800+ Mile Club

I find two hours is optimum, ie: the coolant temperature rise levels off around 2 hours. One hour would be a practical minimum time, ie: the coolant temperature has risen significantly, about 50~75 percent of maximum possible rise. The maximum possible rise likely varies with ambient temperature, in my experience it's around 20~25C.

 

Yes. Reports I've read suggest the point of diminishing returns for running a 400 watt Toyota engine block heater is 90 to 105 minutes which is about 2 hours..as you stated. The major problem with the EBH is people forget to unhook it before the drive off (destroying the EBH) or forget to hook it up an hour or so before the do a cold start. (don't use the EBH at all). For an unheated garage, the main variable factor in EBH performance and operational efficacy is how long does it take to heat the coolant given a certain outside driving temperature. The Prius does not have a coolant temperature display but a Scangauge II has a coolant Xgauge called FwT which would be useful in this situation - which can show how hot the coolant temperature is.. .The Toyota 400 watt EBH does not have an alarm or LED indicator for when the coolant temperature has reached its optimal level. There is this fellow called the Hobbit that has experimented with insulating certain parts of the coolant system and engine to also improve the thermal efficiency of a Prius too. ...all this is way beyond the normal grill blocking during the winter that the average hypermiler does.

 

Yeah I was using a scanguage to monitor. I've disconnected the SG, about 6 months back, but did keep an eye on coolant temp for the years prior. If ambient was 15C for example, after a couple of hours use SG would show ~35C coolant temp at start up.

You have to accept that sooner or later you WILL forget to unplug, prepare for it. What I do is make sure the extension cord has a relatively easy to pull out connector, and VERY securely double-ziptie the block heater's cord to the front grill, and ensure if it's dangling it's not long enough to drag on the road (I have done the latter). Also, the extension cord I loop around a parked barbecue leg, so I'm not going to drag the extension cord out into the driveway, lol.

 

Thanks for tips!
The Plan was thwarted by contrary Wind Gods (headwinds) and that perennial problem, the Nut Behind The Wheel, who could not force himself to dive slowly enough.
Point of information: Not sure we have same chip version of Scangauge II, but does FLv read the float fuel gauge? I think the "tank to empty" field in the "trips" submenu is reading the fuel injector amount information. If so, and if I can get it calibrated correctly, I think it would better for estimating the last gallon consumption if I cross-check it when the beep and flashing pip occur.
But the "under 30 on a smooth dry road" for 800 miles is going to be a very tough sell to the DW! Wish me luck.

 

In engineering there are often multiple ways to measure the gas in a tank after "blink" or other metrics. I'm 'old school' so I run the car out of gas BUT I live in a large Southern town with cotton fields in the City boundaries. I would have second thoughts about this in the DC metro area.

Bob Wilson

 

Been hanging out the 700 miles club for a year now. Made it for first time! Can I join?

2014 Prius II. OEM Yokohama 15 inch tires. November 23, 2016 to January 4, 2017. Temperature 72 to 82 degrees F, rained for 5 days. 10.7 gallons at fill-up. Last block started blinking at 769 miles with 32 miles cruising range. Went to 0 miles cruising range at 798 miles. I was pretty nervous when it hit 0.

Mostly daytime and early evening drivings, 50% freeway with moderate traffic, highest speed I ever go is 52. No A/C. Always on Eco Mode, never use EV mode. Never let the car to go into PWR area. Use cruise control when feasible. Pulse and glide at other times.

 

...MAN....congratulations!! that is so freaking awesome.

I'm jealous. Now that I drive for uber everyday, I will never be able to make this club

 

Good job, delayflight!
Winter here, with the associated,crummy winter blend of gasoline, so I will have to wait until May 15 when the blend shifts in order to try again.
Aloha!

 

On 2017/05/31 I hit 1506 km single tank, that's 936 miles.
80% freeway during early morning and late afternoon.
P&g, sweet point, driving with load.
No a/c.
Every commute was around 38-40 km. in this way I was reducing the bad initial fuel consumption.
After the blinking tank light i ran 130-150 km more. Here the on board computer picture, and the picture of the gas pump filing.
The main goal is not the fuel economy itself (almost 81 mpg on the pump), but the avg speed of 53 km/h, that's about 33 mph. Quite an high speed considering the real fuel consumption.
I'm from Italy, 30 miles west from Venice.
Here we have flat terrain and roads are quite smooth.
Tires: Bridgestone EP001S inflated at 2,9 bars

 

Great Job!! Welcome to the 800-mile club !
(I'm not a member yet, but will try, try again.)
But for our US folks, I should mention that your 2.9 bar tire pressure translates to about 48 psi I think, which is pretty high pressure for most of us!

 

Archived 800 miles again after last few tanks of high 700s. 2014 Prius II. OEM Yokohama 15 inch tires. October 30 to December 4, 2017. Temperature 74 to 80 degrees F. 10.5 gallons at fill-up. Went for 2 miles after cruising range hit 0. Last bar was blinking.

When I first got this tank of gas, cruising range said 798 miles. About 1/3 down the tank, I got as high as 861.

 

Good job getting to 800 mile club! Congrats!
Curious: Is the fuel sold in Honolulu mixed with ethanol?
More to the point, was the 800 Mike tank on gasohol or pure gasoline?

 

Great work and welcome to the club!

 

I am not 100% sure if gas is mixed with ethanol, does not say so at gas station. We follow US standards so I assume it does. What does ethanol do? Is it a good thing to have in terms of engine burns and mileage?

 

Don't mean to confuse you, but adding ethanol to gasoline is only required for certain localities in certain states. Here in Virginia, the suburban area around Washington DC must sell ethanol gasoline but in rural areas you can purchase pure, non-ethanol gasoline at some stations.
Ethanol was intended to use domestic alcohol to extend gasoline supplies to reduce dependence on foreign oil imports. The alcohol is produced from corn which increases corn prices for Midwestern corn farmers.
For cars, however, the alcohol does not efficiently burn at the same temperature and compression points as gasoline, so the effective burn able energy of gasohol is less than pure gasoline. Thus mpg typically is less with gasohol than pure gasoline--in my experience the shift is 3-5 mpg which is small but would make a critical difference in attempting 800 mile tank!
Hope this helps clarify!

 

Finally archived 800 miles tank after 10+ tanks of high 700s. 2014 Prius II. OEM Yokohama 15 inch tires. January 3 to February 4, 2019. Temperature 70 to 80 degrees F, rained on 5 days. 10.5 gallons at fill-up. I saw my Miles to Empty went from 19 miles straight to 0.

 

Your persistence paid off!
Nice that you have very little warm-up penalty, but also don’t have to use the air conditioner at those temps. Does your area have E10, or what fuel did you use?

 

Great job, you knocked me down a spot in the list. So far I have 2,830 miles on my current tank without adding gas . . . in my 2017 Prime.

 

Barely cracked 800 miles. My go to gas station says up to 10% ethanol added.

 

80.7 mpg (displayed)? Are you sure this isn't a plug-in??