Am I out of gas? **On side of road**

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TestPilot57

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You should never run it out of gas.
Truer words have never been spoken. But, as one man's trash is another's treasure, the point at which re-fueling will vary depending on circumstances. For some, it will be "low fuel", for others it will be 1/2 tank.
 

TestPilot57

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I can’t help but wonder why someone would wait till it said 20 miles to empty
I think mine just says "low fuel" at that point, but here's a reason: when it says "50 miles to empty" and the gas at the station 1 mile away is $5/gallon and you know that in 30 miles there's a station with gas at $3/gallon.

Plus the fact that every relatively modern vehicle that Ive driven has a very pessimistic view of miles to empty. So when it says 20 it could be 50 or even 100.
 

TestPilot57

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A Tow Truck friend texted me the following:

MECANIC'S SECRET

A little-known secret about most modern-day vehicles and that is in tank fuel pump.

Gasoline is naturally cold when you allow your fuel gauge to go below a quarter of a tank the fuel pump is exposed wow still pumping fuel the pump will overheat because it is not cooled by gasoline and the pump will burn up.
Baloney.

If that were the case, with even the basest of factory warranties, the DTE would be set to 0 at 1/4 tank!

Remember, the gas is going THROUGH the pump - at least as, if not more, effective that being submerged in it.
 

KeithP

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That only applies if your time is worth nothing.
I’ve helped stranded idiots in life threatening weather b/c they thought their time was too valuable to be bothered stopping for gas. I’ll take my valued time and keep the top half of my tank full so I’m not the one needing rescuing thank you.
 

TestPilot57

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Wow, I don't know anyone was dumb enough to actually use the DTE indicator on a vehicle for anything but a reference.
Ummm, yeah. A reference. So - for what? To observe and acknowledge, or, observe and ignore....?

Clearly it's not a 100% guaranteed number. But if it says 30 miles you could be reasonably expected to be disturbed if you actually run out 1 mile later. And on the other hand you could be frustrated (as I have been) to find that with "30 miles to empty with a current 15 MPG" that you can only fit 28 gallons in a 33 gallon tank.
 

TestPilot57

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Takes the same amount of time to put a half tank in, bottom half or top, doesn't matter
Clearly you've never done time studies. The slow, stop, payment, re-start, pull-out process is the same whether you get 1 gallon or 1000.
 

TestPilot57

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I’ve helped stranded idiots in life threatening weather b/c they thought their time was too valuable to be bothered stopping for gas. I’ll take my valued time and keep the top half of my tank full so I’m not the one needing rescuing thank you.
(potentially) life threatening situations are not the same (for most people) as everyday living.
 

Docwagon1776

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You have a 1/3 line on your gauge? Is that a special "Fuel anxiety" option, or...?

Who the hell needs lines to read a gauge to the nearest third? You know how far it sweeps, you are human (I'm assuming, maybe I'm responding to an AI that is sort of passing the Turing test), it's within the human experience to intuit where a third of a full sweep is.

"How much gas do we have?"
"I have no idea, it's between two of the lines...so there's no way to know."
 

pacofortacos

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I do miss the days when the low fuel light came on at 1/8 tank vs. the darn near empty tank that the newer models do.

But I also miss the 26 gallon setting on my 32 gallon tank. haha
 

demonram

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Ima jump in right here and not read the next 9 pages. When my truck is above the half tank line, I will fill it up. Very seldom does it ever get below a half tank. And I don't know how much mechanical knowledge the OP has, but the electric fuel pump in the tank is both cooled and lubricated by the gas in the tank. If you consistently run it until the low fuel light comes on, you are shortening the life of the fuel pump. I can't even imagine the cost to replace it.
 

pacofortacos

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The cooling/lubricating is internal in the pump so no fuel to lube/cool, no fuel to run, so no pump running after the motor stalls.

If you think about it, if it was such an issue, wouldn't every manufacturer make it so that you always have half a tank of gas when reading empty and a low fuel cutout to prevent a low fuel situation???

Another reason I run mine low, the truck sits for months on end at times without running - so when I do use it (usually for longer runs) I fill up with fresh fuel and run that tank low to get rid of the older gas. Gas w/ethanol ( almost all that is available here) goes bad and attracts water in a fairly short period.
I am not positive, but the fuel in the tank right now might be from late summer.
Not unusual for me to have a tank of summer fuel in the spring and winter fuel at the start of summer.
 

gt8684

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Another reason I run mine low, the truck sits for months on end at times without running - so when I do use it (usually for longer runs) I fill up with fresh fuel and run that tank low to get rid of the older gas. Gas w/ethanol ( almost all that is available here) goes bad and attracts water in a fairly short period.
I am not positive, but the fuel in the tank right now might be from late summer.
Not unusual for me to have a tank of summer fuel in the spring and winter fuel at the start of summer.
I can agree with the ethanol fuel going bad faster and absorbing moisture, but I guess I'm on the other side of the spectrum, I would rather leave my tank full to the brim with a shot of stabilizer... both allowing the fuel to last longer and help limit attracting moisture. The way I see it is if the tank is full, there is less surface area for moisture to collect, but then again I live in the south, everything sweats here...
 

Lee Pedrick

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Not a diesel guy. Ram 2500 ,6.4. full tank,, when I got it new. 32gal tank. I ran it down on purpose to see when the low fuel light comes on. Then filled it. My reserve is 5 gallons. Then on, I fill up right around 1/2 tank. Easier on the pocketbook that way also. So at best. 50 miles. I only get around 10mpg around town. Shes a beast so I know what I was getting into when I got it.
 

Jimmy07

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The cooling/lubricating is internal in the pump so no fuel to lube/cool, no fuel to run, so no pump running after the motor stalls.

If you think about it, if it was such an issue, wouldn't every manufacturer make it so that you always have half a tank of gas when reading empty and a low fuel cutout to prevent a low fuel situation???

Another reason I run mine low, the truck sits for months on end at times without running - so when I do use it (usually for longer runs) I fill up with fresh fuel and run that tank low to get rid of the older gas. Gas w/ethanol ( almost all that is available here) goes bad and attracts water in a fairly short period.
I am not positive, but the fuel in the tank right now might be from late summer.
Not unusual for me to have a tank of summer fuel in the spring and winter fuel at the start of summer.
^This right here. It’s unreal how many people repeat the myth that the pump needs to be submerged for cooling. The pump is cooled by the fuel running through it, not around it. If anyone were to look at the location of the actual motor of the fuel pump in relation to inside the tank, you would actually need 3/4 of a tank to have fuel surround the motor.
 

pacofortacos

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I can agree with the ethanol fuel going bad faster and absorbing moisture, but I guess I'm on the other side of the spectrum, I would rather leave my tank full to the brim with a shot of stabilizer... both allowing the fuel to last longer and help limit attracting moisture. The way I see it is if the tank is full, there is less surface area for moisture to collect, but then again I live in the south, everything sweats here...
The actual surface area is pretty constant since the tank is a rectangle.
I really don't want to tow the boat over the Appalachian mountains with a tank of winter fuel in the summer, but adding stabilizer would be a good option.
 

jawzs2

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Clearly you've never done time studies. The slow, stop, payment, re-start, pull-out process is the same whether you get 1 gallon or 1000.

Clearly you misunderstood my post, but no worries, not worth bantering about it. Besides, how long it takes to put gas in my truck is real low on my priority list of things to get worked up over.
 

pictureofuu

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Only run your tank down to a quarter tank. Do not go less. Fuel pump inside the tank uses the gasoline in there to keep cool. It is not sufficient enough to cool its self running the tank that low. You are adding premature wear onto your pump.
 
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