Each car has its own fuel tank capacity. There is no specific standard for volume parameters that all car manufacturers would adhere to. Let's look at what are the capacities of fuel tanks of different types, determine the features and structure of these elements.
How do manufacturers calculate fuel capacity?
It is believed that the car should have enough fuel so that it can travel 500 kilometers at one gas station. This is an unwritten rule that many automakers adhere to. Consequently, the capacity of the fuel tank will be different for cars with high and low fuel consumption.
On average, a fuel tank holds 55-70 liters of gasoline, however, due to the reduced fuel consumption of small engines, there is a tendency to decrease the capacity of the fuel tank. This is logical, because a passenger car with a small engine capacity needs much less fuel in order to drive 500 km. In addition, the efficiency of the fuel itself is growing due to an increase in the octane number and the use of various additives, which also implies savings and a decrease in tank capacity. A large jeep with a voracious engine will “eat” much more gasoline, therefore, it should have a larger fuel tank.
As for diesel, the fuel tank of cars that consume diesel fuel is often smaller compared to gasoline cars. This is logical, since the efficiency of diesel fuel is higher than the efficiency of gasoline. Consequently, a car with a 40-liter tank completely filled with diesel will travel the same distance as a car with a full 50-liter tank. But this is too crude a comparison.
Fuel tanks for cars
To approximately understand the numbers, you need to refer to the technical parameters of the cars. The new Lada Vesta of the Russian AvtoVAZ concern is equipped with a 55-liter tank. This is a fairly high figure, and the closest competitors - Kia Rio and Hyundai Solaris - are equipped with 43-liter tanks. The fuel consumption of these cars is approximately the same, which means that the Lada will travel a greater distance at full gas station, which is one of the advantages.
The larger Volkswagen Tiguan is equipped with a tank with a capacity of 58-64 liters (depending on the specific modification), and huge cars like Toyota Land Cruiser, with high fuel consumption, have 93-liter tanks.
As for the sizes, this is much more complicated. Some manufacturers make rectangular tanks, the size of which can be approximately 60x40x20 cm. There are tanks with completely different sizes, and some manufacturers adapt these fuel tanks in such a way that they fit into the design. Their size cannot be described by three or four parameters.
Tanks of trucks
As for trucks, the KamAZ car is popular, the fuel tank of which, depending on the model, may have a different volume. The smallest capacity is 125 liters. However, due to the high fuel consumption, KamAZ is not able to travel a long distance (and even with a load) on such a tank, so the manufacturer also provided for other containers that are used on this car. Thus, the KamAZ fuel tank can have a capacity of 125 to 600 liters with a step of 50 or 40 liters.
There may also be non-standard modifications of tanks of 700 liters. The fact is that not only the manufacturing plant makes fuel tanks, third-party manufacturers can also do this. And in general, there is little chance on the market to find KamAZ plant products; tanks from third-party manufacturers are most often found.
The second popular truck is GAZelle. Despite the fact that this machine is a truck, the Gazelle's fuel tank holds only 60 liters of gasoline. And this is very inconvenient, given that the fuel consumption of the car is quite large. Consequently, when driving long distances, you have to take additional cans of fuel with you.
Some owners of these cars change the old, small tank to a new one. Third-party manufacturers produce fuel tanks for Gazelle with a capacity of up to 150 liters.
All this allows us to conclude that the fuel tank is a changing, not a constant value, and it is different for different cars. Even in two identical models, completely different fuel tanks with different capacities can be used.
Huge trucks of the SCANIA 113 type have tanks for 450-500 liters. A DAF XF can have an 870-liter fuel tank, and a MAN F90 heavy-duty truck is equipped with a 1,260-liter tank. This is simply incredibly large capacity, and the small 45-liter passenger car tanks look ridiculous against their background.
Fuel tank device
Now that we understand how many liters a fuel tank can hold gasoline, we can talk about its structure. On cars, it is placed in the rear of the body, under the passenger seats. At the same time, it is closed with a strong metal plate to avoid deformation in a collision, and is also isolated from overheating with the help of special heat-insulating gaskets.
Material
Tanks can be made of metal, aluminum, plastic. Aluminum containers are used to store diesel and gasoline fuel, steel - for gas. As for plastic tanks, they have become very popular recently due to the simplicity of production and molding. Due to the peculiarities of plastic quickly acquire the desired shape, manufacturers create tanks of various structural difficulties. In addition, this material is not subject to corrosion, well protects against leaks due to the use of different technologies (coating the inner surface with fluorine is one of them).
Fuel filler neck
Fill the tank through the neck, which is most often located above the rear wing of the right or left side. Experts explain that the left side is ideal from the point of view of safety in the location of the neck of the fuel tank, since when refueling this reduces the chances of starting before the fuel gun is removed from the tank. So the driver controls the process better.
The neck is connected to the tank through the pipeline, and it is located under the special cap of the neck of the fuel tank. This cover on old cars opens from the outside (that is, any passer-by can open it), however, on modern cars, the cover opens from the passenger compartment. The most commonly used mechanical method of opening with a cable.
Fuel line
The supply of gasoline or diesel fuel to the motor power system is carried out through the fuel outlet pipe. Also, a gas pump is used for this, which pumps gasoline from the tank to the engine power system. Fuel that the engine did not consume is returned to the tank. So gasoline constantly circulates through the fuel line: part of it is spent on engine operation, and the second is returned back.
Level sensor
This sensor is in all tanks and is part of the fuel pump. If the gasoline level drops, the float drops lower. This entails a change in the resistance of the potentiometer associated with the float. As a result, the voltage in the mains drops, and the arrow on the dashboard displays the change. So the driver sees how much gas is left in the tank.
Ventilation
One of the important systems is ventilation. The fact is that in the tank you must always maintain a pressure equal to atmospheric, and ventilation is responsible for this. Modern machines are equipped with a closed tank ventilation system, which prevents a drop or increase in pressure inside it. If the pressure inside the tank decreases, then it can deform, and an increase in pressure can generally tear the tank apart. Given that there is fuel inside, implementations of an efficient ventilation system pay a lot of attention.
When the fuel leaves the tank, the pressure in it drops, resulting in a vacuum. Thanks to the ventilation system, this effect is eliminated: the safety valve launches air inside. This valve is located at the neck cover, and it can let air through in only one direction.
When refueling, excess air enters the tank, resulting in gasoline fumes. These excesses are displaced by the ventilation system through a special pipeline. Also, gasoline vapors can form at elevated temperatures, which also entails an increase in pressure. And only the ventilation system saves the tank from completely breaking it into pieces.
Conclusion
The fuel tank of the car is a rather complicated design. Despite the apparent simplicity of the device, a lot of different processes (evaporation, oxidation of fuel) arise in the tank, which must be considered when developing these tanks. But if you compare the tank device with the motor, or at least with the power system, it will seem primitive.
Now you know how the fuel tank is arranged, what its volume is in cars and trucks, and also why it is so small in small cars. Against the background of all this, the tendency to reduce tank capacity in modern small cars becomes clear .