Drawstraw Users - How low can you go?

[Mopar1973Man]

27.641 Gallons after hauling a car back on a trailer from Boise, ID did 14.76 MPG. Still solid fuel pressure and no issues, no pressure dropping while driving. Remember this is for old school DrawStraw users and not in the sender straws. Lets see how low you guys can go with your old school straws.

 

 

 

 

[That Guy]

The build sheet on my 97 says it has the 35 gallon tank. It always seems to be empty after about 26 gallons, filled up to the click. Gauge shows empty and truck has run out before. It seems as though there should be almost another 9 gallons.

 

I'm on my original sending unit. 

 

I'll be watching this as I,ve been thinking about one of these for while.

[Mopar1973Man]

15 minutes ago, That Guy said:

I'm on my original sending unit. 

After 422k miles I'm on my 3rd Sending unit. I just changed the sender just a couple of months ago. I've never ran it below an half a tank while Mom was going back and forth. Now my last trip I barrowed a trailer and would you know it no lights on the trailer. I had magnetic lights but only the right flasher worked. I knew I had to run for home in the daylight. I didn't stop for food or fuel at all. Just kept driving and made it home by just dust. That what I had left after the trip to town to get fuel this morning. I'm also a 35 gallon tank but since my batteries went dead my gallon amount on the iQuad app was zero'ed out and didn't have accurate data to work with. Rather not chance the thought of running out of fuel when its subzero here. Walking would be a bad idea...

[Russ Roth]

I try to always fill up at or before I see the gauge hit the halfway mark.  Running out of fuel in anything sucks but more so with a diesel rig.

 

[Doubletrouble]

 I try to use 1/4 as an empty mark. Won't let it below that in warm weather. Cold weather I'll keep it above even that. Probably between half and quarter.

 I had the fuel.light come on once, made me nervous. Lol Sure don't want to run out on a diesel. 

[Mopar1973Man]

Part of why I made this post is to show that old school drawstraws can perform just fine if installed correctly. The other factor I'm finding is fuel temps on the old school drawstraws are typically lower than sender based straws which recycle the same hot fuel back to the injection pump. Then being able to drive long distances and no 1/4 tank pressure drops as fuel sloshes around. After all these year the AirDog is still holding a solid fuel pressures and no issues with old school draw straw. 

 

The biggest problem is people cutting the straw to short, cutting the end diagonal, etc. Even the sender based straws are typically hotter for fuel temps being fresh cool fuel is nowhere to be seen being same fuel is reused over and over.

 

[Dieselfuture]

5 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Lets see how low you guys can go with your old school straws.

Did you buy a tow truck for a side business 

I have a draw straw inside sending unit, for what it's worth I got down to last 3-4 gallons, I believe I pumped 31 something gallons in. This was a second time I did that since I owned the truck. I generally stay above a quarter, and more than often fill up at half. When I first got my truck it was plumped through a draw straw like yours, but cut too short. I had all kinds of issues sucking air and losing prime, for whatever reason I decided to go with the one that fits inside the module. Been working fine ever since. 

[Mopar1973Man]

@Dieselfuture I would love to see your fuel temps in the VP44. 

2 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

Did you buy a tow truck for a side business 

 No. I do what has to be done to get vehicles running and fixed. If I gotta barrow a trailer and haul it back I will. 

[Dieselfuture]

4 minutes ago, Mopar1973Man said:

 I would love to see your fuel temps in the VP44.

I know in summer it gets up there 160sh  especially when tank gets emptier. 

I was just joking about the tow truck

[Mopar1973Man]

5 minutes ago, Dieselfuture said:

I know in summer it gets up there 160sh  especially when tank gets emptier. 

I was just joking about the tow truck

 

I know about the tow truck comment. Your good... 

 

As for fuel temp 160*F is high... Even my trip to Mohave Valley AZ this summer I towed the RV down there and had outside temperatures of 117*F and fuel temp only made it to a mere 145*F... 

 

 

[Dieselfuture]

Yeah I'm a bit paranoid about it but at the same time I haven't seen any ill effects yet. Probably better in winter and not so good in summer. At least it's good half the year 

[LorenS]

4 hours ago, Dieselfuture said:

Probably better in winter

Makes sense to me.

My sender-mounted draw straw lets me "run out" of fuel with 7 gallons left in the tank if I go downhill, BUT during installation I cleaned all the gunk out of the sender basket and accidentally ripped that super fine screen off the bottom. If a new sender wasn't so expensive I'd be buying another, just for the screen!

[Dieselfuture]

5 minutes ago, LorenS said:

accidentally ripped that super fine screen off the bottom.

I took my screen off too, haven't had any issues. If I know I'll be going off-road I'll fill the tank up. Part of the reason I fill up at half tank most of the time, never know when I need to go down a steep grade.

[LorenS]

I now carry 5 gallons of diesel, putting that fuel into the tractor every couple months to rotate stock. Doesn't solve bleeding injectors in the middle of an intersection (four lane, too - whoops), but would save running to the gas station.

[01cummins4ever]

I installed the old school drawstraw the same as @Mopar1973Man did it at the same time when I did the fuel boss, I just wanted it as simple as possible, it works flawlessly, I cut the length of straw off the bottom about 1/8 of an inch too. Just for a trial run after instal I ran it to town where their is a few stations and went until the fuel light illuminated and watched the lie o meter until it said I had 30 miles left, I chickened out and pulled into a station and dumped 32 gallons in. 

 

Before I went this route I had a draw straw in the fuel basket, I’m sure I cut it to short as I would start sucking air at a 1/4 tank, Then their was the time I backed down the boat ramp with a 1/4 tank, with my old set up, truck was idleing as I was backing boat off trailer then it just quit    now every time I hit that ramp truck has a half of tank or better, it’s fairly steep 

[ColoradoColt]

Delete(didn’t read original post good enough)

Edited October 28, 2020 by ColoradoColt

[Mopar1973Man]

 I just got busted for that in the 3rd gen section... 

[dripley]

I have regularly run mine down low on long highway trips. That on the oe basket and later on the intank basket before and after converting it to the AD. The pick up and both returns to the basket. The 35 gallon tank has allowed me to make long trips home and avoid the high dollar gas states or just do a non stop run if I had it in me. Never bothered me to run it to empty. I can still stop when the low fuel light comes on and put in near 31.5 gallons every time. I just figured since I have a 35 gallon I am going use it all.

But thats just me and how I choose to do it. 

[Sycostang67]

When I installed mine, and fired the truck back up the low fuel light was on.  I made it to a gas station without any issues.  The truck will run fine below 1/4 tank but will lose prime over night in my drive way which has a slight angle.  One bump of the key primes it right back up though.  I try not to go lower than 1/4 in any of my vehicles though, I'm an expect the worst kind of guy and my 67 mustang has bitten me twice with the sender sticking at 1/4 tank and letting me run out of fuel.  I have since replaced the sender but still give it the evil eye every time it gets that low and make sure I stop for fuel.  

[dripley]

I keep an eye on the fuel gauge and the odometer. If my gauge went whacky I would know it with the mileage. If that kind of chit started happening I would not run it low until I figured out what was happening.  Mine gauge has read the same way since 08.