It would seem what problems there might be when refueling a car. However, car owners have a common opinion on how to do this work correctly: fill the tank completely, or you can stop at a gas station and fill up with only 10 liters. Let's talk in more detail about how to properly refuel a car, and what mistakes can cause us when performing such a seemingly simple job.
Every year, the cost of automobile fuel invariably increases, so many car owners simply find it subconsciously difficult to come to a gas station and pay 2,000 rubles or more for a full tank. That's why we often come to gas stations, literally filling up with 10 liters each. As a result, we have to visit the gas station almost every other day, which is not always convenient, and having such a small amount of fuel in the gas tank can lead to various breakdowns.
Plastic fuel tank for trucks:
VAZ-2112 what should be normal fuel consumption
Technical characteristics of Toyota Land Cruiser 200 Series 4.0 AT 4WD 2012 - present
In order to find out how much gasoline the “twelfth” consumes per hundred kilometers, you should refer to its passport data. The manufacturer, in particular, gives an average figure of 7.5 liters per hundred. However, a car's fuel consumption depends on many factors. For example, the Volzhsky Automobile Plant installed three types of engines on the “twelfth”:
- 21121 – 1.5-liter, 80 horsepower, 8 valves;
- 21124;
- 21120.
The last two engines are 16-valve. The volume of 21124 is 1.6 liters with a power of 89 horsepower. It should be noted that here, if the timing belt breaks, the valves do not bend. Finally, 21120 is a 1.5-liter engine with 93 horsepower.
It should be noted that the consumption of each of these engines also depends on the brand of fuel. For example, when driving an AI-92, this figure is 9.12 liters per 100 kilometers. By filling the tank with higher octane fuel, you reduce its consumption. In particular, with AI-95 gasoline, consumption is reduced to 7.4 liters. An even more noticeable effect in terms of savings is noticeable on premium varieties. In particular, by filling AI-95 Premium gasoline, you will reduce fuel consumption to 6.5 liters. All data is given for the “mixed cycle” mode.
It should be noted that it makes no sense to cite the figures announced by the manufacturer. Real consumption always differs greatly from the passport data. Also, do not forget that driving in urban conditions with heavy traffic significantly increases gasoline consumption. At the same time, on a suburban highway you can travel most of the way in 5th, direct gear. Accordingly, the appetite of the iron horse is significantly reduced.
Fuel consumption differs in winter and summer. In the first case, you often have to fight your way through snowy streets in 1st and 2nd gears. In addition, until the coolant temperature rises to operating temperature, the engine will operate at higher speeds. All this also does not contribute to savings.
A very important point is driving style. With an aggressive style, with sharp acceleration and frequent braking, fuel consumption increases quite seriously. Therefore, if you do not want to overpay for each kilometer of travel, it is better to move more smoothly without revving the engine. Don't get too carried away when pressing on the gas. The most optimal mode in terms of fuel consumption is 5th gear at a speed of 90-100 kilometers per hour.
It should also be noted that fuel consumption can increase significantly due to technical problems. There could be a great many reasons for this. If you find yourself in such a situation and intend to independently find and eliminate the reason for the sudden increase in gasoline consumption by your car, then follow the rule “from simple to complex.” First of all, it is recommended to check the fuel filter. Often it is its clogging that leads to an increase in appetite. Don't forget that it needs to be changed at regular intervals. Consumption may also increase due to dirt getting into the injectors. In this case, you most likely cannot do without a visit to a car service center. It is not recommended to clean injectors yourself if you have never done this before. Believe me, it’s better to pay professionals for the work here.
Pay attention to the fuel pump mesh - it may well become clogged due to low-quality fuel. Also, when identifying the cause of the increased consumption, you will need to check the performance of a number of sensors - idle speed, speed, camshaft, and so on.
Keep an eye on the numbers on the on-board computer - you will often see a prompt with an error code there. Also carefully inspect the spark plugs for carbon deposits and ensure the integrity of the high-voltage wires. By the way, a clogged air filter may well lead to an increase in consumption. As you can see, there are really many reasons, and we have not listed all of them, but only the most common ones.
Well, in conclusion, I would like to give some advice on how to prevent gasoline consumption from going beyond normal limits. Firstly, always carefully monitor the technical condition of the car. Secondly, try to keep your eating style as smooth as possible. Thirdly, do not try to save money by refueling at dubious gas stations - the consequences can be very serious.
Calibration of tanks with "Resurskontrol"
Calibration of fuel tanks at Resurskontrol is carried out using mobile calibration stations. A calibration station is a mobile set of calibration equipment that allows you to carry out the calibration procedure as quickly as possible and at any point without being tied to a gas station or the presence of 220V. The station is equipped with a capacity of 1000 liters, a generator, a pump and measuring containers.
With a mobile calibration station, the calibration process is as automated as possible and occurs without the use of additional equipment. Fuel is pumped out of the tank into the container of the Eurocube, after which it is poured back into the tank in portions, passing through a meter, which is pre-calibrated and checked. calibration is carried out at a convenient address for the client and does not require the involvement of responsible persons on the client’s side.
Quirks of the fuel tank. What kind of meanness is a fuel storage tank capable of?
The fuel tank is far from the most troublesome part of the car. And what kind of surprises, it seems, can be expected from a container intended only for storing the reserve of fuel carried in a car?
However, as you know, the only thing that doesn’t cause trouble is what is not in the car, and since a fuel tank is a mandatory attribute of any vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine, only an incorrigible optimist can hope that the tank will never make its existence known.
Having rummaged through your memory, some of the owners of diesel cars will probably remember how, in the cold winter, the engine refused to work due to the clogging of the power system with paraffin mucus.
One of the bottlenecks in the power system is located in the fuel tank. The paraffin that falls out of the fuel at low temperatures clogs the fuel intake strainer, and to clean it you will have to visit the tank.
Among motorists, it doesn’t matter whether they drive diesel or gasoline cars, there are those who have not forgotten how in the winter they took handfuls of ice out of the tank, which again clogged the fuel intake and made it impossible to start the engine, and at the same time wondered where it came from in the tank. so much water.
However, in the case under consideration, the owner of the car figured out with his own mind who was to blame for what happened, because he was faced with a repetition of the situation with the water “extravaganza.”
For the first time, moisture in an amount that could not be attributed to the condensation of water vapor entering with the air ended up in the tank due to the fact that the seal of the fuel intake cover became leaky.
And repeating what had been done taught the owner that not every material at hand is suitable for making a new gasket on his own. If it is rubber, then it must be gasoline and oil resistant, otherwise the gasket will not last long.
Of course, there are other reasons why water may end up in the tank. Some owners who have used the services of people offering to buy fuel in a canister at a low price have learned from their own experience that in addition to fuel, the same canister can also contain water.
A steel tank can rust. At the same time, depending on where the corrosion has dealt with the tank, it flows or becomes accessible for dirt to get inside. And no one knows which is worse.
Since the tank rusts not only from the outside, but also from the inside due to the condensation of moisture from the atmospheric air entering the tank, the fuel intake already mentioned twice above can become clogged with corrosion products. In addition to them, sludge may become attached to the intake grid, which appears due to the oxidation of the fuel in the tank. The consequences are the same as in the case of paraffin deposits on the mesh, except that removing this dirt is not as easy as paraffin.
And how can we not remember the fuel tank ventilation system? In addition to the fact that due to ventilation, moist atmospheric air enters the tank, this system, or rather, its EVAP (Evaporative Emission) subsystem, depending on the car model, can have several dozen fault codes assigned to the on-board diagnostic system.
Therefore, when the owner of a car turns to a service station to find out the reason for the Check Engine light on the dashboard not only before starting the engine, but also while driving, and the diagnosticians answer him that the problem was caused by an improperly closed tank cap, this is not a joke, although there is some joke in There is, of course, such an answer.
The tank must be ventilated to maintain a pressure close to atmospheric pressure. The consumption of fuel from the tank to power the engine contributes to the appearance of a vacuum in the tank. The return of unused fuel to the tank, as well as hot weather, causes heating and an increase in pressure in the tank. In any of these cases, if there is no ventilation, the tank may become deformed.
Everything would be fine with ventilation, but hydrocarbon vapors are released from the fuel. First of all, this disadvantage is typical for easily evaporating gasoline. Hydrocarbons are toxic, which is why modern cars, as required by law, use a closed-type gas tank ventilation system.
In such a system, the ventilation tube of the tank is not vented into the atmosphere, but into the adsorber. Activated carbon located inside the adsorber traps fuel vapors and releases clean air into the atmosphere.
But the storage capacity of coal is by no means unlimited. To renew them, regeneration is required, which is carried out by purging through pipelines connecting the adsorber on one side to the atmosphere, and on the other to the engine intake manifold.
Since the fuel-air flow of canister regeneration enriches the fuel mixture entering the engine cylinders, this flow must be regulated to obtain a stoichiometric fuel-to-air ratio. For this purpose, the solenoid valve for purge the adsorber is designed, which opens and closes fully or partially according to commands from the electronic engine control unit.
In addition, the ventilation system must include shut-off and safety valves and a pressure sensor. This is the general EVAP diagram, but it also gives an idea of why the on-board diagnostic system will respond to incorrect operation of the tank ventilation by at least lighting up the Check engine, and then, depending on the year of manufacture of the car, by switching the engine to emergency mode and even refusing to start. The stricter the environmental regulations corresponding to the year of manufacture of the car, the more serious the consequences of EVAP malfunctions can be.
Car owners who have punctured the tanks can add their share of “pepper” to the poignancy of the plot about the on-board tank for storing fuel reserves. In some cars, the tanks became victims of driving on bad roads or off-road.
But it also happened that a hole in the tank was made by a foreign object lying on the road and lifted by a run-over wheel.
If the tank cap is equipped with a lock, history knows of cases when this lock, although it is located under the hatch, was caught by frost in the same way as door locks. And since this became clear just at the moment when the car was approaching the gas pump with the last drops in the tank, not all owners had the patience to realize that it was better to drive somewhere to the side and deal with the traffic jam in a calm environment. As a result, many locks were simply broken or, if you like, hacked by the owners themselves.
And, by the way, for the same reason, some owners broke tank hatches if they had their own lock.
And these are not all the problems that are somehow related to the fuel tank. The fuel level sensor in the tank or the fuel pump, if it is located in the tank, may remind you of itself.
There is always a chance, when opening the tank cap, to hear a sound like a “clunk”, which will tell you that not everything is fine with the cap and ventilation. In general, the list of “surprises” that can be expected from the tank is large enough so that during the period of operation the car owner does not have a reason to say an unkind word about the fuel tank at least once. We can only hope that the ABW.BY forum participants, when discussing the article, will add something from their personal experience to what is said in it.
Sergey BOYARSKIKH Photos by the author and from open sources ABW.BY
Large selection of fuel tanks for any car on the BAMPER.BY . Look for spare parts correctly!
Boat air vent and requirements for it
As fuel is consumed, a vacuum develops in the tank, which interferes with the normal operation of the engine; the fuel tank breather is used to create pressure inside the tank. In fact, this is a regular ventilation system through which air enters the tank. Unlike a car, a marine fuel tank operates in a more extreme mode, in addition to protection from pollution - the breather of a boat motor gas tank also requires protection from water penetration, which is provided by:
- protective mesh on the raised head;
- a filter system that traps water dust and dirt;
- a check valve that is activated when the pressure rises;
- The boat uses rotating heads, this allows you to direct their air intakes in the safest direction.
It is for this reason that you need to buy a boat ventilation head, since it is its design that will provide reliable protection of the fuel from water.
