Please convince me this is not borderline retarded

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Most people are stupid enough to buy whatever they see advertised, even more so when its on 'special'. Seems like an unfortunate sign of the times..
 
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Honestly anyone who runs their car that close to empty all the time either needs to make sure they have a good pair of walking shoes and an empty jerry can in the back and accept the lone walk of shame and go get some.....or they shouldn't have a set keys to drive to begin with.

I have no idea what this stuff is, but I wouldn't run it in any of my cars, or would ever have to.
 
Originally Posted By: GutsyGecko
It's novel due to lack of flammability, but any car trunk is bound to be over 105F on any warm day...

esp if you're in a region where the avg daily temp over the summer is well above that mark.

but it still requires an ignition source...say a frayed wire on the trunks' light circuit, static Discharge when you open the trunk, etc...

from the article:
"The company calls the stuff a “patented non-flammable gasoline derivative” and claims that it’ll extinguish a burning match. I didn’t test that. And, caveat: the flash point is 105 degrees, so above that temperature it will burn (although it needs an ignition source, hence the "non-flammable" rating.) That relatively high flash point is why you can’t let your car cool off before you pour in the Magic Tank — you need a warm motor for the Magic Tank to perform its alchemy. "

while calling it "borderline retarded" might be a bit much, it is infinitely safer than driving around with a jerry can with gas in it in your trunk...

I don't often run my tank low enough to run out. but for when i do, I always keep an empty 1.5 gal jerry can in my trunk. that way i'm not stuck paying gas station prices for one.
even though i was never i scout, i have their motto burned into my brain. "be prepared"
 
Just re-fill the tank when it gets down to about 1/4 tank and forget the silly stuff in the can that you can't even pour in the tank without spilling it all over yourself.

I don't think I would want this "stuff" in my good engine, anyway. I'll just walk, thank you!
(if I run out)
 
You greatly shorten the life of the pump running it dry. 2 minutes of dry running is enough to ruin a pump. In my first 528e I only ran it out of gas twice in 12 yrs. I retired it with its original pump at 350 k miles.
 
I'm not trying to preach, but...

I ran out of gas a couple of times in my youth.
I found out it wasn't fun.
I decided not to do it again.

Running out of gas is one of the few emergency contingencies I don't bother preparing for.

I have a gas gauge.
The gas gauge goes:
"ding" to say "Bozo, look at your gas gauge!"
"ding ding" "Bozo, you're still not looking at your gas gauge!"
"ding ding ding "You idiot, you really do want to hoof it!"
 
I usually carry a few bottles of 'heet' and I suppose if I had to I could dump them in there to get a few miles, but I haven't done anything like run out for a while. Still it can happen. ONce I was driving between Pendelton and Ontario, OR. It is pretty desolate and not a lot of place to get gas. I was on a hill and the engine started sputtering, but after the hill I guess the little bit of gas I had left was able to reach the pump again and I very slowly made my way to the next town for gas. I don't remember why I was so low, but maybe because gas gets a bit cheaper when you reach Idaho.
 
This is pretty dumb, IMO. Especially considering it's only a half gallon. For bigger SUVs and such, you'd have to be pretty [censored] close to a gas station for that to help you. Plus, I wouldn't trust running it in any even remotely high performance motor that didn't have knock sensors, as who knows what it's like octane-wise.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
i have seen that before in the 80's


Yep, was available in Oz as well in that period...

While not a fan, I had one day where I knew I was marginal, and my Dad took my car to work for a night on overtime,after I went to bed...I was furious, and ran out, fortunately atop a hill giving me a rolling entrance to the garage.

The couple of times I "ran out" recently was the Caprice when the fuel pump was on the way out...we are on a hill, and it wouldn't prime in the morning...two cups of mower fuel would get it primed...

which brings me to the one that my Grandad told me about if stuck in the bush...non flammable water.

If you are really stuck, then a quart of water may bring the level up to where the pump will pump.
 
A great solution to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.

Wouldn't the normal AA roadside assistance covers that stuff? You call them and they bring you proper fuel instead of carrying around half a gallon of stale gasoline. Seriously, just leave open a gasoline container for two days and what is left will also extinguish a burning match.
 
Even if I had that stuff in my trunk I'd probably hitchhike to a gas station so I'm not out the $30 to replace it.

Only time I ever ran out of gas was in a cutlass ciera. I was not familiar with the gauge working near "E" and it actually started climbing back up towards 1/8 tank! I hit construction traffic, had the AC on, and was under 340 miles on my trip odometer, my formerly known-good range.
 
Originally Posted By: Darwin1138
A great solution to a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.

Wouldn't the normal AA roadside assistance covers that stuff? You call them and they bring you proper fuel instead of carrying around half a gallon of stale gasoline. Seriously, just leave open a gasoline container for two days and what is left will also extinguish a burning match.


I want to say they won't bring you diesel. Then again a good number of diesels need to have the air purged to run again.

I routinely run to the low fuel light. My car is known for a bad fuel pump but it still went over 250k. The fact that a few pumps could not handle low fuel a few decades ago does not mean they all still don't. I like to use the full range of my tank. Then again, I know of plenty of places to full up. And don't push my luck when I'm away from my daily travels--on trips I'll fill up at quarter if not sooner (so as to stretch the legs).
 
I've run out of gas only once in my life, on a recently-purchased '65 Mercury Park Lane. The gas gauge didn't work. I had been estimating the usage, figuring low mileage and keeping an eye on the trip meter. Then, a mile from home on a warm afternoon, the car sputtered and died. Grumbling, I walked to a local station, got a few gallons, and tramped back.

I had the gauge fixed the next week.

Since then, I gas up at the low fuel light, or with 1/4 left; and on trips, at the halfway mark. This isn't 1910, and gas stations are not few and far between (unless you're driving in the outback, or in wild areas of the West).
 
IIRC Prestone made a similar product in the early 90's. Touted it as a safe emergency fuel you could keep in the trunk. Even came in the same shaped bottle as the coolant, but a different color plastic. We carried it at the WM I worked at as a young punk.
 
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