Tank 261 - 11 December 2K10

I forgot to calculate my fuel economy from my last tank until JUST NOW.

No wonder I have had trouble sleeping the last couple days!

It was Saturday when, thinking my lovely wife would need to drive the
car on Monday, I refueled a little earlier than I have been. I only
went 383 miles, and put in 10.456 gallons of gas, making for an
unimpressive fuel economy of 36.63 mpg.

I did notice something that did impress me, and that is that this year I
refueled on December 3rd and December 11th. Last year I also refueled
on December 3rd and December 11th. In 2008, I only refueled on December
11th. So for the last three years, I have spent time at a gas station
each December 11th!

Given the work schedule for the rest of the year, it looks like I'll
refuel one more time in 2K10, for a total of 44 tanks for the year, a
10% increase in the number of tanks over last year.

Looks like my total gas expense for the year will be somewhere in the
neighborhood of $1,330, or about $3.64 per day!

Tank 260 - 3 December 2K10

Just now I refueled at the gas station at the BJ's in Woodbridge.
Unleaded cost, oh crap, I believe I accidentally put in premium unleaded
for $2.999 a gallon! No, wait, I just put the wrong number in the
"cost" space. It was plain old Unleaded at $2.749 a gallon. Good
thing, because the local Exxon had unleaded for $2.999 a gallon, so I
got a "good deal" on the gas.

So I put in 11.037 gallons after going 416.2 miles, making for a fuel
economy of 37.71 mog for the tank. This is about the same as my last 5
tank average of 37.64 mpg.

There's a chance that if I drive really smoothly and do a lot of
drafting behind large trucks, I'll be able to increase my mileage for
the year to match what I got last year. Well, no, I don't think that'll
happen. I'd have to have like ten tanks with 42 mpg each. No way I'll
use ten tanks in the next 4 weeks.

Oh well...

Tank 259 - 23 November 2K10

My delinquency in sending along these updates is appalling.

"Irregardless..."

Last tank provided 36.55 miles per gallon, after going 421.7 miles on
"11.537 gallons." The gas cap was on the opposite side of the pump I
drove up to, so the filler nozzle was all sideways and the hose was
stretched tight to refuel.

They say the filler nozzle needs to be "up and down" in order for the
shutoff mechanism to work properly, and this time it was more or less
sideways. This may have resulted in putting in more gas than other
pumps ordinarily would permit.

If this was the case, then my next tank ought to show outstanding
mileage, since I'd be replacing a lot of gas with a little less gas and
calculating the mileage on a smaller figure. We'll see.

Tank 257 - 3 November 2K10

The most exciting about this tank is that my fuel economy was 37.68
miles per gallon, which is exactly the same number as my average fuel
economy over the previous 5 tanks.

Tanks 254 & 255 + One for the Minivan

I refueled the mighty Corolla twice this month, but the car was taken
off to a weeklong class in Lynchburg before I could get the fuel economy
data. It worked out pretty good, as the week the mighty Corolla was
gone was a week where it was not driven by me, and got the worst mileage
since March 2009!

The last tank I drove went 447.4 miles on 11.527 gallons, making for
fuel economy of 38.81 mpg, but the very next tank, driven primarily by
an adult living in my house who is not me, went 406.8 miles on 11.934
gallons- 34.09 miles per gallon!

Meanwhile, during the switcheroo week, I drove the minivan, taking it
418.4 miles on 17.551 gallons of gas, which was a mileage number of 23.8
miles per gallon. When I got the minivan, it had gone about 50 miles on
the tank and the trip computer indicated a fuel economy to that point of
about 18 mpg. When I refueled about 375 miles later, the trip computer
indicated 23.7 mpg. Normally this number is about 20 - 20.5 mpg, but
honestly it was almost all highway miles as I drove it to work for the
week.

The driver does make a difference in fuel economy. But we all knew
that!

Bernoulli will be happy to learn that I used my bike pump to add more
air to one of the mighty Corolla's tires as it was leaving for the week.

Tank 253 - 20 September 2K10

Yesterday took about 90 minutes to get to work in the rain from what was
known as Tropical Storm Nicole. I suspect it was spelled "Nikkole" so
as to not offend as many actual people named "Nicole." However, I
didn't ever see the name printed, so I can't say for sure how it was
spelled.

Irregardless, I refueled at a Wawa in Woodbridge with 11.555 gallons
after going 426.6 miles. My mileage was a mere 36.92 miles per gallon.

Screw Bernoulli. The FREE AIR AT WAWA is easier to use than my bike
pump. Although I admit the bike pump in my garage is usually closer to
the car than the air pump at Wawa.

I will pass 99,000 miles on this tank and will likely roll past 100,000
miles before Halloween.