Every new technology creates unexpected problems. When the first fuel-powered cars with partially electric plug-in hybrid drive (PHEV) and petrol-powered electric cars emerged as power generators, engineers were faced with a new question: What if you’re constantly driving electric from the battery and you hardly need it? combustion engine? The mechanics want to work, otherwise they are threatened with damage.
This is one of the reasons why the internal combustion engine is turned on from time to time, sometimes to charge the working 12 volt battery. But now another problem arises: if the fuel is not used at all, it spoils like milk left in the fridge. Gas gets old in the tank – we never notice it as we drive it in a “regular” car. But because of this, the lawnmower does not work after winter.
Gasoline doesn’t like air
The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, for example, requires 15 liters of fresh fuel to be refueled when the internal combustion engine is rarely used, according to the German “Auto Motor und Sport” that deals with the issue. For what reason? The German expert magazine interviewed the experts. According to them, it takes two months to a year for the hydrocarbons to evaporate during cold start-up. There is also oxidation: gasoline becomes viscous and forms a kind of sludge that can clog lines, fuel pumps and the like.
How fast it happens depends on the conditions: the hotter the tank and the more empty the tank (i.e. the more air inside the fuel reacts with the air), the faster – airtight, in cold storage, gasoline will stay fresh for years. So if you’re using a mostly electric PHEV, you should keep the tank full.
Diesel wears out faster
Diesel drivers are even worse off: Diesel ages about twice as fast as gasoline, and then the “diesel plague” clogs everything up. But this is a rarity with plug-in hybrids: Peugeot has had a diesel plug-in hybrid for some time, but currently only Mercedes combines a diesel engine with a plug-in.