Reserve Fuel Tanks

How does a reserve fuel tank actually work ?

When you fill up your tank , does the new fuel mix with the fuel in the
reserve tank or is the reserve tank completely separate from the main
tank and the fuel that's in the reserve stays there and gets old.

Would it be a good idea to occasionally run on the reserve tank on the
way to the petrol station just to use up the old fuel in the reserve?

Thanks.

 

One tank with 2 pickups at different heights.

 

There's no such thing as a 'reserve' tank, it's just a different pick up
point in the main tank. When you have to switch over to reserve it takes
the fuel from a lower point in the fuel tank, so the difference between the
normal pick up point, and the low point, is your 'reserve'.

Cam
'00 ZX6R

 

well when u run out of fuel you turn on the reserve...then you go to the
petrol station and fill up...then next time you run out you go to turn on
the reserve, only to realise that when you filled up after last time you
did'nt put it back on main...so you push it to a petrol station, fill up and
select main tank, vowing never to forget again...then next time you run
out...
so a reserve tank is a cyclic thing...sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't

 

Hehe, how true Especially so on say a CBR250RR. Dealer said I should be
able to get 200-220 ks out of each tank... Well, I got some exercise and
eventually learned to refill about 100ks short of that. Typically fillerup
with 6-6.5 liters into my 10l tank at 110 or so Ks so I guess I could push
it to 170ks on a tank. But >200 in the city?? Get real. Or be prepared to
take off like a 50cc scooter [never going above 7k rpms].

j

 

Oh , I see , said the blind man.

So that how it works , I though the reserve tank might have been a
separate tank within the main tank itself , and once the reserve fills
up , it overflows into the main tank , and when you go to fill up the
main tank , it sort of like just tops up the reserve tank which still
has the old petrol inside it.

So from what you are saying , it is just one tank that has two pickup
points at different levels in the tank and that when you go to fill up
the tank , the old fuel in the bottom mixes with the new stuff.

Thanks.

 

Thanks , that's good , it's just one tank for both reserve and main , I
was wondering about whether the old fuel in the "reserve" mixes with the
new fuel that's put in regularly.

 

isn't

I have never had to use the reserve , I usually just go by the trip
meter and fill the tank up after riding a certain amount of Kms ,
usually about 250 Km ( 9.5 litres of a 15 litre tank ) , which is about
once a week and costs around $10.

 

My bikes redline at around 7000.

 

Add 12k to that and you have mine

j

 

The mistake you made was not letting the tank run out of petrol, it was
believing something a salesman said while he was trying to convince you to
hand over your cash.

Nev..
'02 CBR1100XX #2 lives on !! no ZX12R yet...

 

More and more bikes only have a theoretical reserve capacity nowadays. They
have no separate fuel pickup, tap or switch, just a flashing light or similar
on the dash. The manufacturers still quote a reserve capacity in their specs,
but if you run dry, you're walking.

Nev..
'02 CBR1100XX #2 lives on !! no ZX12R yet...

 

I have a 30 litre reserve tank that is isolated from the main tank and fills
it on demand by a separate low pressure fuel pump via a line with a non
return valve.

Boxer

 

That's exactly right. The reserve tank, which is open at the top,
is below the main tank, which is open at the bottom

Yep. The 'two different levels' is often done with a little
snorkel in the tap. The 'main pickup' is through the top of the
snorkel, the 'reserve pickup' is straight into the tap body.

The problem is that water, which is heavier than petrol, generally
settles to the bottom of the tank, and if there's enough of it
down there it gets sucked in when you switch to reserve. Ick.

-----sharks

 

Let me guess ... Suzuki Across. Was I right, was I, was I?

-----sharks (read a lot of books about tanks ...)

 

[...]

So it's worth switching to reserve every once in a while just to smoothen
things out?

j

 

Ditto (with a couple of two stroke exceptions)

Cheers,
Ash

 

"Jorgen" wrote

Fug'nell. Your 250 uses more fuel than my 1100.

Theo
Stunned.

 

You're a genius, sharkey

 

[...]

Probably means that I'm ready for a bigger bike. Once warm I like to rev the
tits out of it, that's where the "power" is.


j