Fuel fill-up question

[The Real Maverick]

This post reminded me: My best friends brother was insurance adjuster who had to work some claims where the cleaner solution used between pipeline wiper "pigs" when switching products failed to divert to the slop tank or seals leaked and wound up mixed into 87 unleaded tank. The cleaner worked so well that cars that got that fuel would only get a mile or two until parts in fuel systems were dissolved. He wrote checks for towing, rent cars, repairs, etc.....

Ethanol loosens/cleans dirt & gunk in an already dirty engine & fuel system. Made dirty from years of plain old gasoline. Yes. Absolutely. But it will help keep a clean new engine clean.

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[dn325ci]

I drive about 40K miles a year, spread across a few different cars, and I've put 7,200 miles on the Maverick since October 31st purchase, which has been exactly 25 fill ups per my records. I often just drive until it's empty, and many times it has been within the last 5 miles on the Distance To Empty meter. I'm infamous in my household for rolling into the gas station "on fumes". No problems, nor has there been any problems when applying this approach to 37 vehicles I've owned across a 39 year driving career.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Ethanol loosens/cleans dirt & gunk in an already dirty engine & fuel system. Made dirty from years of plain old gasoline. Yes. Absolutely. But it will help keep a clean new engine clean.

Yes, he said things like the gaskets, etc were being dissolved.

 

[The Real Maverick]

And sometimes dirt, varnish, tar, etc from gasoline is keeping things sealed. So dissolving that may create leaks.

So it is not a good idea to add ethanol to old engines. It's not bad for the engine per se, but highlights how bad the engine was to start with.

 

[Phimosis]

I’ve always filled up my vehicle’s fuel tanks when it gets to half. Is that a good idea or no, cause I’m wondering if the ‘older’ fuel goes bad, but no big deal if mixed with newer gas. Thanks. Remember, there are no dumb questions .

Is it a good idea to fill up once you get to half a tank? Nope.

Each time you fill up, you’re wasting time. And time is money. Most ICE drivers argue “it only takes 5 minutes to fill up a gas tank”.

Since transitioning from gas to EV, I timed my fill ups for a couple of months. My average is a little over 10 minutes from exiting the freeway to re-entering.

If you drive 15k miles a year and you get the epa rated 25 mpg from your ecoboost, that could either be 38 fill ups at 16 gallons or 76 fill ups at 8 gallons. 38 extra fill ups = 6 hours 20 minutes of time wasted.

This half-tank fill-up idea sounds like an old wives tale. And I’d never heard anything like that in my life, so I’ve never given a second thought of thought to the idea that an empty tank is a bad thing.

I’ve been driving for 40 years. I always keep multiple vehicles, which means some of them aren’t being driven very much, including 7 motorcycles. And I’ve never once had a problem related to anything in the fueling system, rust or otherwise.

 

[Master Blaster]

Is it a good idea to fill up once you get to half a tank? Nope.

Each time you fill up, you’re wasting time. And time is money. Most ICE drivers argue “it only takes 5 minutes to fill up a gas tank”.

Since transitioning from gas to EV, I timed my fill ups for a couple of months. My average is a little over 10 minutes from exiting the freeway to re-entering.

If you drive 15k miles a year and you get the epa rated 25 mpg from your ecoboost, that could either be 38 fill ups at 16 gallons or 76 fill ups at 8 gallons. 38 extra fill ups = 6 hours 20 minutes of time wasted.

This half-tank fill-up idea sounds like an old wives tale. And I’d never heard anything like that in my life, so I’ve never given a second thought of thought to the idea that an empty tank is a bad thing.

I’ve been driving for 40 years. I always keep multiple vehicles, which means some of them aren’t being driven very much, including 7 motorcycles. And I’ve never once had a problem related to anything in the fueling system, rust or otherwise.

You're in California, so you don't generally have any weather conditions that cause the tank to sweat internally. Its a severe issue in the high moisture areas of the U.S and Canada, along with any area in the rust belt or snow belt.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

This half-tank fill-up idea sounds like an old wives tale. And I’d never heard anything like that in my life, so I’ve never given a second thought of thought to the idea that an empty tank is a bad thing.

Congratulations in not having a wife with an old TALE.

 

[Meeka]

Is it a good idea to fill up once you get to half a tank? Nope.

Each time you fill up, you’re wasting time. And time is money. Most ICE drivers argue “it only takes 5 minutes to fill up a gas tank”.

Since transitioning from gas to EV, I timed my fill ups for a couple of months. My average is a little over 10 minutes from exiting the freeway to re-entering.

If you drive 15k miles a year and you get the epa rated 25 mpg from your ecoboost, that could either be 38 fill ups at 16 gallons or 76 fill ups at 8 gallons. 38 extra fill ups = 6 hours 20 minutes of time wasted.

This half-tank fill-up idea sounds like an old wives tale. And I’d never heard anything like that in my life, so I’ve never given a second thought of thought to the idea that an empty tank is a bad thing.

I’ve been driving for 40 years. I always keep multiple vehicles, which means some of them aren’t being driven very much, including 7 motorcycles. And I’ve never once had a problem related to anything in the fueling system, rust or otherwise.

I respect your opinion sir, but since I’m retired filling up doesn’t ‘waste my time’ I kinda enjoy it and chatting with other drivers. You’ll get there one day, slow down and enjoy life!

 

[Phimosis]

You're in California, so you don't generally have any weather conditions that cause the tank to sweat internally. Its a severe issue in the high moisture areas of the U.S and Canada, along with any area in the rust belt or snow belt.

Yes, I currently live in California. But for the majority of my life, I have lived in the coastal Pacific Northwest where there is constant mist, high humidity, rain and salt air. The only cases I have seen of rust in a gas tank is in vehicles that have been parked for years and weren’t properly drained before storage, but that is not what we’re talking about here. We are talking about a car that is getting driven regularly, or even semi-regularly.

 

[The Real Maverick]

You're in California, so you don't generally have any weather conditions that cause the tank to sweat internally. Its a severe issue in the high moisture areas of the U.S and Canada, along with any area in the rust belt or snow belt.

I thought we went over this.
Your tank is plastic.
Plastic does not corrode.
Plastic does not conduct heat and cold. Not colder than dewpoint, no dew.
100% humid air at 20°C contains 1 gram of water per 65 liters. At 0°C it is more like 0.1 gram of water.

Your tank does not exchange with outside atmosphere except when refueling. Per strict environmental regulations. And when you complete the refueling, if you filled up, you expelled 99% of that 0.1 gram of water.

But, continue to worry about it.

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