated in my head! That was close...
I've only been left stranded with no fuel once, and that was when I tried the same game with the Zafira. Apparently, for Vauxhall, a range of zero miles really means zero miles, as I can testify... :0)
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Given your quick-change car habit, OB, it's a riskier game for you than for me; I've had my car since it was new nine years ago, so I'm pretty confident of what it will do. Even after 25 miles with the light on, it's never taken more than 63 litres into a 70-litre tank, and that can't all be the length of the filler neck.
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I know, it's all part of the excitement of getting a new car. Just how far will this one go... :)
The trickiest part is remembering the fuel tank size, and then calculating the remaining range in my head based on what may or may not be true from the trip computer mpg. Not only is it a sport, but it's a useful chance to practice mental arithmetic too!
Go on, work towards getting 69L in.... 3:)
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>>Filling stations are not my favourite places,
Nor mine, so I tend to let the needle drop to the quarter mark, then fill to the top. I'm not keen on letting the tank get too low as I have visions of sludge accumulated over the past nine years ending up in the wrong place.
I can only recall my warning light coming on on one occasion.
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I keep hearing about this "sludge at the bottom of the tank", but it's never got me yet. Maybe I've been lucky? Although to be fair, if it did damage the car, I'd have probably sold it on long before it ever went wrong...
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When I fill up my car it tells me that the range is 430 miles. I thought range was calculated on how one had driven the last 50 or so miles, but not in mine I guess. I usually fill up when I have 1/4 left.
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I avoid filling up before a long journey.
I did it once and stood in some diesel which was lying around the pump.
Putting up with the smell for two or three hours was not pleasant.
Filling up near the destination means the opportunity to change shoes/wash hands is only a few minutes away.
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Years ago, I had a Rover 214. Actually quite a good car.
It had a 12 gallon tank, and when you'd used 8, the gauge read empty. So you either did some miles on 'empty' or filled up with more than a 1/3 of the tank capacity left.
As I hate petrol stations and take anything from full to as low as I dare, the worst point of the car.
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>> I keep hearing about this "sludge at the bottom of the tank", but it's never got me yet. >>Maybe I've been lucky?
>>Although to be fair, if it did damage the car, I'd have probably sold it on long before it ever went wrong.
>>
Many moons ago, unknown to me, I paid for water to be pumped into my tank.
The tank rusted and the rust blocked the fuel line, got through the carb filter andof course the engine starved. None would patch the tank so a new tank was fitted.
When do I fill up? .. regularly. I do not trust the fuel gauge which seems to be non linear and the fuel left digital readout seems to disagree with the gauge.
With a range of 300 miles in the Mondeo 2L auto or even less in town I will not test the limit of range.
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>> Even after 25 miles with the light on, it's never
>> taken more than 63 litres into a 70-litre tank, and that can't all be the
>> length of the filler neck.
>>
That 70 litre tank will take 78 litres I've got the till receipt to prove it. The computer reckoned it still had 50 miles to go before empty too.
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I always fill up between a quarter of a tank and the light coming on and then fill right up to the second click.
The light never comes on but I got close last week as we had 15p per litre off vouchers from Tesco...and toilet rolls galore:)
Pat
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...then fill right up to the second click...
First click for me - see 'diesel on hands/shoes' (above).
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Iffy....you have to position yourself to one side:)
Pat
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...Iffy....you have to position yourself to one side:)...
Look, you smelly lorry drivers are used to being, well, smelly.
We men at C&A are not.
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I think that you need to consider your positinos and what Pat might do to them.
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...consider your positinos...
Don't wear positinos, I prefer jeans.
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Positinos......
Thinking of this why is a bra singular and underpants plural?
Pendants, the floor is yours.
Pat
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Pendants, the floor is yours.
Shouldn't that be 'ceiling'?
I love an open goal.
};---)
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It was only a typo:)
I'm on a loser because I'm trying to cook and type and I don't do either very well.
Pat
Last edited by: pda on Thu 22 Sep 11 at 17:49
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...pendants...
I thought Pat was trying to get into the swing of things.
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Are you implying I'm into swinging? :)
Pat
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...Are you implying I'm into swinging? :)...
Trust you to be mucky.
I was thinking of a tea dance accompanied by Glen Miller.
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If Glenn can still dance I want my money back !
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...If Glenn can still dance I want my money back !...
Now, now, you came over all huffy when I made a joke about the dead soldier in your book.
So why should the greatest bandleader of all time be fair game?
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>>I'm on a loser because I'm trying to cook and type and I don't do either very well.
You started it, going on about bras and swinging!
If your cooking's half as bad as your typing then it's just as well you've got a trucker's tummy, otherwise you wouldn't have lived to such a ripe old age. ;>)
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Truckers Tummy? It's called voluptious curves where I come from:)
Pat
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No! I didn't mean that. I wasn't insulting your shape, I'm insulting your cooking. ;>)
I was referring to your stomach being ceramic lined from eating in all those greasy spoons.
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And here was I thinking I might look like Delia...at a push:)
Pat
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Smelly, smelly?
I'll have you know that we keep the air freshener market going, not to mention the deodorant market as well.
The freebies from Gillette at Reading used to really good:)
Pat
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I wish you hadn't told me that, Gmac - now I'll have to try it.
Incidentally, given that I never fill my tank to the brim - I stop at the first automatic click and occasionally dribble in the rest of the last litre - who can tell me how much more I could be squeezing in? I don't know but I've always assumed the pump stops when it detects fuel in contact with the tip of the nozzle, so the unfilled space can only be the cross-section area of the filler x the length of the nozzle, so maybe a litre or two. Can the brimmers be more exact?
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Not advisable to fill a car to the brim. Fuel is cold when leaving the storage tank and as it warms up on a sunny day in your car tank it can expand and overflow.
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...Fuel is cold when leaving the storage tank and as it warms up on a sunny day in your car tank it can expand and overflow...
There was a report about this before one of the recent Moto GPs.
The regulations stipulate a maximum volume for the bike's fuel tank, and a minimum temperature for the fuel.
The teams chill the fuel to that temperature so they can get as much in as possible.
I think the difference from room temperature equated to an extra mile or two on the track.
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Always wait for the light to come on unless I have a long trip coming up.
Dont wish to visit the station any often than needed so fill to the brim - about 750 to a tank
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>> Incidentally, given that I never fill my tank to the brim - I stop at
>> the first automatic click and occasionally dribble in the rest of the last litre -
>> who can tell me how much more I could be squeezing in? I don't know
>> but I've always assumed the pump stops when it detects fuel in contact with the
>> tip of the nozzle, so the unfilled space can only be the cross-section area of
>> the filler x the length of the nozzle, so maybe a litre or two. Can
>> the brimmers be more exact?
>>
Don't know the formula but in the real world it's about 6 litres on the Volvo from the first click. That first click is due to the diesel foaming in the tank not the level of fuel actually hitting the nozzle.
I only brim it when I'm on a long run otherwise half a tank does the job. Don't see the point in lugging a tank full around for three weeks before the needle moves off full.
Last edited by: gmac on Thu 22 Sep 11 at 18:02
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I'm on a budget and I'm weekly paid, so I work out roughly how far I'll need to drive in the next 7 days and on payday I'll put in either £20, £30 or £40 depending.
The range is usually down to between 100 and 50 miles when I top it up, and it seems each £10 adds 90 miles to the figure :)
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Thu 22 Sep 11 at 18:45
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i always wait till the computer says less than 20 miles but often after im told that we have zero miles left and then always fill up to the brim on second click.
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The BMW starts to "bong" at you when the computer range gets down to about 70 miles. I usually fill up at the earliest convenience after that. Pushed it as far as 25 miles once. Gauge seems to plummet over its bottom 1/4 of travel.
Getting between 460 and 470 miles to the light. Hovering somewhere around 35 mpg.
Last edited by: DP on Thu 22 Sep 11 at 19:46
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I used to be a warning light and brim it sort of guy, but as neither my current Astra or the Mondeo it replaced has a warning light I don't let it go into the red. Particularly as the guage on the Mondeo was inaccurate and the one on the Astra seems to operate on a "Let's guess how much is in there today" principle.
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Fill up at 1/4 left usually and started using BP as it seems to run smoother and better mpg than supermarket stuff.
Never run in red or light on.
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Less than a quarter, usually about 25-30 miles after the light has come on.
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I fill up to the first click when I'm down to about a third. SWM tells me when she wants some...usually around a quarter full.
I've run out too many times when I was young and skint...not gonna happen now.
I did run out on the bike on a French autoroute......there turned out to be about 70 miles between stations and I got to about 68. I always carry a litre in an aluminium camping bottle, so that saved the push !
I just don't see any point in driving virtually empty.
Ted
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Almost always let the fuel run down to under 25 miles range before filling, the Altea seems to have a pretty accurate gauge.
Although you can fool it by getting down to sub 50 range and then driving particularly economically and you can find your range getting longer again. Although I suppose in a round about way that proves the accuracy even more?
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I'd usually fill up when it's half way or quarter of a tank. Depends if I know I am going far as to whether I fill up earlier.
I have occasionally let it go to nearly empty (reporting 0 miles left even) when I (a) know I am only doing local driving and (b) it's near the cut-off for fuel on the company fuel card. I pay for private fuel so wouldn't put a full tank in at the very end of the month if I can help if I had done only/mainly private miles because I'd pay for all of it the following month via payroll.
Been interesting the last two weeks to put enough fuel in for the business miles I've been doing without putting too much in. Because tomorrow I go away for 2 weeks and when I get back I get my car. So not sending the Mazda back with more than a quarter of a tank!
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"I just don't see any point in driving virtually empty."
of course logically there's none but it does add a sort of edge when you're running on empty. As dirty Harry said the question is "do you feel lucky?"
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Can't see any point running to almost empty.Unless it is is a money issue i usual top up at halve tank empty.Or halve tank full.>:)
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When I get the next car I normally wouldn't either. But the way the reimbursement calculations are worked out for personal/business miles with our system you can 'play their game'. Do far more business than personal miles during the month.... well fill it up. Especially if next month you'll do mainly business miles.
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When the bong, bongs trice!
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When the needle is on the quarter mark.
Our XJS is the only one I have ever seen that has just a clock instead of a fuel computer, thank heavens. If you play fuel Russian roulette with a V12 you'll get the bullet every time... ;-)
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I find it extraordinary that people play Russian roulette like that.
One poster here has made it quite clear he puts in all the fuel he can afford. Fair enough I suppose (though I'd aim to save an extra tenner just to have a couple of extra gallons in the tank).
Otherwise, people run the risk of running out if they have a blown red bulb, or the machine that goes bong fails. Running out of fuel is not funny on a modern car. Blown cats, diesels to bleed, fuel filters to bleed, electronics to confuse.
And some describe the "thrill" of running the tank down to the bottom. I know everybody's different, but I'm bemused!
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When I pass Tesco and have lots of fuel vouchers to use up.
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We have to take our excitement where we can find it ;-)
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I think 'Russian roulette' is putting it far too strongly, MM. The only self-confessed Reckless Eric here is OB, and even he has some science in his method. The rest of us that are happy to run it low have confidence in our machinery based on experience. That's not recklessness, it's using the car as it was designed to be used.
For the record, I've never run out and only once (in rural France on a Sunday) seriously feared that I might.
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>> Blown cats
>>
Interesting..... I know it generally says this in manuals, but I've never heard of this happening. Has anyone got any practical experience.
On the OP question, I run right to the edge.
I like to use my local filling station, so try to get back there. It's only two minutes from the office, and 3 miles from home..
However, I'm not making many long journeys just now, so it's not critical.
(I do, however, carry a spare gallon! but I can't remember the last time I ran out.)
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Hee, hee - reckless eric, excellent. :)
For the record, when the Zaffy did run out fuel, I strolled about all of 50 yards to the nearest petrol station (see, I'm not completely nuts, I was *nearly* there...), bought a can and filled it with 5L of stinky petrol, splashed most of it onto my shoes, and maybe a little into the Zafira, drove to the forecourt on the 2-3L I'd actually managed to get into the car and then filled up.
That was about 30,000 miles ago, since then, no ill effects to report whatsoever. Car runs fine and passed the MOT without issues. And this is the petrol 2.2 direct, well known for fuel system problems....
Last edited by: oilburner on Fri 23 Sep 11 at 16:43
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I don't look at it as playing Russian Roulette; rather, a strategy for minimising the number of times I have to go to a petrol station!!
My approach is to always wait until the warning light comes on - in my car that gives an indicated range of ~50 miles, which is ample. In reality, if I fill up as soon as the 'bong' sounds I'll be able to get around 60 litres in (the tank is a claimed 70 litres), so theres a decent buffer beyond 50 miles too. My 'failsafe' check is the distance covered - it's generally around 440 miles; if it got much more than that I'd be wary :-)
However if I filled up when it hit the last quarter mark I reckon I'd get 50 litres in. Generally 60 litres lasts a fortnight; so 50 would be just 12 days - I think that means 5 extra trips to the petrol station a year!!
Peter
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I seem to have to fill my car up most days or at least every other one.
:-(
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>>It's not Russian Roulette
Maybe not. This is though: "(I do, however, carry a spare gallon! but I can't remember the last time I ran out.)"
A can of petrol ready to whizz about the inside of the car in the event of an accident. Cool.
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I was thinking something similar! In my car a spare can would keep sliding arround in the boot and would annoy the whatsits out of me. If it is petol then it also goes stale after about a year and won't be of much use anyway. My brother works at a company that services garden equipment and every year they have people who can't start their mower / strimmer, etc because the fuel in the tank is old. A nice splosh of new stuff normally solves the problem.
In my company car I frequently run the tank very low and then fill to the brim. The computer in my 5 series gets a bit alarmist warning me when I have 100 miles left and I don't like being told what to do by an inanimate object! My motivation for a fill up is where the next BP or Tesco fuel station is as I want my points. Since Tesco halved their points on fuel I use them less often, although the car seems to really like their diesel (hates the Morrison's stuff, pinking like my old Fiat 127 did)).
I just like to earn 'loyalty' points and used the Tesco ones to pay for a complete holiday in France a year ago, including the tunnel crossing. The nectar points from BP add up slowly but I have £155 sat there for a treat one day, gained over the last two years.
I avoid filling up somewhere else as much as possible and have driven the BM nearly 30 miles after I was told I had no range left at all according to ther dash on a few occasions whilst increasingly desperately looking for a welcoming Green petrol station! Quite mad I know.
On my Jag XJ-S V12 I echo Mike's point. I don't risk it. When 1/4 of a tank showing on the gauge I fill up ASAP.
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>> I was thinking something similar! In my car a spare can would keep sliding arround
>> in the boot and would annoy the whatsits out of me. If it is petol
>> then it also goes stale after about a year and won't be of much use
>> anyway.
It's restrained in the boot, and I use it up at intervals and refill it.
8o)
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I couldn't fill up my first car (Morris Minor) as anything beyond 2/3rds splashed out on bends:) At least it wasn't diesel. I assumed the rust was spreading but carried on regardless, until the sills went and I couldnt jack it up anymore to fix punctures. Bought a 1966 bike instead.
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Haven't run the LPG tank out yet so don't know if it will automatically revert to petrol as it's supposed to, don't want to find out in the middle of an overtake....that's my roulette game.
Haven't put any petrol in for about 4/5 months, it's used about 4 gallons in that time and that's with me running it on petrol for a while now and again to keep the petrol system happy.
80 litre gas tank actually holds about 68 litres (not possible to fill completely), and i've only ever got 50 litres in when the last light is showing....50 x 66p = :-))))
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About 15 miles past the zero point on the range computer. There's always a bit more in the tank. :-)
Exception being if I'm off on a long journey, when I brim the tank regardless of what's in it so I don't have to refuel on the motorway.
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>> A can of petrol ready to whizz about the inside of the car in the
>> event of an accident. Cool.
>>
Did I say it was loose?
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Your car comes equipped with a large container of maybe 15 gallons designed to be filled with petrol and to be safe in an accident.
Yet because of an enjoyment in playing Russian roulette with the fuel gauge it is thought sensible to have a rusty metal can inside the passenger compartment. Bemused.
Why not keep fuel in the fuel tank and wellies in the boot?
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>> thought sensible to have a rusty metal can inside the passenger compartment.
>>
Who said it was a rusty metal can?
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A couple of days ago I saw a young man filling two five gallon containers in the back of his hatchback.
I believe regulations say a maximum of five litres can be dispensed into a separate container, which must be designed for the purpose.
Maybe that's why he was using an unattended ASDA filling station.
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With fast growing grass in late September.
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>> I believe regulations say a maximum of five litres can be dispensed into a separate
>> container, which must be designed for the purpose.
There are signs to that effect at the local Sainsbury's where I fill up. Max 5 litres and no more than two per customer. Container must be clearly marked 'petroleum spirit'.
ISTR that strictly those are the rules for petrol and they don't have the same legal force for diesel or (if it were still sold on filling stations) parafin.
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i fill up the boat petrol cans at my local sainsburys , usually 40ltrs x2 cans. last week they said i couldn't have any more than 5ltrs so another station now has my custom aswell as many friends who also have petrol engined boats.
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I try not to fill up until the light comes on, knowing that I still have about 60 miles left in the tank, to avoid the fuel stations. But once I'm down to a 1/4 I start to keep an eye on prices, so that of I see a good price I will stop a little earlier, especially if it's a Shell garage and I can get my Drivers Club points. There's a recently rebuilt Shell garage on the Ewell by-pass that has good prices since being rebuilt - trying to bild up loyalty?
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>> >> I believe regulations say a maximum of five litres can be dispensed into a
>> separate
>> >> container, which must be designed for the purpose.
>>
I fill a 20 litre jerry can occasionally, for the lawnmower, strimmer, chainsaw, tractor.
No one has ever stopped me, but I don't make it too obvious. I put in on the floor in the back, and then open the door a bit. It's then very close to the fuel filler, so the change-over is hardly noticeable.
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STORAGE OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF PETROL THE PETROLEUM SPIRIT (MOTOR VEHICLES
ETC) REGULATIONS 1929
This guidance note applies to those who store petrol in small quantities in
garages or on their home premises for private use in motor vehicles, lawn
mowers, generators or any other internal combustion engine.
The garage or storage place must in all cases -
a) if not in the open air be ventilated to the open air.
b) have an entrance direct to the open air.
c) have in it or near to it, a suitable fire extinguisher, a supply of
material (eg: sand) for absorbing spillages, and all reasonable precautions
must be taken to prevent any fire or artificial light, capable of igniting
inflammable vapour being so near the petrol as to be dangerous.
All containers in which petroleum spirit is kept must be of metal or an
approved plastic. Metal containers should not exceed 23 litres capacity (5
gallons) be permanently labelled 'Petroleum Spirit - Highly Flammable' and
be fitted with a secure leak-proof cap. Plastic containers should not exceed
5 litres capacity and comply with the Petroleum Spirit (Plastic Containers)
Regulations 1982. Empty containers must be securely stoppered and kept in a
safe place. They must never be repaired unless and until they have been
rendered 'vapour free'.
The quantity which may be kept without notifying the Licensing Authority
(Trading Standards) is the amount of petrol contained in the fuel tank of
the motor vehicles or engine and not more than 2 x 10 litres (2 gallons)
metal containers or 2 x 5 litres plastic containers together with 1 x 10
litres metal container. However, if the garage is directly connected to a
dwelling house, the previous quantities may only be kept if the door
connecting the garage and the house in self-closing and constructed of hard
wood or other fire resisting material.
The quantity which may be kept provided notification is given to the
Licensing Authority (Trading Standards) on an annual basis is 275 litres (60
gallons) (inclusive of the amount in the fuel tank of the vehicle or
engine). If the garage or store is within 6 metres of any dwelling house,
public road or footpath etc, or any inflammable material, the storage must
be in containers of not more than 10 litre capacity (2 gallons). If the
garage or store is more than 6 metres from any dwelling house, public road,
or footpath etc, or any flammable material, the storage may be in containers
of more than 10 litre capacity, but provision must be made by excavation or
the building of retaining walls to prevent the outflow of any petroleum
spirit from the store.
If you store more than 275 litres (60 gallons) then you will require a
Licence from the Trading Standards Service.
Storage without a Licence (where one is required) or without notifying where
necessary, could result in the responsible person being prosecuted.
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Thanks, CG.
The guy I saw was using translucent plastic containers.
They looked sturdy enough, but were in breach of the regulations.
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They should most probably hang him.
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I may have committed a serious breach with my metal "jerry" can full of "spirit"....oh well I'll have the Planning Breach Taken Into Consideration !
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I ran out of petrol somewhere on the Thames in a hire boat. Fortunately I was just under a road bridge and set off with my thumb and a fuel tank.
The guy that picked me up asked why he hadn't seen my car and dropped me a few hundred yards up the road at a fuel station not visible from where I started.
I walked back.
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I had a Clarkson moment today - see the well-known Youtube video of JC comparing the Porsche 968 and the XJRS 6-litre, when he managed 10mpg and had to stop to fill up twice.
We were out with the XJS and went rather further than we intended - I can never resist it if the weather's fine - meaning we had two filling station stops, to keep the needle above the quarter mark. Not at the same filling station though and it did represent about 20mpg. But what pleasure.
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>> STORAGE OF SMALL QUANTITIES OF PETROL THE PETROLEUM SPIRIT (MOTOR VEHICLES
>> ETC) REGULATIONS 1929
>>
>> This guidance note applies
>>
Only "guidance" then?
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And after being burned off in the spring heatwave the grass is growing like the clappers here.
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As the 1929 regulations make reference to plastic containers they have clearly been amended since.
ISTR hearing of somebody who was prosecuted for a breach of these regs when a death was caused by the petrol. It's a bit like DUI, you're fine until it all goes horribly wrong.
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This thread came back to me this morning. The fuel light wasn't on when I got home last night but it came on with the ignition today, 594 miles into this tankful. With a 5p voucher to use I wanted to make it to Tesco, which is at the work end of my journey, 27 miles from home.
So I trundled in at a steady 50ish - just like everyone else on the M4 - and made it with ease: the pump stopped at 63 litres, as it usually does. Out of curiosity this time, I went on pumping and stopped at 66, when I thought I could see the top of the fuel in the neck, then decided I couldn't but stopped anyway.
Was I down to four litres? Gmac's 78-into-70-will-go suggests otherwise. Was I happy driving so far with the light on? No. Did I doubt that the car would get me there? Also no.
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Ive taken to filling mine up every week at Tesco, then theres no panic to fill up when it gets low. Im using about half a tank a week now so it never gets to panic point.
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>>Ive taken to filling mine up every week at Tesco
Missus keeps coming home with the damn 5P off vouchers. Two cars, we're both retired. I'm sure it costs me more driving to Tesco's than what I save with the blasted things.
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Send them to me. You can use three 5p/litre off vouchers per purchase. 15p per litre seems worthwhile to me.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 10 Nov 11 at 00:27
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>>Send them to me.
Send me a stamp. ;>)
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Fuel Russian roulette. When do you fill up? - R.P.
