Fuel........always keep some spare or let it run down?
Discussion
Mine will do about 600 on a tank, and 75 mpg if I drive really really gently.
When the zombie apocalypse comes I want to make sure I can get to safety, so rarely go lower than 1/3 tank. Then I fill it to the top.
And it is Diesel so doesn’t go off like normal petrol does.
As for running out of fuel, you have to be a special kind of stupid to do that in this day and age, petrol gauges, warning lights, distance to empty computers, and petrol stations every 500 yards etc.
Edited by King Herald on Monday 20th November 18:09
My car currently has 2 litres or 12 miles of fuel remaining, according to the OBC. For some unknown reason, I defer fuel purchases until the last minute. It's daft, as I need to do a 20 mile trip in a couple of hours, and I'm going to have to leave a bit early to buy fuel instead of stopping at one of the hundred petrol stations I've driven past in the last few days.
langtounlad said:
Keeping a 5Ltr 'emergency' container isn't the best idea.
If it is just for emergencies, i.e. a very rare event, petrol may well have gone 'off' by the time it is required.
Just use it every so often and refill it? That's what I do with the jerry can I keep in the garage for emergenciesIf it is just for emergencies, i.e. a very rare event, petrol may well have gone 'off' by the time it is required.
TooMany2cvs said:
Krikkit said:
It'd be interesting to see whether accelerating and braking an extra half-tank of fuel over the years has added up to the cost of your travellodge in the fuel strike.
I don't think 20 extra kg of fuel in a ton and a half of car is going to make a huge difference, tbh.langtounlad said:
Keeping a 5Ltr 'emergency' container isn't the best idea.
If it is just for emergencies, i.e. a very rare event, petrol may well have gone 'off' by the time it is required.
I cycle it. Every now and then I'll empty the can into the tank and refill it.If it is just for emergencies, i.e. a very rare event, petrol may well have gone 'off' by the time it is required.
Though said can is in the Landie, which doesn't appear to care if petrol's ten years old anyway.
WIFES CAR
Does very few miles but is kept topped up as soon as a quarter of the tank is used. This because my wife is not comfortable or confident about filling it herself but mainly because should I ever be rendered mobile as I have been twice & subsequently hospitalised she has fuel to allow her visits me before having to worry about buying petrol.
MY CAR
Accept on a long journey to minimise frequency of stops it is never allowed to have less than half a tank full. Saves worry should a long journey at short notice be required & although car is garaged having an almost empty fuel tank risks condensation forming on the tank walls.
LAWN MOWER
This is where 'spare cans' are employed. I keep 2 which are kept topped up throughout the year, thus I have on hand spare fuel for either car in the event of a fuel crisis or undertaking a long journey where fuel stations are a rarity - hardly so in Britain but maybe so north of the border. I also ensure the mowers tank is never empty.
Does very few miles but is kept topped up as soon as a quarter of the tank is used. This because my wife is not comfortable or confident about filling it herself but mainly because should I ever be rendered mobile as I have been twice & subsequently hospitalised she has fuel to allow her visits me before having to worry about buying petrol.
MY CAR
Accept on a long journey to minimise frequency of stops it is never allowed to have less than half a tank full. Saves worry should a long journey at short notice be required & although car is garaged having an almost empty fuel tank risks condensation forming on the tank walls.
LAWN MOWER
This is where 'spare cans' are employed. I keep 2 which are kept topped up throughout the year, thus I have on hand spare fuel for either car in the event of a fuel crisis or undertaking a long journey where fuel stations are a rarity - hardly so in Britain but maybe so north of the border. I also ensure the mowers tank is never empty.
blueveloce said:
Ever since the fuel protests of September 2000 i have kept roughly half a tank of fuel in our cars rather than let it run down to a quarter or less and since i am semi-retired it lasts far longer than when i had a short commute to work so when it is down to half i fill them up and repeat again.
I remember being stranded half way up the country visiting friends and couldnt get fuel to continue my journey in sept 2000 so had to book over night into a travelodge and since then i feel i need to keep some spare...
Before the fuel protests i used to wait until the warning light came on but carried a fuel can just in case...
Do you do the same? or is it just me
You have a poor memory of the fuel protests then. It took days for it to bite, you had plenty of time to get your tank filled. If you got caught out half way up the country then it was by bad planning. I remember being stranded half way up the country visiting friends and couldnt get fuel to continue my journey in sept 2000 so had to book over night into a travelodge and since then i feel i need to keep some spare...
Before the fuel protests i used to wait until the warning light came on but carried a fuel can just in case...
Do you do the same? or is it just me
Plus, the government has changed the laws now, this couldn't happen again in the same way. They've also built up far more reserves. We won't suffer this issue again any time.
So for 17 years you've been paranoid about nothing, lugging more fuel around than necessary and visiting the petrol stations far too often.
akirk said:
I stop at every petrol station I pass and fill up...
oh the joys of a RR v8 and an M5
I once filled my RR and XJS twice each in the same day - c. 80 gallons!
When I last filled up it said I could only go up to 99 quid, so how do you manage this level of thirst? 2 credit cards? oh the joys of a RR v8 and an M5
I once filled my RR and XJS twice each in the same day - c. 80 gallons!
It depends on what I'm doing. There are very few journeys I make in one day which are longer than the range of a full tank (about 500 miles) so I tend to start any long journey with a full tank so I know I'll not need to stop anywhere on the way for fuel.
Other than that, in normal day to day use I'll wait until the car has done about 400 miles since the last fill-up and then use my friendly local petrol station next time I pass.
When I get hire cars for work I play fuel lamp roulette from time to time - a journey I make fairly regularly between two of our offices is a 500 mile round trip, which is about the range of many diesels now everything has a tiny fuel tank. However if I get a strong headwind on the way back, or the previous user has done a fair few miles since filling it up but the fuel gauge hasn't moved it can get a bit tight. There's nothing worse than putting fuel in a car twice within a couple of hours, and some cars don't register the change when you fill them up unless there's at least a quarter of a tank gone.
Other than that, in normal day to day use I'll wait until the car has done about 400 miles since the last fill-up and then use my friendly local petrol station next time I pass.
When I get hire cars for work I play fuel lamp roulette from time to time - a journey I make fairly regularly between two of our offices is a 500 mile round trip, which is about the range of many diesels now everything has a tiny fuel tank. However if I get a strong headwind on the way back, or the previous user has done a fair few miles since filling it up but the fuel gauge hasn't moved it can get a bit tight. There's nothing worse than putting fuel in a car twice within a couple of hours, and some cars don't register the change when you fill them up unless there's at least a quarter of a tank gone.
I try not to go below 1/4 tank before filling up.
Average is probably 1/3 tank when I fill up.
Firstly, it means that if 97-99RON fuel isn't available, I can drive away without filling up.
Secondly, it means when I park the car for the night I know I have at least 100 miles worth of fuel if something unexpected crops up (ageing and increasingly frail relatives 30 miles away).
Thirdly, it means that if the new batch of fuel is poorer quality, or if I need a lots of fuel for the next day and have to accept 95-RON, it is partially diluted by what was already in the tank. A quarter tank of 99RON topped up with a quarter tank of 95RON creates half a tank of approximately 97RON and gets me 200-odd miles.
Average is probably 1/3 tank when I fill up.
Firstly, it means that if 97-99RON fuel isn't available, I can drive away without filling up.
Secondly, it means when I park the car for the night I know I have at least 100 miles worth of fuel if something unexpected crops up (ageing and increasingly frail relatives 30 miles away).
Thirdly, it means that if the new batch of fuel is poorer quality, or if I need a lots of fuel for the next day and have to accept 95-RON, it is partially diluted by what was already in the tank. A quarter tank of 99RON topped up with a quarter tank of 95RON creates half a tank of approximately 97RON and gets me 200-odd miles.
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