All Electric - Quarter-Filled Gas Tank

sounds like the gas evaporated it's still flammable but it's hard to ignite lacquer ( you will need a wick) since it's the vapors that makes it ignite I can put out an open flame i.e match with GAS if it's cold enough(i.e not putting out vapors)

gas does not evaporate in a CAR gas tank unless you got a leak 1997+ OBD2 is a sealed system fuel vapors are not vented to the atmosphere ( fuel vapors are a green house gas) it's captured and burned in the engine.

 

Well it certainly appears that you have a good handle on BEING an idiot.
And on being obnoxious too.

NOBODY who has any real knowledge or experience with gas engines will agree with what you said.

Did you come here just to stir up trouble ?
If so, it's not appreciated.

 

Yes, I am one of those idiots too. I have had to rebuild carburetors on several outboard engines and a generator as well. From fuel that was aged and had left deposits that solidified in said carburetors.

 

Oh, get along fellows and try too forget a bit off ribbing. Its good for you!

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Count me in as one of those idiots, too. Unless you live in outer space or other place where there is no oxygen the gas is going to change due to routine oxidation that will take place once the gas is exposed to the air and even a small amount of air is present in the bladder. I don't think the bladder is free of all vapor. Gasoline is not crude oil and is a finely tuned concoction of many components that the ICE is designed to combust for optimal thermal efficiency.

 

No blader in the Prime. Gen2 was the only Prius with a blader!

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And that was one generation too many!

 

Gen1 also had a bladder:
Planning on running out of gas on purpose; then refilling from container | PriusChat

 

I also drive in EV mode alot and only keep a small amount of gas in the tank during those times.
I also don't believe I need to fill the tank every time I stop to put gas in.
If our car is only going to be driven in EV most of the time for several weeks / months 3 of 4 gals usually
lasts that long. Plus it's less gas that can go stale over time.
I also don't have any problem running in EV mode for many months with a full or near full tank of gas.
The gas engine will turn on automagically when the car decides it's time to use it. And there are also times and certain circumstances when the driver wants to turn the gas engine on.

I'd also hazard to guess, most of use here at PC are still learning new things about how the Primes systems are effected by different conditions and driving styles the Prime is exposed to.

 

The amount of oxygen in the air in a partially filled fuel tank can oxidize only a negligible portion of the fuel. E.g. for a half filled tank, the air carries enough oxygen to oxidize only about 0.014% of the gasoline. If one runs down to the low fuel light and leaves it there for an extended period, then maybe 0.1%.

The real oxidation problem would come in unsealed tanks, with a continual exchange of air with the outside, bringing in a regular resupply of oxygen. But PHEVs, including Prime, have extremely well sealed tanks. See article link at post #31.

In these vehicles, it would seem that other chemical changes within the fuel would predominate over oxidation.

 

My Prime is now 3 1/2 years old and we've driven it almost entirely EV except for long trips in HV.
Recently, I've been monitoring the 12 volt with little worry concerning it's health. A few days ago when temps were supposed to ge below freezing overnight I, by happenstance checked the 12 v in the morning before starting the day long drive.
The 12 v was showing 11.8 something or other, and was I glad I'd checked it.
I left the hood open and turned on the car and put it in HV. The ICE fired up as soon as I pushed the button.
I check the voltage again and it was showing 14.5 approximately so I let it run and warm up. But I closed the hood and that point and didn't check again until the end of the day when the car was bedded down for the night and the 12 v was showing 12.36 which is kinda normal for the car at this point.
I'll be running the ICE more often this winter and as I mentioned in another thread I'll be keeping a closer eye on the 12 volt this winter.

 

Just to clarify, the 12v battery gets charged from the traction battery when the car is in READY mode. If your traction battery has some charge left, then the gas engine does not have to run for this charging to occur. In fact, driving on HV mode for 4+ hours did not fully charge the 12v battery, but parking the car in READY mode without the engine on for 3+ hours did charge the 12v battery fully.

See my comment in this thread: 12v Battery Is Discharging, Re-Charge Now ! | Page 17 | PriusChat

 

I noticed in HV mode while driving that the car doesn't charge the 12v much if at all, also. I'll have to check the voltages in EV (READY) mode when stopped as well. Tanks for the heads up.

 

The DC/DC converter treats the 12V battery the same any time the car is in READY mode. I has to treat it the same in either mode because the car can be driven in either mode, but aside from that, all Prii charge/maintain the 12V battery equally whether the ICE is running or not.

The only difference is that in the Gen 4 & Prime, once the car has gotten the 12V up to a certain SOC, it will lower the charging voltage more so than previous generations in order to extend the life of the 12V. That's why you saw the lower charging voltage; it was because it didn't need to charge harder and it had nothing to do with the car's mode.

 

I wasn't concerned about my cars 12v at all, even with readings in the 12.1x range once or twice.
I've become a bit more concerned with winter approching and seeing the 12v reading at 11.8x

Still not sure why the 12v reads the way it does in the Prime after almost 40k miles and 3 years
and / or / if I should be concerned about it yet or not. I really don't want to have to do maintenance on it in the snow. Tanks...

 

12.0 with no load is about half discharged.
So you are a bit BELOW half discharged.
I think you are wise to be concerned.

While it is not necessary to disconnect the battery to charge it, it IS necessary to be sure there is no drain on it when doing a home health test.
Disconnect one main batttery cable.
Charge fully. Likely will read above 13 immediately after (surface charge).
Let it sit undisturbed for about 24 hours.
If it reads below 12.8 before reconnecting, start shopping for a new battery.
That assumes it is an AGM type.

If it reads 12.8 or more, likely that the battery itself is still OK and just isn't being charged enough.
If there is power available where you park, a battery tender would be a good idea.

 

Thanks for the heads up Sam. I think the 12v is a flooded type. I'll double check to be sure next time I get a voltage read. It's OE whatever that means and I've read here - some / most Primes 12v are flooded.
Funny or not I did a vin check on the oil filter type and perhaps I may have done the vin check wrong.
I got a spin on oil filter a year ago, than got the oil changed at the 30k service so never used it. Sure enough the oil filter is the elemnt type.
At least now I have a couple of the right oil filters to use and I'm thinking I might be able to use the spin on for one of the 4 other vehicles that all use the same sized spin on. My 2000 suzuki bandit is the only other of the 5 - 4 stroke engines - that uses a different threaded oil filter.

 

A change was made to some/most/all models around 2017.
Prior to that they all were AGM.
So, no most are NOT flooded.

 

All Gen4 Prius and Prius PRIME comes with regular flooded lead-acid 12v battery. No more AGM battery as OEM 12v battery in those cars since the battery was moved back to under the hood. In fact, I have not yet to find an AGM battery that would fit to replace the OEM flooded 12v battery for Gen4 and PP.

 

Oh Tay lol
I'm double checkin mine anyways .... will report back what I have after next voltage check.

I'm not too confused yet.... lol