Forcing myself to burn gas instead of EV

For my routine trips I go out on EV and back on Charge Mode. That brings me home with a less than fully charged battery which is better if it will be a while until the next trip.

 

You can get around the problem by using "Stabil" in the tank. I had the same problem. I filled the tank after a long trip in the first quarter of 2020. Then the ICE was not used for most of 2020. I did the same thing, putting the car in hybrid mode, then charge mode. I eventually burned off enough gas to allow refilling and adding Stabil.

We just finished a 1000 mile drive, and I still have fresh gas in the tank. I'll be filling it and adding Stabil when I do.

Dan

 

I've been on the same tank of gas since Oct 2019. Even in the super-cold weather when the car starts itself, there haven't been any "old gas" stumbling issues, nor has the car yelled at me to add gas (though the manual seems to indicate it would have). I'd say you could safely continue your EV only regime.

 

Not for a virus epidemic.

Fuel stabilizer is also a good idea but don't exceed the recommended dose.

Not completely.
There is a limit to what a fuel stabilizer can do, especially with ethanol in there.
You can't just dump in some Stabil and then let it sit unused for YEARS.

That is irresponsible on your part and bad advice.
Based on information from Toyota....and a lot of other "experts" too.

 

I disagree! Stabil guarantees that it will keep gas usable for 24 months. That's YEARS!

Seriously, based on their guarantee I rotate my stash of emergency generator gas every two years. I think I have 15 gallons or so. In the past I put it in my Gen 1 Prius and hybrid Camry to burn it up. This year we've hardly gone anywhere. I may end up donating it to a neighbor who is still driving a lot.

Dan

 

Just drive it! I am amazed that someone will pay $30,000 for a car and be unwilling to put $30. worth of gas in it.

 

Well, you did buy a PHEV, not a BEV.

 

I'm not sure what the rules are where you live, but they are just now loosening the Covid at-home quarantines here. If you don't commute, chances are the only driving you have done for the last year is doing is going to the grocery store.

 

That pretty much describes my situation. I work remotely, and my main gasoline use used to be monthly trips to my office in the Bay Area (about 120 miles each way). But my office closed last March for Covid and is still closed, with everyone working from home. Since then, all of my driving has been within the PlugIn EV range.

 

Covid rules here put no limit on outdoor play time, initially closing just the most popular outdoor play places where normal crowding tends to violate physical distancing rules. Most lesser-crowded outdoor play places stayed open, it took just slightly more imagination to find them. And those that did close, mostly re-opened by summer, when they were not implicated in significant disease spread and mask use had greatly increased.

So our no-driving pattern lasted only a few weeks into the misnamed "lockdown", until we got tired of the closest-to-home bicycling routes while avoiding the most heavily used bicycle rail-trails. So while our miles driven did shrink considerably -- road trip vacations were a pandemic casualty -- the cars got far more than just grocery and medical miles.

 

Yap, same here. Since last March, I have been mostly home-bound and driven less than 100 miles/mo. It used to be an average of 1250 miles/mo. Instead of worrying about a dead 12v battery and keep paying insurance and tax on my PP that mostly sat on the driveway. I sold my 2020 PP for a profit. When and if I go back to daily commuting, I will buy a new daily driver... maybe a 2021 PP, or a BEV. But for now, I don't have to worry about gas going to stale.

 

Actually, last week I drove from Seattle to Denver and back to pick up some parts for a supercharged MR2; 3329 miles and 74 gallons of fuel.

 

It should be understood that this is a preventive defense and not a correction. Adding sta-bil to already-aged fuel isn't going to help much.

But it's a good idea for next time.

Can we never have a next time?

 

Our experience is nearly identical. Basically, "Use masks, keep your distance, and if you have no brain do what you want and suffer the consequences." (Edit to add that most any store, restaurant, etc. will throw you out without shirt, shoes, or mask although a few don't care. Quite a few bars have lost their liquor licenses over that lately.) Given how stupid people are behind the wheel, it's surprising how careful they are in stores and other public places. Except for the spring breakers and other tourist types.



So, I drive to work every day. Wife goes to her quilting guild. We go to church. Yesterday we went to an outdoor birthday party. We dine out. Life is pretty normal here except for the aggravation of not seeing smiles, not giving hugs, and trying to see through fogged up glasses. In October we took a trip to see family in Ohio and Iowa.

 

Those "orders" to say at home are unenforceable guidelines, not edicts. You can drive your car without putting yourself or anybody else in any danger.

 

why wouldn't you just

the two stroke premix I use in motorcycles has a stabil ingredient in it. my lawn equipment live outside their entire lives. when the grass stops growing, until it's ankle high, they are not started.

..yes, I'm running premix (2t fuel) in 4t machines...

every spring they start up with one pull, or, if the air filter is wet, two.

the amount of time they sit is usually about 4-6 months I do not buy non ethanol fuel, not do I buy anything over 87 octane.

now, I wouldn't suggest doing an experiment like with with your $20k+ automobile, but with my mowers, they are fine.

 

It is best to add the gas stabilizer just before you add new gas. That way it will mix well AND start working right away.
Someone else also made this point: If you add gas stabilizer to old gas it probably won't work as well.

The problem with Ethanol in our gas is that it separates from the gas after a while, sometimes as soon as 3-6 months. Then you have a gas tank with a layer of alcohol. The alcohol attracts and absorbs water from the air (our gas tank needs to let air in, so the gas can flow out to the engine). The water is the problem. The engine can burn the gas, the alcohol and small amounts of water in the mix.

But when the engine is turned off, the gas/alcohol/water mix sits in the engine (mostly the carburetor) which might cause parts of the engine to "gum up" with a sticky residue that stops the easy flow of gas. It might even cause parts of the engine to rust.

I say all this because I've had to pay mechanics more than once to clean and rebuild the carburetor on my marine outboard engine (8 HP Mercury 4 stroke) on my dinghy. My lessons learned on my marine outboard engine are:
1. always run the outboard engine dry after each weekend of use by removing the gas fuel line and letting the engine run until it stops, and
2. always add gas stabilizer before refilling the gas tank, and
3. give away or dispose of any gas from last year at the start of the new boating season.
I realize those steps are not going to be easy to do with a Prius, and especially on a Prius Prime like I have. So far I have been using a tank of gas about once a month, but that's because Prius Prime is new to us and we've been taking more trips than normal.

Soon we'll be adding solar power to our home, which means we'll be using a lot more EV than gas. Maybe then I'll start using gas stabilizer for the first time in our Prius Prime. And maybe then I'll only refill a small amount of gas like 5 gallons at a refill, unless we are planning on taking a longer trip.

 

And who suffers if the "guarantee" turns out to be wrong......certainly not Stabil.

Your equipment, your money and your time.......to do with as you please.
I just don't think it is responsible to encourage others to push the envelope like that.

And it seems like I remember that the original Stabil product itself only has a shelf life of 2 years.

 

Ok. Simple rule. Gas is cheap. Repairs are expensive. I have a 2018 Prius Prime and a 2017 Chevy Volt. I burn the gas out in HV mode. About .5 to gallon a week.