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

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GTyankee

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I just quickly read this subject

The only thing that you can almost trust is the fuel gauge

The miles Until Empty can not be trusted
for instance if it reads 30 miles until empty & you break over the top of a steep hill, the reading will change to 99.
If you are on flat ground & doing 80 miles per hour & then you bring your speed up to 90, the calculator that figures out the miles until empty, that reading will drop or raise with speed & rpm
IT is only guesstimated
 

jimboschnitz

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One other issue to consider is what's at the bottom of the fuel tank that eventually will get into the fuel injectors.............I never let my fuel get below 1/4. At that point my "go til empty" guage says about 200 miles. When I fill up I usually never get more than 24 gallons into my 33 gallon tank which gives me enough margin to not worry about sediment that may be lying at the bottom.
 

Hookedup87

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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.
Do yourself a favor. Pick up a small bottle of Stabil or Startron fuel stabilizer and dump it in your tank. Fuel will stay fresh, system will stay clean, and you don’t have to worry about running the tank near empty. Too much else in this world to worry about besides running out of gas.
 

TestPilot57

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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.
I'd say we probably misunderstood each other. Or just have different views on life.
 

TestPilot57

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I just quickly read this subject

The only thing that you can almost trust is the fuel gauge

The miles Until Empty can not be trusted
for instance if it reads 30 miles until empty & you break over the top of a steep hill, the reading will change to 99.
If you are on flat ground & doing 80 miles per hour & then you bring your speed up to 90, the calculator that figures out the miles until empty, that reading will drop or raise with speed & rpm
IT is only guesstimated
On the one hand, duh. All the computer can do is analyze what has already happened, and makes projections based on them not changing.

Unless you have a Tesla, and a route programmed into the GPS, there is no way to know what the future holds.

On the other hand, I have NEVER seen my DTE go from 30 to 99. Or anywhere near that. In fact, I never remember it going up at all, just stops going down for a while.
 

GTyankee

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Maybe i should have used different terminology
My MPG jumps from 26 MPG to 99 Mpg when i top a hill & start down the other side.
That affects the Miles Until Empty, just as surely as taking my foot off the pedal
 

turkeybird56

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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.
JAWS2: NJ thang, roflmao (FYI, I am a shore kid), roflmao. Definitely, this topic not sumthing to get worked up over. There is so much more to be dis-satisfied about. My big thought is: Is there a cure for Cancer out there somewhere that has not been deployed due to the profits involved in treatment? Hmmmmmmm.
 
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GTyankee

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How much fuel has to be in the tank, to allow fuel to spill into the cup

1642994833938.png

There is a little strainer, about the size of a pencil eraser on the bottom of the cup
I see no other holes
 

ktischler

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Get the GasBuddy app. Then you'll know where all the gas stations are and the gas prices at each. If you get their GasBuddy card (free) you can even get discounts on gas. I use ours to plan fuel stops at the cheapest stations as we drive cross country with our travel trailer I have the app set to show diesel prices as the default.
 

pacofortacos

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Do yourself a favor. Pick up a small bottle of Stabil or Startron fuel stabilizer and dump it in your tank. Fuel will stay fresh, system will stay clean, and you don’t have to worry about running the tank near empty. Too much else in this world to worry about besides running out of gas.
Running it near empty doesn't hurt anything. Shortened fuel pump life is an urban myth.

It would take a full large bottle to treat 32 gallons of fuel and even then the shelf life isn't that long before the gas starts to lose octane and degrade. 2020 I think I only put 500 miles on the truck that year, 21 we only went on 1 vacation trip so may 3000-4000 miles last year.
Towing with a full tank of winter fuel in the hot summer might not be a good idea due to detonation.

When towing, I carry a spare 5 gallons anyways ( I use the can to fill the boat ) so I don't worry about running low then.

Other times, if it's too close I do a quick splash n go to get to the planned stop. Pre planning helps - whether it be for trips OR upcoming weather events, it's not like either sneak up on you.
 

stormcom

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I had a step sister growing up who always drove on "E". F stood for fumes. I convinced her to take her 20.00 and when the tank got to 1/2, put the 20.00 in the tank.

Worked for the first 2 tanks and I was stuck with the empty tank when it was my turn to drive the gremlin.

Another thing people and step sisters forget is the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel in the tank. Driving on the top half is cheap compared to putting in a new fuel pump. Since I put in the top half of a tank rule at my company, I have not replaced 1 fuel pump.

Your stomach would not be happy running on fumes. Neither is your gas tank.
 

etbrown4

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I believe in a 2016, the larger tank is 32g. I see some mention 33. Not a big deal.

When the DTE is zero I consistently have 6 gallons in the tank, for certain.

But a point not mentioned... Just for those few who enjoy cutting it close (not that you should) , is how much of the remaining 6 gal can you actually use before truly empty?

You won't know until you test it! Everyone has a different idea about when to refuel and that's OK.

I won't be trying to use those last 6 gallons, but am interested to know if others have tried.
 
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MichaelMTallman

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Just an opinion, BUT, I am not a mechanic, BUT, never run these fuel tanks so low if possible. Fuel cools fuel pump in tank and as said above, all electronic guesstimates on what is in tank is just that, guestimates, just like your MPG lie-o-meter, all guestimates, and the oil pressure all electronic guesstimates. . Following idiot lights or DTE estimates could leave you hanging. A good rule of thumb, IMHO, if U get to a 1/4, time to feed the beast, just saying. But do what makes you happy.
I agree, I start looking for gas when it's 1/8 - 1/4, I have more faith in my MPG calculations than I am for any "miles until empty" gauge - never used them, never will, I've tracked my MPG since the 80s, and if I still had my logs, I could tell you how much I paid and when. But, since I don't, I'm only concerned with my current vehicle. I don't drive "much" (18-20k/year) but I do have a pretty good history - I've run out of gas once, maybe twice in nearly 40 years.
 

turkeybird56

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I have never run a vehicle out of fuel, came close when on a trip to NC in 2018 in my then new MY 19. But was going by the lie-o-meter and not what I knew was in the tank, since have 26G tank and these fuel gauges set high. I almost ran my Hummer out of diesel once, we were low low low. Luckily we did not. We prob still be there pushing air off of a air line off of a deuce on the side of the road, LOL, trying to prime the system.

ADDED: I try to not go below 1/4 on truck. Pushing an almost 6,000 lb truck not work, lol. :anitoof:
 

srwa

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Have an 01 Dodge 2500 Cummins diesel with the "infamous" lift pump that sets on the left side of the engine close to the fire wall. By 03 I was on my 4th. pump. Called Cummins, explained the problem. They were "Shocked", said it was the first they had heard of the problem. Couple times a year I check the pressure going in the pump and coming out of the pump. If the pressure is below 7 psi I install a new pump.

Phunny thing, in 04 or 05 Dodge put a regular fuel pump in the tank. No more lift pumps.

By their very "nature" a lift pump runs hot and low fuel will burn one up.
 

Ken Camp

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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.
In that case just stop and get 1 gallon of $5 gas then top it off with $3 gas in 30 miles. Yeah it's a PITA, but but a little piece of mind goes a long way.
 

Jim Carelas

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I start thinking about putting gas in my Ram at about 1/2 tank especially in the winter. Why take any chances?
I always fill at 1/2 tank. That way doesn't cost me as much (in my mind) for the week.....
 
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Rzrbrn

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I have read each post and have enjoyed it immensely. I am old. Wife and I like to explore. Long ago in Nevada, using a paper atlas, took a side road to a town called Red House. some fifty miles or so after leaving the expressway came to the first broken down house into the town. I figured on getting a full tank. Drove another 10 miles or so when the road basically ended. Went back the way we came. As we drove by the old shack I saw one of the faded boards seemed to be red. Came darn close to running out of fuel before getting to the next gas station. Wife was beside herself. I, of course, was very cool.

When covid hit was leaving Scremento, CA going east up through Donner pass pulling a trailer behind a Tundra. Tundra gets bad gas mileage and has a small gas tank. Thought I would just get gas at one of the many stations along the way. Turns out there are not that many. The few that exist were closed due to the covid. Got to the top and, yes, my mileage indicator said 2 to 3 mpg going up hill and 99 mile per gallon going down hill. I had 1.5 gallons left in the tank, calculated after I filled up to the top. I did stop and put 2.5 gal in using my spare gas can along the wqy.

I now have a 2019 Ram diesel. I carry a five gallon can of fuel with me. I try hard to not drop below 1/4 tank.
 

JHoward

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Well, where I reside it wouldn't be a good thing for me to run my HEMI's fuel tank low to where it is running on gas fumes or leaving it sitting for months on end with a nearly empty fuel tank.

The weather temps change daily like me changing clothes and having the fuel tank low or nearly out of gas just gives more surface area for moisture to build up and settle into the gas tank.

IMA, different strokes for different folks. I won't ever let my HEMI's fuel tank run low or to near empty and I keep track of/on when a fuel delivery is expected at three different fueling stations. jm2¢

JHoward
 
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8_ball

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Had a Harley like this. It was indicating 50 miles before out of gas and inside a second the stupid indicator fell to zero and then inside a mile I fell out of gas... :(
 
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