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This has another benefit as well - you're not burning more gas just to carry around gas that you're going to use later. If you had a 20 gallon tank and put 7 ga
by btgeekboy 13y ago
This has another benefit as well - you're not burning more gas just to carry around gas that you're going to use later. If you had a 20 gallon tank and put 7 gallons in at a time, that's 13 gallons (x 6 lb/gal) you are carrying around needlessly - 78 pounds at its peak.
- csense 13y agoOr as xkcd puts it, "a fundamental and central problem in rocket science: Fuel makes you heavier." [1] [1] http://what-if.xkcd.com/21/ http://what-if.xkcd.com/21/
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- MBCook 13y agoAn interesting idea, but I would be amazed if even 1% of the population took that into consideration. I'd never even though of that before. Besides, a car weighs about 2500 pounds (more in the case of a van or SUV). That 13 gallons would only increase the weight of the vehicle by 3%. I'd be willing to bet you would get more fuel efficiency by just slowing down 3 mph than you would get from keeping your tank only partially filled.
- sliverstorm 13y agoIt has a downside too. When your tank is full of gasoline, due to gasoline's tendency to absorb water, the walls of the tank are not exposed to air or water. This helps prevent rust. When your tank is empty, the walls are exposed to water vapor and air, and can rust.
- yen223 13y agoAnother downside: if your tank is always half-full, you'll need to burn more fuel making more frequent stops at the gas station.