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I get about 420 miles per tank. I have to fill up every 4 days. Its just a matter of whether i fill it on the way home from work on the 4th day or on my way to work on the 5th.
In winter I always keep it above 1/4 of a tank. In the warmer months I'll wind it out till 1 dash above Empty, never had any problems. I've never driven a car with the fuel light on though, I always fill up before then.
The whole sediment in the tank thing doesn't seem to have much basis especially nowadays with poly tanks. The first question you should ask; where does all the sediment originate from? Then... Why would it only get pumped when the tank is low as opposed to filled? Every time you brake, accelerate, make a turn or fill the tank you would supposedly be "stirring up the sediment". At that point any suspended sediment will get taken into the pump.
Bottom line in my experience is that after being around a fleet of 40+ vehicles, since the early 90's, with millions of collective miles, all the time running tanks down all the way... there has yet to be an instance fuel pumps being stopped up with "sediment". This goes for diesels and gassers.
Last edited by Lux Hauler; 09-04-2012 at 02:53 PM..
One thing the younger generation do not know is that water will seperate in the gas itself and will settle to the bottom in the tank. That is why tanks are made with a low point for the water to settle in. Not sure of the newer cars of today as my experience goes back decades.
Ever noticed a closed Gas station having the tanks removed?......they have rusted bottoms from a combination of water/gas leaking into the soil. Contamination is the answer and huge expense for the station owner (franchise or otherwise).
As stated better to pass a station thats having their tanks filled.
Regardless of make, any car with a metal gas tank will RUST at the bottom after a while from the water and not debris.
Last edited by Steve Bagu; 09-04-2012 at 03:11 PM..
Reason: correct typo error
One thing the younger generation do not know is that water will seperate in the gas itself and will settle to the bottom in the tank. That is why tanks are made with a low point for the water to settle in. Not sure of the newer cars of today as my experience goes back decades.
Ever noticed a closed Gas station having the tanks removed?......they have rusted bottoms from a combination of water/gas leaking into the soil. Contamination is the answer and huge expense for the station owner (franchise or otherwise).
As stated better to pass a station thats having their tanks filled.
Regardless of make, any car with a metal gas tank will RUST at the bottom after a while from the water and not debris.
Havent seen a metal tank in a car for over 30 years now..
Also, each pump has a filter in line to the hose from the tank. That's been the case since at least 1975 when I was pumping gas and had to change the pump filters.
The 10% ethanol in most of today's gasoline also takes care of any small amount of water. It gets absorbed by the alcohol, which then mixes with the gasoline. Unless you pour water in the tank, that problem is effectively a thing of the past.
Everything's pretty much been covered here. I KNEW my pump is cooled by the gas, but stupid me kept pushing my 91 YJ to the bottom of the tank. It doesn't help not having a low fuel light (mines the red line lol), and I've never known a YJ to have an accurate fuel gauge, so it was just dumb all around to chance it. So one day last month she decided to teach me a lesson. It was about 104 with the humidex, I'm headed to the beer store and I start hearing this terrible whine. I knew what it was right away. Get my beer, come out to the Jeep and she started, then idled at about 200 rpm for a second and quit. The pump wouldn't prime anymore when I turned on the power, and I figured I toasted the pump.
I left her at the store of about 4 hours. I was going to call a tow truck, but I had this nagging feeling all would be well when I walked back to the Jeep, and she's never let me down so far, why start now? So I chanced it, turned the key, and she fired right up. Never did replace the pump, but I won't be pushing her that low anymore.
So, my point? lol
keep gas in that tank unless you want to chance wrecking your pump. Maybe if the pump want 21 years old it would've taken the heat better on an empty tank, but I don't know.
I fill up anywhere from E to 1/8 depending on how busy I am or how close I am to a station. I've done this for the last 20 years and never had a single fuel system issue due to doing this. I purchased all of my cars used and put a lot of miles on most of them too.
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