# How much gas do you put in your tank? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857 "2010-05-18T04:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/21 "2010-05-18T12:59:29Z")
I pretty much always fill it. I drive about 1,100 to 1,200 miles a week. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/22 "2010-05-18T13:04:42Z")
I drive an 88 Econoline full sized van with double tanks. I never have the money at one time to fill that bad boy up! Plus it’s like a jinx. Every time I fill a tank the car breaks down. I usually put 30 in at a time, and that gets me through a week. The cheap gas station is right around the corner so it’s really no biggie. Plus I get to make eyes at the cute guy who owns the place. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/23 "2010-05-18T13:07:01Z")
I always fill it completely. I always use a credit card, too, so how much cash I have on hand isn’t relevant. > [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > First, I hate stopping for gas. I want to do that the fewest number of times possible. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn\_K\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Shawn\_K\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn_K_1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/24 "2010-05-18T13:44:16Z")
What’s this about a penalty for using a credit card at some gas stations? never heard of that. I fill it every time and never let it go under a 1/4 tank, better for the long term health of the fuel pump. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/25 "2010-05-18T13:44:53Z")
I manage to put $50 worth in paying in cash. They charge more for credit here. I have a 35 gallon tank ans never let it get below 1/4 of a tank. Running low is bad for the electric fuel pump. Running dry will almost always burn the pump out either on the spot or a few weeks later. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/26 "2010-05-18T13:47:35Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > How much gas do I put in my tank? All of it (ba dumb dumb). This reminds me of a story I have told before: Filling up gas one day and I happen to look up and across the way is an old guy, filling gas in his car, smiling at me with this goofy inane smile. I’m like “whatever”, return the smile, and go back to my pumping. Wait a minute. There was something wrong with that picture. I look up again, and the guys is _still_ staring at me, smiling with that stupid goofy grin. I look down, and he is so intent on staring at me\* that he has forgotten to switch off his pump and gas is pouring down the side of his car and onto the floor. I’m all “Sir! Sir! Your car! The gas!” He looks down and I see his eyes slam open in horror. Oops. \*I don’t really know why he was staring at me. It wasn’t a “I am attracted to you look.” It was just this weird look. Oh, and I always fill up my gas tank. I let it run to a half-tank in the winter, a quarter tank the rest of the year, and then fill it up all the way. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/27 "2010-05-18T13:51:52Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Oh, and I always fill up my gas tank. I let it run to a half-tank in the winter, a quarter tank the rest of the year, and then fill it up all the way. This. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/28 "2010-05-18T13:53:38Z")
I always fill. Always pay with a credit card, even though most of the gas stations I pass by in Michigan have cash discounts (it’s usually only 7¢ to 10¢ per gallon, and on a 20 gallon tank, that’s nothing). Here I always fill up, too, and usually ask them to top it up to the very, very top, because at 14 mpg, it’ll be to a normal level pretty quickly. I always _try_ to use my credit card, because at costs almost a $1 000 pesos to fill up, but sometimes the gas stations just don’t take credit cards (it took a lot of trial and error to figure out which ones do and don’t). For those that worry about a 1/4 tank and their fuel pumps, well, that’s not necessary. As long as fuel is going through the pump, it is being cooled, and you have nothing to worry about. It’s true that you don’t want to run out of fuel, though. Even if you’re really, really low, all of the fuel pools in the resevoir that’s part of the sending unit. There’s plenty of gasoline there. And don’t worry about going up or down hills or around curves; that’s the whole point of the sending unit resevoir. [Here’s](http://www.titantalk.com/forums/attachments/buy-sell/66845d1224251223-fs-fuel-sending-unit-fuel-pump-assembly-titan-sending-unit.jpg) and example. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/29 "2010-05-18T13:54:28Z")
> [@Shawn\_K\_1](#): > > What’s this about a penalty for using a credit card at some gas stations? never heard of that. Yeah, what’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![ColdPhoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ColdPhoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColdPhoenix)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/30 "2010-05-18T13:54:38Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I pretty much always fill it. I drive about 1,100 to 1,200 miles a week. There’s a carbon footprint! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/31 "2010-05-18T13:59:43Z")
I can’t remember the last time I didn’t fill the tank. ---
**Author:** ![Shawn\_K\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Shawn\_K\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn_K_1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/32 "2010-05-18T14:00:40Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > For those that worry about a 1/4 tank and their fuel pumps, well, that’s not necessary. As long as fuel is going through the pump, it is being cooled, and you have nothing to worry about. It’s true that you don’t want to run out of fuel, though. Even if you’re really, really low, all of the fuel pools in the resevoir that’s part of the sending unit. There’s plenty of gasoline there. And don’t worry about going up or down hills or around curves; that’s the whole point of the sending unit resevoir. [Here’s](http://www.titantalk.com/forums/attachments/buy-sell/66845d1224251223-fs-fuel-sending-unit-fuel-pump-assembly-titan-sending-unit.jpg) and example. Being immersed in the fuel helps with the cooling too and you don’t want to fill your tank outrageously to the top, in some rare cases the fuel can slosh and run into the carbon canister and wreck it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/33 "2010-05-18T14:04:21Z")
I do not bother to stop for gas unless I’m empty. I do not pump less than a full tank’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/34 "2010-05-18T14:11:57Z")
I usually let my tank run to almost empty and then fill it up. The only times I don’t fill it up are when I’m a little short on cash or I know I’m in a more expensive part of town for gas. I’ve recently started tracking my mileage on [Fuelly.com](http://Fuelly.com) ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/35 "2010-05-18T14:15:43Z")
Oh as far as credit cards vs. cash: Many gas stations offer a “discount” if you pay cash on the pump - usually $0.03 per gallon. In reality, it’s not a discount as much as it’s a penalty for using your credit card - to help them cover the merchant fees they pay for processing Mastercard/Visa. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/36 "2010-05-18T14:18:00Z")
It’s a violation of the merchant credit card agreement to penalize credit users. Gas stations get around this by offering a discount to cash customers. Same effect without losing the right to accept creditcards. The discount they offer is typically a couple cents a gallon. Considering they pay 2-4% in processing fees to the credit card companies it’s an excellent deal for them if you pay cash. I don’t fill up before empty because of the fuel pump but in case of emergency. One of our cars was completely empty during the 2003 blackout - if there had been no gas in the other car we would have been stuck completely. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/37 "2010-05-18T14:32:41Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > I don’t fill up before empty because of the fuel pump but in case of emergency. One of our cars was completely empty during the 2003 blackout - if there had been no gas in the other car we would have been stuck completely. That’s what the big can-o-gas that we use for the lawnmowers is for!😉 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/38 "2010-05-18T14:38:05Z")
Other than Michigan and North Carolina, where else do you guys run in to these “cash discount” stations? Very curious. I work from home and only put 10k miles on my car in a year, if that. So I fill up once a month or so, to the top. My parents and I share a bonus card from the local grocery store, and the store gives you 10 cents off per gallon (at the affiliated gas station) per $50 spent. My folks don’t drive much more than I do, so we share the discounts. The discount is best when you’re getting a full tank - once you’ve used your, say, 40 cent discount, it’s gone until you spend more at the grocery store. We shop more than we fill up, so we’re each able to get a good discount every time we go. We’ve gotten up to $1.20 off per gallon. Fuckin’ a 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/39 "2010-05-18T14:40:29Z")
I always fill up, for the same reason the OP gave. I’m going to drive as much as I’m going to drive, ergo I’m going to use as much fuel as I’m going to use, no matter when I buy it. My commute is short and I can usually go about 3 weeks on a tank. Why in the world would I choose to do something once a week that I only need to do every three weeks? I also always pay at the pump. Swipe, pump, grab receipt and go. A gas station is a place I want to spend as little time as possible. …Which brings me to another question: > [@Superhal](#): > > Usually I fill it up, because the cheapest place around here has lines about 6-8 deep on ~20 pumps (it’s a nickle cheaper per gallon than other places.) However, I haven’t had time to go there in several weeks, so I’ve been putting in 10-15$ at 7-11. I would not wait in a line of 6-8 cars to save a nickel a gallon (\<$1.00 per tank). **Superhal** obviously would. What about the rest of you? ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857/40 "2010-05-18T14:40:35Z")
I always fill it. Rarely, I’ll have a gas card (my cc company sends them if you spend x amount of money), and if that doesn’t fill the tank, I won’t bother with two transactions, so I might not fill the tank. Even with that, I have a small car and a $25 gas card is going to fill the tank and then some almost every time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-gas-do-you-put-in-your-tank/539857.md?page=3)