Filling up at the pump. When do you stop?

[quikryptonite]

I round up to the next quarter of a dollar.

[Avetiso]

As soon as it clicks the first time. I make sure I set a standard for when I stop to get a more accurate reading of my MPG.

[ELCID86]

When it won't take any more, click, click, click.

[Lanister]

I have been seeing these new pumps that sense when a tank is getting full and perpetually slow down the flow rate and then eventually round the cost to the nearest dollar. I absolutely loved it. It was so graceful. I think Rotten Robbie is the only station chain that has the pumps. Why do other big names don't have this awesome new technology? Apparently, when a conventional pump clicks off, the flow rate is not stopped abruptly. Instead, it overflows back into return hose. So you end up not taking away all of the gas you pay for. Moreover, the more you try to top off the tank the more of your gas the station gets to keep. Naturally, it all adds up in the end and the station makes more money this way. Bit of a scam if you ask me.

Sent from outer space...

[Pip]

I do it at the click as well.

[terraphantm]

I have been seeing these new pumps that sense when a tank is getting full and perpetually slow down the flow rate and then eventually round the cost to the nearest dollar. I absolutely loved it. It was so graceful. I think Rotten Robbie is the only station chain that has the pumps. Why do other big names don't have this awesome new technology? Apparently, when a conventional pump clicks off, the flow rate is not stopped abruptly. Instead, it overflows back into return hose. So you end up not taking away all of the gas you pay for. Moreover, the more you try to top off the tank the more of your gas the station gets to keep. Naturally, it all adds up in the end and the station makes more money this way. Bit of a scam if you ask me.

Sent from outer space...

Not only that, but for stations which sell all 3 grades of fuel through a single hose, you get ~ 3/8 gallons of whatever octane was previously selected (usually 87) despite paying for 93. Always bugged me

[danewilson77]

I stop at the click. No top off here.

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[az3579]

I want to pay less so I stop at the click. :shifty

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[derbo]

Not only that, but for stations which sell all 3 grades of fuel through a single hose, you get ~ 3/8 gallons of whatever octane was previously selected (usually 87) despite paying for 93. Always bugged me

This bugs me alot. I try to wait for a luxury car to finish so i can follow its footsteps so I am unaffected.

[johnrando]

First click. Don't want ANY chance of spillage on the car. Besides, I always use a credit card (and just pay it off monthly) so no reason for me to round up.

[kayger12]

What is this pumping gas you speak of???

#jerseylife
#noselfserve

[johnrando]

#ohyeah
#wedonthavethathereforthemostpart

[kayger12]

:)

[echo46]

Ever since Sandy, for no sane reason at all, I always get as much gas as I can get in without spilling in fear that I will not be able to get gas for the next two weeks or so. Makes no sense.

[johnrando]

Makes perfect sense.

[kayger12]

Ever since Sandy, for no sane reason at all, I always get as much gas as I can get in without spilling in fear that I will not be able to get gas for the next two weeks or so. Makes no sense.

People were driving down to the town I work in (GSP Exit 67) from NY and north Jersey post Sandy to gas up. I completely understand.

[echo46]

It was ridiculous. People were driving around all night like gas zombies.

[danewilson77]

No one has said it yet, but i thought topping off was detrimental to charcoal canister?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[terraphantm]

No one has said it yet, but i thought topping off was detrimental to charcoal canister?

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

I've heard the same. Can't confirm one way or another

[billschusteriv]

I stop at the click. No top off here.

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

This. For a number of reasons mentioned above.

Sent from my NEC Terrain using Tapatalk 4

[az3579]

What is this pumping gas you speak of???

#jerseylife
#noselfserve

Sucks to live in Jersey for that reason!


This. For a number of reasons mentioned above.

Sent from my NEC Terrain using Tapatalk 4

Am I seeing things???

[BavarianZHP]

I set it on the first notch (slowest rate) and stop at first click. Pouring slower is always better (if anything) in any case.

[Lanister]

I set it on the first notch (slowest rate) and stop at first click. Pouring slower is always better (if anything) in any case.

+1

Sent from outer space...

[az3579]

I set it on the first notch (slowest rate) and stop at first click. Pouring slower is always better (if anything) in any case.

Care to elaborate why slower pumping is better? I've never heard of this before.



Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Hermes]

Slower pump causes less agitation, therefore less fuel vapors that are sucked back into the nozzle

[az3579]

Slower pump causes less agitation, therefore less fuel vapors that are sucked back into the nozzle

What does this affect? Just how much of it you smell?

[DDub88]

I had a weird occurrence while driving cross country from Cali. I had stopped at a gas station outside of Amarillo TX with about a quarter tank left ( i never let it get below 1/4 tank because there were some stretches out there where you wouldn't see a gas station for 100 miles or so, not to mention its better on the fuel pump). Anywho, so I hop out and select the gas at the pump and put the nozzle in the tank and began pumping. After pumping for about 30 seconds I had some kind of back flow and about 1/4 of a gallon, maybe less spewed out of the tank and down the side of my car while the nozzle was in and still pumping. I immediately stopped pumping , grabbed a towel and some simple green out of the trunk and wiped the bumper off. The gas station didn't have a spill kit or the guy didn't understand what I was asking for so I grabbed some sand and spread it over the spill spot and continued on my way down I-40. What would have caused that to happen?

[JupiterBMW]

I typically stop pumping once I'm done with my cigarette...




:rofl

[Hermes]

What does this affect? Just how much of it you smell?

It's not about smell, it's about how much you pump then lose in vapor that you end up paying for at $4/gal. You save a fractional amount by pumping on slow... it ads up over time if you just do it every time.

Personally I love the smell of gas, brakes, rubber, etc.

[az3579]

It's not about smell, it's about how much you pump then lose in vapor that you end up paying for at $4/gal. You save a fractional amount by pumping on slow... it ads up over time if you just do it every time.

Personally I love the smell of gas, brakes, rubber, etc.

Interesting. Probably not an amount that can truly be measured is it? Are we talking .001 gallons per tank or more like .1?

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Hermes]

I honestly don't remember. It was a list of tips by a guy that worked for the fuel companies about how he fueled up and his reasoning

[billschusteriv]

I set it on the first notch (slowest rate) and stop at first click. Pouring slower is always better (if anything) in any case.

I do this for the motorcycle. No desire to overflow a 3 gallon tank.

Sent from my NEC Terrain using Tapatalk 4

[WOLFN8TR]

I usually fill until first Click then round off the amount, so if it's clicks at $55.32 I go to $55.50, clicks at 55.65 I go to $56.00 yadda yadda yadda. OCD ya maybe. OR until my cig is done...LoL.

[RITmusic2k]

Same as a few above; I set the pump handle lock on its lowest position and stop at the first click. It's mainly for fuel economy calculation accuracy. I also have a regular habit of filling up on the same day every week - I always go to the same station and try to get the same pump, purely to minimize the number of variables and get the most consistent fillup possible each time.

EDIT:As an aside, I actually ran out of gas for the first time in this car, just this morning...

I fill up every Friday after work, but this week we took an extra road trip and I tried to stretch the tank out to my usual fillup time. As of parking my car last night, the indicator read 20 miles to empty. When I started the car this morning, I watched the meter climb up to 34 miles remaining... I chalked it up to warm engine/cold engine, etc., screwing with the readings, but felt comfy that I had plenty left for the 7 mile commute to work. Well, I konked out on the way in, with a healthy 32 miles to empty still showing on the display.

Managed to put 17.2 gallons into the tank. Aren't we only listed as 16.9 gallons of capacity?

[3ZHP]

When I lived in Northern Ohio I needed to stop at the next nickel or it would overflow. Now in the small towns of Tennessee the pumps haven't been upgraded and I can keep clicking without over filling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hornung418]

On my road trip back from Utah with the ZHP I actually filled up at a truck stop. Wasn't busy or shady and I filled up at the slowest setting and waited for the click...well while it was filling I washed my windows and checked the oil. I heard the click and went over to the pump and it was over flowing!!! I paid for 16.57 gallons...I had a little bit left in the tank. Nothing more than a quarter gallon. But that was crazy. Had I paid inside I would have been refunded the overflow...but Shell Oil and Gas has taken my $4.00 for ever :(

And I believe the official listing is 60 liters, which turns out to be 15.85 gallons.

Sent from my GS3.

[danewilson77]

This happened to me once as well. I've not been the same.

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[az3579]

On my road trip back from Utah with the ZHP I actually filled up at a truck stop. Wasn't busy or shady and I filled up at the slowest setting and waited for the click...well while it was filling I washed my windows and checked the oil. I heard the click and went over to the pump and it was over flowing!!! I paid for 16.57 gallons...I had a little bit left in the tank. Nothing more than a quarter gallon. But that was crazy. Had I paid inside I would have been refunded the overflow...but Shell Oil and Gas has taken my $4.00 for ever :(

And I believe the official listing is 60 liters, which turns out to be 15.85 gallons.

Sent from my GS3.

Cars.com says the E46 330 has a 16.5 gallon capacity. I have pumped 16.3 gallons in before without overflowing (yeah, it was that empty). I think there might be a little extra there as reserve as well... unless the difference between 15.85 and 16.5 is reserve... who knows. :dunno

[Hornung418]

I lied. Just googled it and it comes up as 63 litres max capacity. So what does that turn out to be? 16.64 gallons! So there we have it.

Lets see who can fill up the most in the tank without overflowing. Better bring your gas cans ;)

Sent from my GS3.

[az3579]

I lied. Just googled it and it comes up as 63 litres max capacity. So what does that turn out to be? 16.64 gallons! So there we have it.

Lets see who can fill up the most in the tank without overflowing. Better bring your gas cans ;)

Sent from my GS3.

I'm winning so far. :biggrin

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Johal E32]

Pops has ran my car so low that he pumped 16.2 gallons back in LOL. Same with his old ZHP.

[328ioc]

Once it clicks the first time I then pump a bit extra until it hits the nearest 1/2 gallon or the nearest $. 25 which ever comes first.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[BavarianZHP]

Care to elaborate why slower pumping is better? I've never heard of this before.



Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Pumping slower produces much less agitation, which is more efficient, accurate and most importantly doesn't stir up any insoluble harmful (sediment/water/all the heavy gunk) deposits sitting at the bottom of the tank that can find it's way into the filters/injectors and such. Dad always did it and he passed that knowledge onto me. So when I think about pumping, slower = better for wallet and car.

[JKO_ZHP]

At $3.75 a gallon for 91, just $40 cash per fill-up.

[midlandtech]

I was once told by a tech to not pump past the first click so that's when I stop. I also try to not let the car get below 50 miles of range as just a personal preference. The Hyvee gas stations here have 91 octane no ethanol fuel that I make every attempt to use but I carry a big bottle of Lucas oil additive to supplement for gasoline with ethanol if I'm forced to fuel at one of those stations

[WolfBMW]

I'm actually looking forward to being able to wait for the click with the new ZHP- my old 328 had a weird gas tank issue where somehow the pump wouldn't detect that it was full and it would happily put another extra gallon+ in, which would gush out (all over the side of my car) after I quit pumping. I decided it was easier to just pay attention/never quite fill the tank rather than trying to fix it.

Has that ever happened to anyone else, by the way? I asked my mechanic about it and he said he'd never seen another E46 with the issue.

[danewilson77]

We've had a lot of members here complain of the "overflow and gush"

I don't think this is BMW related but gas pump nozzle related.

Imho :shifty

[ELCID86]

I watch the NJ Turnpike "pros" today. They do click a few times...

[WolfBMW]

We've had a lot of members here complain of the "overflow and gush"

I don't think this is BMW related but gas pump nozzle related.

Imho :shifty

Ah, rats! I'll keep being careful, then :dunno

[RITmusic2k]

I'm winning so far. :biggrin

Hold on now... I think I'm still ahead!


Managed to put 17.2 gallons into the tank. Aren't we only listed as 16.9 gallons of capacity?

[az3579]

^huh??? I didn't see that...
How is that possible?? Is BMW lying to us??

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[alexandre]

^huh??? I didn't see that...
How is that possible?? Is BMW lying to us??

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Maybe some escaped as vapors?

[az3579]

Maybe some escaped as vapors?

Seems like an awful lot to escape as vapors...

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[Hermes]

I will preface this by saying it was 15k miles ago...

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/29/e3y7ugu3.jpg

[terraphantm]

I will preface this by saying it was 15k miles ago...

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/29/e3y7ugu3.jpg
You should be okay. Last year I got mine to the point where it was just displaying "---" instead of a number -- fuel pump still works fine today, almost 20k miles later

[SoCalZman]

First click. Always seemed full on my gas gauge and I calculate my gas mileage with this as well.

Something off happened to me last night when I was filling. The nozzle kept clicking every half gallon or so. So after 3 clicks I got annoyed and went to another pump. This nozzle started doing it too but then just stopped and filled up like normal to its final click when it was full.

[Fried_Chicken]

I had a weird occurrence while driving cross country from Cali. I had stopped at a gas station outside of Amarillo TX with about a quarter tank left ( i never let it get below 1/4 tank because there were some stretches out there where you wouldn't see a gas station for 100 miles or so, not to mention its better on the fuel pump). Anywho, so I hop out and select the gas at the pump and put the nozzle in the tank and began pumping. After pumping for about 30 seconds I had some kind of back flow and about 1/4 of a gallon, maybe less spewed out of the tank and down the side of my car while the nozzle was in and still pumping. I immediately stopped pumping , grabbed a towel and some simple green out of the trunk and wiped the bumper off. The gas station didn't have a spill kit or the guy didn't understand what I was asking for so I grabbed some sand and spread it over the spill spot and continued on my way down I-40. What would have caused that to happen?

This is interesting, on my drive from Texas to Cali the same thing happened to me in Arizona.
I was just casually pumping gas when all of a sudden it spills over.
I assume the gas station just had higher pressure than usual and the car did something weird.

[RITmusic2k]

^huh??? I didn't see that...
How is that possible?? Is BMW lying to us??

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

Well, a coworker came over with a filled-to-the-brim 1.25gal gas can, which I put into the car. It had an awkward shape to pour, but the can was basically emptied. Then I drove 1 mile to a gas station and proceeded to pump in 15.97gal to the first click. I'm sure that pumping slowly allowed me to pour gas pretty much right up to the top of the filler neck, and that's gotta be where the extra capacity came from in my case.

[az3579]

^ Don't forget the gas used while travelling to the station, though even then it's over 16.5 gallons. Perhaps your car grew its belly and can fit more now. :biggrin

[Stu]

Always when it clicks (and it's not a false click). I've read that continuing to pump in a few more extra clicks just ends up wasting money on your part in the long-run since you'll never have any meaningful usage out of those few extra clicks.

I'm generally pretty confident it's full when it stops at 15-15.5 gallons.

Highest I've ever gone was 15.9 D: I apologized to my fuel pump that day, but it was a really weird week where I happened to never pass a fuel station and I was on my last 1/4th of a tank.

[UdubBadger]

I typically stop pumping once I'm done with my cigarette...




:rofl

:rofl nice one


Goin' HAM mobile

[UdubBadger]

You should be okay. Last year I got mine to the point where it was just displaying "---" instead of a number -- fuel pump still works fine today, almost 20k miles later

I've done this too and it'll go another 10 miles or so on the fuel in the lines.

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode.


Goin' HAM mobile

[ZHPWelt]

I have always used the Click Click Click method. No real reason to stop early. The fuel system is a sealed system and would need to have every last bit of air replaced with fuel to cause an issue with say expansion pressure. Since liquid wont compress but air will there will always be some air left in the system even if you you fill to overflow on the spout. If you drive say 7 miles home after a fillup you have already burnt approx 1/2 gallon from the tank.

[WOLFN8TR]

How about....When I'm out of Money! Dam gas prices.

[terraphantm]

You should be okay. Last year I got mine to the point where it was just displaying "---" instead of a number -- fuel pump still works fine today, almost 20k miles later

Guess I jinxed myself, fuel pump is dead now :facepalm No warning either. Now I gotta call up a bunch of dealers and find an M3 fuel pump in stock.

[danewilson77]

Good data point.

Sent from my S4 > Mason, OH

[johnrando]

Guess I jinxed myself, fuel pump is dead now :facepalm No warning either. Now I gotta call up a bunch of dealers and find an M3 fuel pump in stock.

Bummer.

[Mike V]

First click. If I keep going, my old E36 M3 will smell like gas the next morning. :)

[Openair]

I was doing a search to see if anyone had a problem filling the tank completely. This seems to be the nearest thread I can find so I'll ask the question. Sometimes I can not fill the tank completely. It seems to only fill to somewhere between 3/4 and full. I don't think it's a gauge issue. I always set the pump on the slowest notch but it just doesn't always register full when it shuts off. Got any thoughts?

[Avetiso]

Fuel might be failing to pump into the other tank completely.

[alexandre]

I'm winning so far. :biggrin

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

I just did 62.83L = 16.59gal. I apologized to my fuel pump. As a data point I drove ~10 miles past ----.

[ELCID86]

I just did 62.83L = 16.59gal. I apologized to my fuel pump. As a data point I drove ~10 miles past ----.

Yikes! I hope it forgives you Alex ;-)


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[NoVAphotog]

Usually stop at the first click...unless I feel the temptation to round out the numbers.

[E_Rak]

Third click... Don't know why

Sent from my oversized iPhone | HTC One

[ELCID86]

Third click... Don't know why

Sent from my oversized iPhone | HTC One

Good round number :biggrin


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[TylerDZHP]

First click so I can try to maintain consistency with my fuelly MPG calculation.

[ryankokesh]

First click so I can try to maintain consistency with my fuelly MPG calculation.

+1


Sent from my iPad using the interwebz.

[pilotnick1203]

OCD hand do it and round to an even number...


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[gmurphy]

OCD hand do it and round to an even number...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have started filling until I reach $33.01


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[pilotnick1203]

I have started filling until I reach $33.01


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LOL that's great!


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[TheFinanceGuy]

It depends on what car I'm driving. My wife's Subaru I stop at the first click and be done. With my cars (540, ZHP) I generally round to the nearest quarter. No reason really.

[HockeyGoon]

First click
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/06/13/ege4u6u2.jpg