Recommendation to help prevent sediment, rust and condensation issues in fuel tank...

[VAMike]

If you live in the upper 48 and experience cold weather, put a bottle of Heat into your full tank in the fall...and maybe once more in the dead of winter. The alcohol in the Heat will absorb/dissipate the water in your tank. If you have water in your tank/lines, and if its cold enough....THEY WILL FREEZE (I KNOW FIRST HAND).

Ever since my father-in-law (experienced mechanic) knew this happened to me, it has become an annual joke and pilgrimage to get a couple bottles of HEAT late summer/early fall and put it in for the last 25 years Still get crap from the old fart to this day.

He also mentioned this to me. You can put the Heat in, use premium gas, store it in the garage, etc. But the gas station that you filled up from can ALSO be the culprit of getting water/condensation, wrong type fuel in to your vehicle. Don't forget those gas station tanks are buried in the ground. They get condensation in there too, deliveries sometimes get mixed up in wrong tanks, tanks don't get filled too often, sediment in those tanks get stirred, etc. That's also one of the reasons for the added alcohol in those tanks as well.

And before all you guys that say "alcohol" is not good for my engine....IT'S A SMALL AMOUNT that is more beneficial than detrimental to those that live in colder climates. I'm sure this forum has some Canadian Ranger riders that can attest to this.?

It's pretty hard these days to find gas these days that doesn't already have ethanol in it...

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[towpro]

Not worried about Rust because my tank is plastic (at least it looked that way when I just went out and looked at it). Plus the Gas station should have filters that will stop rust inside the pumps. Plus the truck has a filter to stop most sediment that gets into the tank.

Now worried about condensation because every tank of gas I buy comes with Free "dry gas". That is because alcohol is hygroscopic, it absorb water. Sure if the fuel has water in it and it gets cold some of the water might "plate out". that is one reason our tanks are Plastic because when this water plates out it adsorbs a sulphur molecule and becomes mild sulfuric acid, which is hell on aluminum, but as soon as it warms up again it all this mixes back into the fuel and is burnt in the engine. Besides, 98% of these truck never sit long enough.

 

[Wytchdctr]

I find it annoying how soon the low fuel alert comes on compared to my other vehicles but maybe it's a good thing.

DO YOU KNOW YOU ONLY HAVE 50 MILES BEFORE EMPTY.... PANIC!!!!

Keep it filled up. When you get to 1/2 a tank, fill er up again. Enjoy your truck. The end.

That is what I do. Mostly to avoid the overzealous warnings about low fuel.

 

[SICKQK]

Liked this article which gives insight on the above. Seemed to be technically sound and covered by persons highly experienced in this area.
This Is How Much Gas You Should Keep in Your Tank (msn.com)

I feel that of 1st importance is to use a top tier gas brand (I primarily use Chevron and have had excellent experience with it) with a minimum of 87 Octane which is mandated by Ford for the 5g Rangers.
TOP TIER™ Gasoline Brands (toptiergas.com)

I'm not recommending it but I've seen 0 miles to empty at least a dozen times in my last 4 Ford pickups.

This is mostly because I live close to the border of two States and will often delay filling until I've crossed over, taking advantage of the lower prices. In addition I drive approximately 24K miles per year so filling up at 1/2 or 1/4 tank would drive me crazy.?

I can tell you with 100% certainly that 0 miles left is not really 0 miles left.

 

[Vitis805]

But some other 5g members have done a lot better...

To put it frankly, those members are not providing good data. The high numbers you see are either wishful or are from long highway trips. Once those trucks hit any kind of urban driving in the same amount of miles the average will tank right down to the 19-23 MPG area. My truck is leveled and has 32" tires and on the highway I can still see 25-28 MPG @ 65-70 MPH on the flats. If I do the same amount of miles but in urban scenarios the MPG is anywhere from 7-18 MPG.

 

[canyonslicker]

If you’re actively driving then fuel will slosh around and keep everything wet, sitting for long periods will let things dry out and allow back flow and rot… just drive it and fill when necessary… DRIVE is the key word…

 

[KJRR]

I can tell you with 100% certainly that 0 miles left is not really 0 miles left.

I had a rental Dodge Journey that I saw 0 mi to empty in. Was on the way back from Utah to Vegas in the middle of nowhere. Getting low on fuel but the wife was sleeping and didn't want to wake her by stopping so kept going when the alert went off. There were some strong headwinds and mileage was probably 1/2 of what it should have been. Wife wakes up and says "are you going to get gas soon? I'll be pissed if you run out and I have to sit here in the heat while you walk to get gas." It was 110 degrees out and I was getting little worried. Ran about 10 miles at 0 till empty when we found a station. Gas pump handles are hot at that temperature.?
Another story, borrowed my parents van for a trip and they neglected to tell me the gas gauge didn't work right and I should fill up at 1/4 tank. Yep, ran out of gas. State trooper was nice enough to give me a ride.

 

[McLeadslinger]

I haven’t looked at my MPG’s in months. I just keep feeding her 93 octane. Last I looked, I was getting 17mpg city and 20 hwy on my 33’s

 

[OrangeStreak]

To put it frankly, those members are not providing good data. The high numbers you see are either wishful or are from long highway trips. Once those trucks hit any kind of urban driving in the same amount of miles the average will tank right down to the 19-23 MPG area. My truck is leveled and has 32" tires and on the highway I can still see 25-28 MPG @ 65-70 MPH on the flats. If I do the same amount of miles but in urban scenarios the MPG is anywhere from 7-18 MPG.

Good point about forum posts that are not substantial. When you're on a public forum, there will be feedback with theories, ideas, hearsay, misinformation and some opinions without justification, but also some really great sound advice, information and fun interaction. No one is always right about everything. A member can evaluate the input and decide what they think is the best application. Ignoring the stuff you don't agree with can avoid arguments and debates that go nowhere.

Anyway, back to mpg's. Your mpg's sound reasonable. My best city was 17.6 and best Hwy 23.2 with stock suspension and oversize tires. Considering all the variables (including driving habits) involved with gas mileage, I'm probably in the ballpark . The best-known factor to good mpg's is to stay off the turbo and let those Taco's go on by!

 

[WNCblueridge]

The recommendation to keep at least 1/4 of a tank of fuel to cool the fuel pump is an old wives tail. As long as the pump is moving fuel the pump is getting all the cooling it needs.

I go to the gas station as seldom as possible so for the past 50 years I typically only get gas when I am at 1/8th of a tank. I have never had an issue with condensation or sediment. My first vehicle with an in tank electric fuel pump was in 1985 and since then I have only had one pump failure and that was on an 89 Shelby Daytona that failed in the late 90s.

IMHO, fretting over when you should fill your tank is a lot of nonsense.

My truck currently sits on 39 miles to empty and I'm fine with that. I'm really just procrastinating on the next fill up because constantly filling up with premium every 5 to 7 days is depressing with these gas prices so high and frankly a strain with my modest income. Still love the truck and still drive the piss out of it

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