Proper fill-up?

[Project84]

I do as I've read suggested many times...

Same station, same pump, same direction, slow setting, do not top off, and try to fill at same time of day as previous.

Besides, while it takes longer on the slow setting, it gives me time to check and/or add oil to my typical Saturn w/ ring problems.

[froggy81500]

I always have used the slow setting on the pumps, on those pumps around here that actually still have the flip thing that holds the nozzle. I figure filling slow keeps the gas from foaming at the top, shutting it off early. Time of day always depends on when I need gas.

One thing I have tried to make note of is to try and remember at what miles did my low fuel light come on. If I don't make it right over to the gas station, I try to work backwards to see if it does come on around 11.5 gallons like it should. That's only for accuracy sake, nothing else.

Thinking of accuracy, I was just remembering the days I used to work at a gas station and how we had to stick the tanks at the end of the day. Just a thought about measuring how much is in the tank with a calibrated stick. Perhaps the next few times I fill up I will stop at the first kick off and see how it goes.

[cems70]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

I think the reason for getting several more gallons of fuel in the tank after the pump shuts off is because the car manufacturer measures the tank capacity to where the tank float stops and on some cars that is a few inches from the top of the tank plus the amount that you get into the filler neck.

Plausible explanation. But in my case (or Honda Civic cases), 5 extra gallons after the nozzle clicks off?! That's a lot of gas. I'm not sure if any of the explanations I've heard so far can completely explain the phenomenon

Just to reiterate, I can only trickle in this extra 5 gallons very, very slowly. If I were to try to pump at full speed, the gas would gush out of the filler neck. And I generally overfill the tank by 3 or more gallons only when I'm driving on the highway for a few hundred miles (as thornburg mentioned), so the gas extra gas is used relatively quickly. It's great to go 700+ miles between fillups on a long trip.

[monroe74]

Originally Posted by joeventura

Stop pumping when the handle clicks?
I have had an empty tank and the handle clicks after half a gallon.

I think that will happen with some cars. Maybe it has to do with the shape of the filler neck. But it doesn't usually happen with my car.

[mini-e]

this thread caught my eye as i just swapped out a 96 civic cx/dx gas tank for a 96 civic ex/hx tank as i needed a sensor and a purge valve that thr hx ecu was looking for after my hx swap. i noticed the ex tank had noticeably less volume when i took it out as there is clearance for the purge valve and the sensor, but the spec showed thew same 11.5 capacity(or whatever, my manual is not by my computer). sure enough, the car takes the same amount of gas when i am on E. So i looked at the tank and theorized that extra space that they could play with was for expansion for those 125 degree days in Phoenix or Saudi Arabia. keep the pressure down- safety- that sort of thing.

I measured water into the tank it held 15 gallons- and it looked like it could take another 1-2 gallons if i could have burped the trapped volumes. how about that!

i guess, if you fill it slowly, on a 96-00 civic, there is room for 15 gallons of fuel if you can force out the vapor. I believe it, cause i seen it with my own eyes!

incidentally i measured the filler tube and it held very little fuel- i posted that number here last week.

Originally Posted by cems70

Plausible explanation. But in my case (or Honda Civic cases), 5 extra gallons after the nozzle clicks off?! That's a lot of gas. I'm not sure if any of the explanations I've heard so far can completely explain the phenomenon

Just to reiterate, I can only trickle in this extra 5 gallons very, very slowly. If I were to try to pump at full speed, the gas would gush out of the filler neck. And I generally overfill the tank by 3 or more gallons only when I'm driving on the highway for a few hundred miles (as thornburg mentioned), so the gas extra gas is used relatively quickly. It's great to go 700+ miles between fillups on a long trip.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by mini-e

this thread caught my eye as i just swapped out a 96 civic cx/dx gas tank for a 96 civic ex/hx tank as i needed a sensor and a purge valve that thr hx ecu was looking for after my hx swap. i noticed the ex tank had noticeably less volume when i took it out as there is clearance for the purge valve and the sensor, but the spec showed thew same 11.5 capacity(or whatever, my manual is not by my computer). sure enough, the car takes the same amount of gas when i am on e. So i looked at the tank and theorized that extra space that they could play with was so ample was for expansion with lots of room to go for those 125 degree days in phoenix or Saudi Arabia. keep the pressure down- safety- that sort of thing.

so i go measure water into the talk i took out and it held 15 gallons- and it looked like it could take another 1-2 gallons if i could have burped the trapped volumes. how about that!

i guess, if you fill it slowly, on a 96-00 civic, there is room for 15 gallons of fuel if you can force out the vapor. I believe it, cause i seen it with my own eyes!

incidentally i measured the filler tube and it held very little fuel- i posted that number here last week.

In my old pontiac wagon I used to pump till it clicked off, then rocked all 4 corners of the car, and then pumped some more. I just don't bother anymore.

[swng]

I have a 09 Toyota Matrix AWD. Owing to the limited range per tank (approx. 450 km, i.e. less that 300 miles, click the Matrix AWD links at left for details), sometimes I try to squeeze some more fuel into the tank after the nozzle stops. The most I can squeeze in, without trying unduly hard, is something around 2 to 3 liters.
Given that, I think I should rather give up trying to over-fill and let the filling stop as soon as the nozzle stops.

[vectorg]

I always stop when the handle clicks off... but I don't put the handle away yet. After it shuts off, I reach over with my hand and push the lever where the spout goes in to tell the pump I'm done. Then, I continue to squeeze the handle to drain out as much gas as I can out of the hose. Seems to give me a little more gas for free every time.

[cems70]

Originally Posted by mini-e

So i looked at the tank and theorized that extra space that they could play with was for expansion for those 125 degree days in Phoenix or Saudi Arabia. keep the pressure down- safety- that sort of thing.

I measured water into the tank it held 15 gallons- and it looked like it could take another 1-2 gallons if i could have burped the trapped volumes. how about that!

i guess, if you fill it slowly, on a 96-00 civic, there is room for 15 gallons of fuel if you can force out the vapor. I believe it, cause i seen it with my own eyes!

incidentally i measured the filler tube and it held very little fuel- i posted that number here last week.

Thanks for that info mini-e. How about that! THAT sounds like a plausible explanation. Now I know I haven't been crazy for the last 13 years. No one ever believed me when I told them I can add an extra 5 gallons after the nozzle clicks off.

[joeventura]

Originally Posted by theholycow

Well, it's not THAT rare; it's just that it's most useful to say in the context of repeatable experiments. I commute the same way every day, and I do get gas on the same side of the same pump every single time. In the last three months or so, I have had to wait for that pump once. Every other time I just roll right up to it. Obviously it's more difficult for people in busier areas or people not on the same route.

Oh yes I agree its actually preferrable for experiments, but for everyday practicality its hard to accomplish.

I have half a dozen friends who do nothing but drive around a three state area all day. If they use the same pump every two weeks it would probably be a weekend.