I'll be taking a little 250 mile trip soon and usually fill up prior to the trip with the goal of not having to stop. This trip will have about 90% highway (65+ mph) so I'll want to top off the tank before we leave. Now I realize there is a vapor recovery unit/system attached to the gas filler neck (I can see it looking under the car) and I don't want to get fuel in it so when do you stop pumping. Usually when you fill and when you get near the top fuel will "foam" and shut down the fill nozzle. If you wait a few seconds the foam subsides and you can continue to fill at a slow rate so how much more can you add. Just curious here.

 

I jam that nozzle in there until it won't take any more and begs for ... wait. Wrong website. Sorry.

Seriously, I top it off until completely full, then run it until I get to an even amount on the pump which soothes my OCD tendencies...

 

I have read in various articles it is NOT wise to try to squeeze the last drop of gas into the filler neck.

It is suggested to simply use the auto shutoff on the handle and when the pump shuts off, stop at that point, and there will never be any problems.

It was suggested that you may be able to squeeze only another pint to a quart of gas by continously pumping the gas nozzle on and off for a bit more quantiity.

For me, when the auto pump shuts down, I stop then. Getting an extra pint or quart less of gas is no big deal to me.

 

I fill up till the nozzle stops and no more. Different shade of OCD - I'm a stickler for what the manual says. In the example above, I'd push to $40.00. Makes balancing the books a little easier at the end of the month.

 

When the nozzle shuts off I add to the fill until it reaches either a 5 cent or 10 cent marker. Just a cleaner way of doing it for the bookkeeping.

 

I'd also go for the even 40 bucks, the gallon measure would be long forgotten but that damn .99 would haunt my checkbook for weeks.

By the way, here in Oregon we can't pump our own gas anyway.

I'm planning a 250 mi or so drive tomorrow over the mountains and along the pacific coast, I'm looking forward to letting my big cat breathe some sea air...

 

Who buys Gas with a check out of a checkbook?

Perhaps ElGreco does as only Oregon and New Jersey prohibit self serve gas pumping, but that is very rare, and both states have legisattion pending to change this ruling.

My bet is 99% of Americans use credit cards and most just pay the pay the bill when it arrives in the mail or via on-line with a direct on-line payment or a bill pay. Checkbooks are becoming ancient in todays world of high technology.

 

I wait until it clicks off then go to the next whole litre.

 

I can solve your OCD problem. Come to the UK and pay 64 dollars for 10 U.S. Gallons.

 

Richzak

Yes, I'm firmly entrenched in the last century! Although I use my debit card for gas I still enter the amount in my check register, probably a holdout from my starving student days of counting every penny. Not only that, I don't even have a smart phone!

The repeal of the no customer-pumping gas law has been on the ballot several times since I've lived here and got voted down every time, we'll see what happens next time. We also have state-owned liquor stores and no sales tax. Oh the oddities of individual states...

 

no customer pumping = fewer accidents at the pump + more jobs

 

When I am in Oregon I find the gas stations have one person working, just like in neighboring Washington. The differences- the one person is running around trying to pump gas , then selling beer, then pumping gas. Lots of waiting in Oregon. Always gas up in Washington before I cross over.

Have never seen an exploding self service gas station or any other kind of fueling mishap in either state.

 

I quit pumping gas when the pump cuts off so I don't overfill.

.

 

It was not passed in NJ either. Some people out here are adamant about not wanting to pump their own gas. I would rather do it myself, it would be quicker than waiting for an attendant and I would be more careful. There are a few paint chips around my gas cap

When I travel out of state, I just stop pumping when it clicks.

 

1st click and I am done.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency says: Don't Top Off Your Gas Tank! | Mid-Atlantic Air Protection

• Do you top off your gas tank and overfill it?
• When the gas pump nozzle clicks off automatically, do you add a little more gas to round off your dollar sale?
• Topping off your gas tank is bad for the environment and your wallet.
  
  Here's why:

Topping off the gas tank can result in your paying for gasoline that is fed back into the station's tanks because your gas tank is full. The gas nozzle automatically clicks off when your gas tank is full. In areas of ozone nonattainment, gas station pumps are equipped with vapor recovery systems that feed back gas vapors into their tanks to prevent vapors from escaping into the air and contributing to air pollution. Any additional gas you try to pump into your tank may be drawn into the vapor line and fed back into the station’s storage tanks.

You need extra room in your gas tank to allow the gasoline to expand. If you top off your tank, the extra gas may evaporate into your vehicle’s vapor collection system. That system may become fouled and will not work properly causing your vehicle to run poorly and have high gas emissions.

Gasoline vapors are harmful to breathe. Gasoline vapors contribute to bad ozone days and are a source of toxic air pollutants such as benzene. Evaporation from the spillage of gas from overfilling can occur, contributing to the air pollution problem. Remember you pay for the gas that evaporates or is spilled on the ground.

Topping off your gas tank may foul the station's vapor recovery system. Adding more gas after the nozzle has automatically shut off can cause the station's vapor recovery system to operate improperly. This contributes to the air pollution problem and may cause the gas pump to fail to work for the next person.

If this was helpful, please press at the bottom right.

Stuart

 

Good information for some to follow. Under normal conditions it is the best way to go. Thanks.

 

Just came back from my 230 mile (460 round trip) so I wanted to clarify what I was trying to ascertain. While my car was on the lift I measured the distance from the filler neck to the vapor recovery line in the filler tube. It turned out that the filler nozzle on a typical gas pump when inserted as far as it would go was below the vapor hose. So knowing that before I left I filled the tank until the 1st click . I then nursed in more fuel until it reached the nozzle tip and shut off. All of the foam was gone and I got an extra 1 1/2 gals of gas in the tank. I was not concerned about heat expansion because I left for my trip. That was what i was looking for in my initial post. Did the same prior to coming home. By the way 90% thruway driving at 70-80 MPH got 24.7 MPG going down and 25.1 MPG coming back. Thanks for the feed back.