Recent Tanks and Other Updates

Oh, I am having a rough time updating this with my economy numbers. I
think last time we left off, I had just returned from back surgery and
was appalled at the 28.78 mpg on tank 164, but was happy it took 26 days
to achieve that.

Since then, I have refueled a couple times.

Tank 165, on 2 September provided me with 35.53 miles per gallon, and
most recently on 11 September I filled up with 10.753 gallons after
going 400.9 miles, making for a more respectable 39.35 miles per gallon.

What is odd is that this last tank, where I got 39.35 mpg, I was
consciously driving much faster than I ordinarily drive.

I do not believe that driving 75 and 80 miles per hour is more fuel
efficient. So I fall back on my theory that different gas pumps shut
off at different levels of full, and this explains why some tanks are
more fuel efficient than others.

With a small gas tank such as mine, a little difference of half a gallon
can have a notable difference on fuel economy.

Pair this belief with my recent pattern of getting gas at stations all
up and down the Interstate, and the wild variations almost make sense
here.

So here we are in September. Last September around this time, I has
pumped 32 tanks of gas into the Corolla, had driven 12,557 miles, and
had spent $826.94. This year I have pumped in just 26 tanks of gas,
driven 10,473.2 miles, and spent $934.63 on gas.

I attribute my fewer miles driven to two things: first, my lack of a
66-mile commute for about three weeks due to my back surgery, and
second, my carpooling arrangement where I am driven to work by my
coworker a couple days per week.

Still, with the gas prices spiked significantly from last year, I have
spent over $100 more on gas so far this year, or about $4.00 more per
tank. Which really isn't that much in the scheme of things.

28.78 Miles Per Gallon- A New Low!

Well, tank 164 took 26 days to use up. In that 26 days, the car went
345.1 miles and was refueled with 11.992 gallons (at $3.339 per gallon),
making for a crappy fuel economy of 28.78 miles per gallon.

This is my worst fuel economy number of all time, and the most gasoline
I have ever pumped into that car.

But, it raised my "days between tanks" average to 10.71 days between
refills. It was also my 24th tank of gas this year. In 2007, the 24th
tank of gas happened on July 16, more than a month sooner than this
year.

Granted, I did not have back surgery that laid me up for 2 and a half
weeks, but still, I must celebrate good things where I can.

No Gas in August So Far!!

I have had back surgery, so have been not going to work for the last two
and a half weeks. So the Mighty Corolla was mostly limited to small
in-town jaunts during this time. I'll refuel on my way home today, and
expect a small number when the economy is calculated.

The low fuel light came on this morning at 303.0 miles. This is really
early for this light to come on. Actually, this will be a good test of
the "town" mileage claim on the sticker, as most of my miles are due to
commuting on the highway.

Tank 162 - 22 July 2008

Refueled this morning at Valero #9, paying $3.899 per gallon. I got
11.890 gallons, the most ever put in my tank, after going 424.9 miles.
Fuel Economy was poor at 35.74 miles per gallon. I argue that it has
been very hot and my AC has been working overtime, although last year at
this time I had been averaging 37 and 39 miles per gallon.

However, my 22nd tank in 2007 came on June 25, and this year my 22nd
tank came on July 22, almost a month later in the year. I have also
gone about 300 fewer miles over the same amount of time, a reduction I
attribute directly to my carpooling. We don't carpool as much as we'd
like, but every day one of us hitches a ride is a little less gasoline
used to get us to work.

I have slacked on my charting and historical graphs, so I don't have
much more to share.

FREE REDBOX CODE FOR MONDAY 21 JULY

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One free redbox rental for today...

Tank 161 - 11 July 2008

I only went 375.8 miles on this tank. I probably could have made it to
and from work today before refueling, but decided to refuel this morning
instead, in the event we use the Mighty Corolla over the weekend we
won't have to worry about running around on a low tank.

Filled up with 10.501 gallons at Valero pump #1, making for mileage of
"only" 35.79 miles per gallon. This is by far my worst mileage of the
year. But I did go 14 days between full-ups, partially due to the July
4th holiday. And we also used the minivan for a trip over the July 4th
holiday, so gas was used up.

An interesting note is that the gas at the Valero I was at this morning
was $3.849 per gallon, and the Woodbridge Costco (which used to have the
cheapest gas) was charging $3.889 per gallon.

Apologies for having a dull blog.