whats the reason for filling up at the 3/4 mark? because of the ethanol?

 

Spike was saying to not let the truck get below 3/4 empty because the pumps are cooled by the fuel in the tank. The lower the fuel gets, the hotter the pumps run. The hotter electrical pumps run, the shorter their life.

By refilling much sooner than the very bottom of the tank will keep you from spending $ on a new pump when the old one craps out.

I usually refill mine when it gets to 1/2, on rare occasion when it gets to 1/4, but never have run it lower than 1/4.

edit: I assume Spike was talking about 3/4 empty instead of 3/4 full. I could keep my fuel tank nearly full by refilling it every day, but I tend to think the fuel economy is going to increase with less than a full tank of fuel due to the weight of the fuel. It's really a trade-off: More fuel increases weight, decreasing MPG, and little fuel increases MPG because of less weight, but risks killing your fuel pump from heat.

 

By filling at 3/4 you don't crap yourself when you have to pay...

 

I got over that years ago.

 

I'm not sure if BP still offers their Visa card, but it offers 5% back on fuel purchases. That adds up quick for $2.70/gal gasoline (.13/gal). It comes as a gift card, but it works anywhere, so to me that is a great deal.

 

My reasoning for filling up at the 3/4 mark is to avoid sticker shock at the pump.
I get gas once a week, on Fri.
I average 160 miles a week and that brings me to just below the 3/4 mark, its usually around $30-40 to fill my truck that way.

Plus if you keep your "its the end of the world/tsunami/earthquake/blizzard/volcano/get the hell out of town" vehicle near full you can get to safety even when the gas stations are under water, like after Hurricane Katrina.
Being a Boy Scout I actually have 20 gal of treated fuel in my shed.
So with my well maintained Disco with a 3/4 tank and 20 gal of gas in cans I can easily drive over 500 miles.

 

Damn you all are lucky, gas is over $4 in NY and my D2 sees over 300 miles a week :/.

 

we are at 3.75 a gallon in PA, and i also do about 3-4 hundred a week. i am just about to purchase an e85 conversion kit. its 2.45-2.55 here.

 

I fill up at 1/2 tank because that's when the check engine light comes on! (p0455... yea, I know)
Also check out pure-gas.org I've been using ethanol free gas (Chevron) and get an extra 2mpg. it doesn't cost any more than gas with ethanol. YMMV

Eric