How to Calculate Fuel Consumption
Knowing how much fuel a car or other machine is consuming can help you plan for future fuel needs as well as costs. Also, a machine that is using significantly more fuel than usual could have a problem. Calculating fuel consumption is also a key component of finding a vehicle's fuel efficiency.
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Instructions
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Fill your fuel tank. If you are calculating the fuel use for your car, fill the tank until the gas pump clicks for the first time.
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Perform the task for which your are calculating fuel consumption (for example, plowing a field).
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3
If you are using a pump, refill the fuel tank and record how much fuel was added. This is the amount of fuel that was consumed.
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If you are pouring in fuel from another container, first record the volume of fuel in the container. Once you have filled the tank, record the volume of fuel remaining in the container. Subtract the volume remaining from the original volume to find the fuel consumption.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to calculate how many miles per gallon your car is getting, reset the trip odometer when you fill your tank. When you later refill your fuel tank, divide the number of miles you drove by the number of gallons of fuel you used. For example, if you used 10 gallons of fuel and the trip odometer reads 250 miles, your MPG is 25.
