Get ready to pay more at the pump...

[Xist]

I am sure that you run out of gas there is still some fuel in the tank and lines, just not enough to pump, and the only way to know exactly how much usable capacity it has is to run out.

Hopefully on purpose, with a full gas can in your trunk.

I still argue that it is better to fill up before you get close.

[redpoint5]

3/4 of the times I've run out, I coasted into the gas station.

Once, I figured I had a 50/50 chance of making it home where I had $1/gal fuel back when diesel was $5. Ran out 5 miles short, slept in the truck, and called my dad the next morning to bring some fuel. Turned out lift pump was dead, so I couldn't prime the truck. More importantly, I found out from running out of fuel the pump was dead, which likely prevented my $2,000 high pressure pump from dying due to the strain of the low pressure pump being dead.

Besides that one, the furthest I've had to walk with a fuel can is 1.5 miles round trip.

Then I've had to push my motorcycle 1/4 mile once.

Lots of coasting into gas stations, or using EV mode on the Prius to make it to a station.

If the zombie apocalypse comes and my car is low on fuel, I'll grab one of the other 4 vehicles, or just fill up the truck with diesel on the farm.

[wdb]

Is running the tank as low as possible a point of pride of which I'm not aware? Maybe I'm a slave to convenience but I'd much rather simply not run out. I used to play the low fuel game when I was a starving teenager. BTDT,GTTS. I see no need to go back there.

[Fat Charlie]

If Mom can't get out to get gas, what does she need gas in her car for?

I also can't see how all that walking is worth it for a few cents a gallon. Over the two hours of walking, how much actual money did you save in those two tankfuls? You could have saved more if you had gassed up while already driving instead of making two special trips for it.

I understand being scatterbrained. I try to get past it by building habits- which makes things worse if something changes that pulls me out of my habit. If I know I'm going to have trouble remembering something I place a sticky note on my steering wheel before I get out of the car. At work I'll tape my car key to something if I need to bring it home, and we also use a grocery list app that helps tons. We can both put things on it, and a quick text saying to check a list is a lot better than telling me five things over the phone while I'm trying to do something else.

My tank is nominally 10.6 gallons. I told my UltraGauge that it's 10.1, and I go by its fuel remaining number without being scared of zero. A reserve is important. Two times I "ran out of gas" on hills because the pump wasn't at the bottom of the tank any more.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by wdb

Is running the tank as low as possible a point of pride of which I'm not aware? Maybe I'm a slave to convenience but I'd much rather simply not run out. I used to play the low fuel game when I was a starving teenager. BTDT,GTTS. I see no need to go back there.

We're talking maybe a dozen times or less running out of fuel in 20 years of driving, most of which when I was in my early 20's. It's been 3 years since I last ran out, so it's happening less and less frequently.

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

I also can't see how all that walking is worth it for a few cents a gallon. Over the two hours of walking, how much actual money did you save in those two tankfuls? You could have saved more if you had gassed up while already driving instead of making two special trips for it.

I get it, it's a way to procrastinate from studying. I do the same thing when I'm in school. I'll think of absolutely any reason to not focus on stupid boring homework, like maybe mom could use a hand with something, or there's interesting Youtube videos.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Xist

I need to figure out how to check the fuel discounts.

Had I known that we only had one discount I would have stopped at the cheapest place in town, driven home, and then driven Mom's car to get gas. She has bronchitis on top of her usual terrible health, so I keep trying to help out, and it was important for her to get gas yesterday.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

For instance, my Prius is rated almost exactly 10 gallons (10.2). If I put 9 gallons in to fill it, I know I had 1 gallon left despite the gas light having come on 60 miles ago...

Of course you're assuming that the "gas light" will always come on when there's the same amount of fuel left. Not exactly a safe assumption, at least with any car I've owned. While the Insight's pretty good, my pickup's gauge can vary by about 1/4 tank depending on whether I'm headed uphill or downhill, and the Miata can go about 250 miles on half a tank, and maybe 150 at most on the other half.

[Xist]

It also depends on if you are going uphill, downhill, or level.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Of course you're assuming that the "gas light" will always come on when there's the same amount of fuel left. Not exactly a safe assumption, at least with any car I've owned.

It has been quite accurate, but I don't rely solely on that. I track average MPG and current MPG. If I'm getting 50 MPG, I can go 500 miles (10 gallons times 50 MPG). The fuel light merely corroborates the other information.

[fusion210]

Higher prices or not, the fluctuations around here seem odd. Like it's jumping up and down +/- $.25/gal over the last couple weeks.