It's bad for the environment!
It's illegal!
It's bad for the car!
It's bad for MPG!
The gas machine cheats you when you start to click!
The gas isn't going into the gastank!

I alredy know. Please don't tell me these things again. I'm not recommending it to anyone. I just want to let it be known that this can be done.


That said, I was able to fill up 2 gallons after the first click consistently without spilling. Ie, if the first click happens on 9.4 gal, I filled up to 11.4 without overspilling, not once or twice, but 30+ times.

At a point, I became stupidly competitive for some reason and started to push it to +3 gallons after the first click. In my experiences, +2.5 gallons never overfilled either. I do admit that I've overfilled when I went over +2.6. Since every gas machine is different, +2 gal worked for me.

As I said earlier, topping off isn't good at all. But if you feel like topping off today, I just wanted to let it be known that +2 gal after the first click never overfilled in my car. That's all I wanted to share. Disclaimer: your car may be different and explode upon the second click.


Again, please don't tell me all the reasons I shouldn't do it. I know them all, and I believe you too.

 

lol...im not gonna say anything but i guess this COULD be useful info ;]

the only thing i really do when pumping gas is put it on the first lock and let it pump in slowly. once it pops i put it away. but neat to know that you can fit in 2+ more gals.

 

It also makes you wonder if ALL(yes I said all) gas pumps are not calibrated properly in between 10 and 15 gallons. I am not saying they are way off by gallons but anything is possible.

We need some one to fill up a 10.8 gallon container to see what the results are.

 

I wouldn't be surprised at all if gas stations are deliberately cheating us by an amount that's small enough to be considered error. Heck, I'd actually be surprised if that's not the case!

 

I think this may be a bit inaccurate (however, do not quote me). From what I hear from my brother, who is a mechanic.... the pressure from the gas causes the click to come in earlier so you're not really filling it up. However, if you pump slowly, and in the morning when it's cool outside, you can get more in because of less fuel pressure (?).

I may be wording some concepts incorrectly, but I did have my tank almost at empty, and was able to pump in 10.2 gallons (after forcing it only a few more clicks).

I hope this helped with the discussion.

 

I'd also like to let it be known that I have pumped 12+ gallons once. This may be a proof that "the machines are cheating you" and "the gas isn't going into your tank". I don't know and I'm not making any claims other than the fact that I was able to keep clicking until the amount of fuel I paid for was 12+ gallons.

Again, this is not recommended and I'm probably killing baby Jesus by clicking more and more.

 

From what I understand, there's extra space in the tank to allow the gas to expand.

 

man i wish i could pump my own gas...

in oregon its illegal or something

i don't kno, its like some king of subconscious joy i get when i pump my own gas

 

No conspiracy here.

The reason you can add so much more after the click is because the tank is under the drivers seat and the filler neck is way long and holds gallons.

 

i always "top it off" to be honest i cant remember when the last time i just let it click and go my merry way. one thing i have realized is that it takes a longer time for it to go from full to half then half to empty.

 

I usually get about 100~120 miles before the needle starts to move.
Since I get about 30mpg, that's be about 3.5~4 gallons beyond the full line.
And since I go 2 gallons over the first click, I guess the needle is designed to stretch 1.5~2 gallons beyond the full line.

Just an observation.

 

Here's how it actually works
HowStuffWorks "How Fuel Gauges Work"

 

You should not click more than once or twice.

Several years ago US Congress wanted to reduce refueling HC emissions nationwide by either having gas stations install vapor recovery systems (some states - I know CA & FL already had gas stations do this) or by making automakers install several more gallons of vapor recovery systems (charcoal canisters) in each car. It makes sense to a sane person that adding vapor recovery systems to 10K+ gas stations once is better than adding vapor recovery systems to 15M+ new cars/year. But this is Congress we are talking about and Congress voted the way the oil company lobbyists wanted.

So, anytime you add two gallons beyond the first click or two, you are filling vapor recovery containers imbedded deep within your car (inside quarter panels for example), where they would be very, very expensive to replace if they go bad from being soaked in fuel too often.

 

if you have any idea on what your saying, you wouldnt be saying it. congress installed these little caps on the gas nozzles if you could see the holes are to recover "vapor" (not a liquid or solid) so we are not wasting gas by putting them in other places except into our cars. it just doesn't make any sense. as the tank sits there, there has to be a funnel that connects the tank and the gas door. i find it hard to believe there are gaps or holes in the funnel that would allow the gas coming out. its common sense in my eyes.

 

Like I say in the message, some states already mandated gas station vapor recovery systems before the Feds acted. In South Florida, stations within the EPA "bad" air zone were required to fit these systems if they sold more than a specificed amount of gas. The FL law occurred in the early-mid 1990's. The new mandate for onboard vapor recovery systems occurred since 2000. You can still find stations without the nozzle vapor holes or accordian rubber sleeve, especially in rural areas. If gas stations have a vapor recovery system in place, they will not disable it since it saves them money in the long run by recovering fuel. I am a senior design engineer who has worked in the auto industry and I know what I am talking about.

 

{citation needed}

 

Mister senior engineer, you appear to be confusing two different fuel vapor recovery systems and two different sets of legislation. Cars have had fuel vapor recovery systems for a long, long time, since (I believe) sometime in the 70's. Gas station vapor recovery systems are more recent.

 

You are correct in 50 States since 1969, however the capacity of the old vapor recovery systems was only a liter or two and only meant to capture vapors from thermal expansion after the tank was filled. My 1987 CRX had 1.5 L canister. The new systems are much larger (over 5 gallons in large vehilcles - size is proportional to fuel tank capacity) and therfore can swallow several gallons of liquid gasoline. The new systems are designed to absorb all the vapors while the fuel tank is being filled (nearly 11 gal of vapors possible with a Fit). Cars with the new systems also have seal inside the filler neck that seals against the nozzle. Older cars (back to 1975) just had a nozzle size restrictor to prevent accidental leaded gas filling and no seal.

Go ahead and over fill if you do not believe me, but do not complain to Honda when your car is hard to start in few months! They have warnings in the owner's manual for a reason.

 

Can you provide citations for all the laws and mechanisms that you mentioned?
I'm not questioning your comments. I would just like to learn more about it.

 

Here are some links:

New Auto Pollution Device To Block Gasoline Vapors - New York Times

http://www.epa.gov/oms/regs/ld-hwy/onboard/orvrq-a.txt

On-Board Refueling Vapor Recovery | Cars and Light Trucks | US EPA