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All Electric - Quarter-Filled Gas Tank

Discussion in 'Prime Fuel Economy & EV Range' started by dlegate, May 15, 2018.

  1. dlegate

    dlegate Junior Member

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    My commute offers me the nice opportunity to drive almost completely on the electric engine, with only rare instances of needing longer distance trips.

    At first, I was driving around with a full tank of gas all the time, bragging to people (yes, annoyingly) how "little" gas I was using, but then thought "why am I carrying all this weight around?".

    Now, I've opted to get it down to about 100 miles range on Gas (about two bars on the meter) so that, should I need to suddenly drive longer than normal, I can get to any nearby station (if necessary, depending on distance), fill up and go. That way, I figure the electric engine should give me more range with that much less weight being hauled around all the time.

    If you also have an almost all-electric commute, have you adopted similar strategies? Any hints, tips or warnings?

    How much fuel do you normally keep in your tank?

    Thanks!

    Dan
     
    #1 dlegate, May 15, 2018
    Last edited: May 15, 2018
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm now at 80% electric, so i tank i will adopt your strategy since the pip recommends fresh gas every 6 months.
    i'll have to review my mileage over the last 6 months, and put enough gas in to cover 20% plus safety.
    i'm guessing 3,000 miles x 20% = 600 miles, so probably 5-6 gallons.
     
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  3. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    There is no such thing as a electric engine, for over 100 years it’s been called a motor, electric motor if you prefer. It is confusing enough when the ICE is referred as a motor. This nomenclature of yours would make it doubly confusing. Keeping a low tank is a good idea, with 2 gallons of l reserve. But, NEVER run out of gasoline! Calm cause complications.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    I just put 5 gallons in, on top of the reserve. We’ll see how it goes.
     
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  5. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    gud ider
     
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Absolutely.
     
  7. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Actually it isn't a really good idea.

    In addition to collecting more water due to condensation (might be a serious concern near the ocean), a mostly empty tank makes it much more likely that you will get into a situation where you run out.....either because of lack of attention or lack of fuel availability.

    But everyone is free to do whatever makes them feel good.......until it doesn't.
     
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  8. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    I plead guilty. but, I did not say it, I posted it.
     
  9. Glenn G

    Glenn G Member

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    A lawn mower put away for the winter needs a stabilizer added to the tank.
    So I think a ~$30k car should get a fresh tank at least every 6 months. I wouldn't want to
    put anything weird in the tank - it's not a lawn mower.
     
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  10. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

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    I’m going to siphon gas out of the Prius if possible and burn in in my wife’s crossover every year.
     
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  11. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    Most of the recent cars one cannot siphon gas out. you can always siphon gas in tho.
     
  12. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Brilliant. NOT.

    Take the gas OUT of a vehicle that gets maybe 45 MPG when running on gas alone........and put it into a vehicle that gets maybe 25 ????

    And there is nothing "weird" about fuel stablilzer. Many owners manuals even recommend it.
     
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  13. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

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    If I could find something authoritative that says STA-Bil is OK for a Prius Prime I'd be fine with that.
     
  14. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    What exactly makes you think that the the fuel requirements for the Prime is somehow basically different than any other gas engine ever made ??
    It isn't.

    Is there maybe a mention of long storage periods somewhere in your owners manual ??

    My guess......based on working on/with gas engines for 50 years: If you can burn off most of the tank and refill it every 3 months or so, then just don't worry about it. If you go more like 6 months between using up the full tank, put in the recommended dose of fuel stabilizer at each fill......and then don't worry about it.

    If you do find some reference to this subject in your manual, others reading this thread might find that information useful.
     
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  15. ziggy29

    ziggy29 Member

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    I'm wondering about this, too. When I bought my new Prime two weeks ago, they gave me a full tank of gas. It's still practically full and at this rate it will take me a few months to use most of it (I've run maybe 10-12 miles on the ICE in one trip). It makes me wonder how healthy that is, or if it's a good idea to force the ICE to run once in a while so the gas doesn't get too old.
     
  16. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I do frequent enough longer than EV range trips, so I just fill up the tank whenever it gets empty. During last one year of Prime ownership, the longest I drove without filling was just over two months. As per manual (on page 96), Prime ICE requires only a half tank of refuel every 12 month. I go through far more of gasoline than that.

    capture-20180801-150054.png
     
  17. walterm

    walterm Active Member

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    I saw somewhere that he car will force the ICE to run if it determines the gas in the tank has sat too long. It will also display a reminder as per the following from the owner's manual (p.96, from the 'plug-in hybrid system' section):

    ■Notice about fuel
    ●For plug-in hybrid vehicles, fuel may remain in the tank for a long time and
    undergo changes in quality depending on the how the vehicle is used.
    Refuel at least 5.3 gal.(20 L, 4.4 Imp.gal.) of fuel every 12 months (refuel a
    total of at least 5.3 gal. [20 L, 4.4 Imp.gal.] over a 12-month period), as this
    may affect components of the fuel system or the gasoline engine.
    ●If the vehicle has not been refueled for a certain amount of time and it is
    possible that the quality of the fuel remaining in the tank has changed, “No
    new fuel has been added recently. Please refuel” is displayed on the multiinformation
    display when the power switch is turned to ON mode. If the
    message is displayed, refuel the vehicle immediately
     
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  18. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    You should start by reading your owners manual.
     
  19. ziggy29

    ziggy29 Member

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    Yeah, all 1000+ pages combined, cover to cover, word by every word. I did searches on the PDF version but perhaps I didn't use the right search words. Still, no justification for being a snarky jerk about it in response.
     
    #19 ziggy29, Aug 1, 2018
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2018
  20. ziggy29

    ziggy29 Member

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    Thank you. At least someone decided not to be a jerk.
     
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