How to estimate fuel consumption - best method!

[Billy_BAD_Boy]

Hi everyone,

Pls. tell me if there is such thread here, otherwise feel free to comment and discuss:

I read about the various ways to estimate your fuel usage? But what is the best and more accurate? First click, Second click, full tank, Light on the dashboard, something other....

Personally I use my light on the dashboard warning me for low fuel level. According to my estimations the light goes on when I have between 5 and 7 liters of diesel. However it depend of the ground level. If it is hilly the light flashes earlier so it's not so accurate way...
I hear that first click is not accurate too, but why...

Thanks in advance

[MadisonMPG]

Fill until you see diesel in the neck.

[gone-ot]

...the reason for using the "first click" method is consistency, so you fill to the same point every time. That will give you a more accurate fuel "full" value and thus a more accurate fuel consumption calculation.

[Billy_BAD_Boy]

Originally Posted by MadisonMPG

Fill until you see diesel in the neck.

The reason I am not using this method is because the tank neck has a spiller (not sure about the word) which limits the fuel to a level bellow the sight.

First click sound reasonable for me. Is there a flows with this method.

[wagonman76]

IMO, first click is great but only if you pump at the same speed each time. Some pumps are slow, some are fast, and the faster it goes the more splashing of fuel there is and most times kicks the pump off prematurely. I always try to count to myself and pump about .1 gal/sec, or 6 gal/min. Still only takes just over 2 minutes to fill the tank.

[some_other_dave]

Pick any method you like. It's better if you pick the same method for all of your fills, but even that isn't that critical. It just means that it will take a larger number of tank fills for your errors to average out.

-soD

[aerohead]

Unless you can see the fuel standing in the filler neck,you cannot know the tank is full.I have on occasion,put more than 2-gallons of additional fuel in a tank after the nozzle clicked off in order to actually fill the tank.Even on a very long test run,this sort of thing would absolutely destroy the validity of any data gathering if you didn't follow through on filling.-------- Delivery rates vary from pump to pump,and even on the same pump depending on conditions.For "short" runs use the same station,the same pump,parking at the pump in the same orientation.

[pstrbrc]

For actually calculating I always go to the same station, use the same pump, and face the same direction. I'll keep track of the gallons I pump at other stations, but when it comes time to say how well I've done over a certain period, same station, pump, direction. Oh, and I'm a second-clicker.

[gone-ot]

Originally Posted by pstrbrc

Oh, and I'm a second-clicker.

...same here: first one for the foam, second one for the liquid.

[Frank Lee]

I don't have any proof, but I think first click is bad and second is much better.

There are bubbles and whatnot when filling- even the angle and amount the fill nozzle is inserted affect the clicker- and if you wait a bit after first click for things to settle down then go second click I'd suspect consistency would be better.

On the other end of things I never fill til I see gas. For one thing I'm not far from the station and don't burn much off at all heading home. Chances are the vehicle will see warmer temps than when I filled before it gets used again so then what happens- it goes into the evaporative system or out the overflow or spills out, depending on the vehicle.

Two clicks, done and done.