POL Calculator
Petroleum, oils, and lubricants from vehicle fleet.
About this calculator
This calculator estimates petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) demand for a fleet of wheeled and tracked vehicles plus generators. Vehicle operating hours per day is the single largest lever on Daily fuel (gal): it multiplies both the wheeled fleet's and tracked fleet's per-hour burn rates directly (lines 15-16), so raising operating hours moves daily fuel ahead of adding more wheeled or tracked vehicles at the default fleet mix. Tracked vehicles burn more than three times the fuel per hour of wheeled vehicles (10 gal/hr versus 3 gal/hr, line 15) -- with the default 10 tracked and 30 wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles' smaller headcount still edges out wheeled vehicles' contribution to Daily fuel because of that per-hour rate gap.
Generators run a flat 24 hours a day rather than the vehicle operating-hours figure (line 17), so they add a fixed daily draw regardless of how many hours vehicles actually operate that day, and are the smallest single contributor to Daily fuel at the default counts. Days of supply has no effect on Daily fuel at all -- it only multiplies the daily total into Total fuel for the whole planning period (line 20) -- but it is the largest single lever on that period total, since every gallon of daily fuel gets repeated once for each day of the planning window.
Safety Notice
This calculator provides estimates only. Always follow manufacturer guidelines, industry standards, and applicable safety codes. Incorrect application of these calculations could result in injury or property damage. When in doubt, consult a qualified professional.
Inputs
Results
Daily fuel (gal)
1,760
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the number of wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs, LMTVs, etc.) and tracked vehicles (M1, M2, etc.) in the unit — tracked vehicles burn more than three times the fuel per hour of wheeled vehicles.
- Set the number of generators, which run a flat 24 hours a day regardless of vehicle operating hours, and planned days of supply.
- Enter vehicle operating hours per day — this is the single biggest lever on Daily fuel (gal).
- Review Daily fuel (gal) and Total fuel (gal) as primary POL planning figures; days of supply has no effect on the daily figure but is the largest lever on the period total.
- Use 5K tanker loads and Short tons for distribution planning and resupply scheduling.
How the result changes with Vehicle hours/day
| Vehicle hours/day | Daily fuel (gal) |
|---|---|
| 4 | 1,000 |
| 6 | 1,380 |
| 12 | 2,520 |
| 20 | 4,040 |
What each input means
- Wheeled vehicles
- Number of wheeled vehicles (HMMWV, LMTV, etc.).
- Tracked vehicles
- Number of tracked vehicles (M1, M2, etc.).
- Generators
- Number of generators.
- Days of supply
- Planning period in days.
- Vehicle hours/day
- Average vehicle operating hours per day.
What each result means
- Daily fuel (gal)
- Total daily fuel requirement.
- Total fuel (gal)
- Total fuel for the planning period.
- 5K tanker loads
- Number of 5,000 gallon tanker loads.
- Weight (lb)
- Total fuel weight in pounds.
- Short tons
- Total fuel weight in short tons.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersWheeled vehicles = 30, Tracked vehicles = 10, Generators = 5, Days of supply = 7 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Daily fuelDaily fuel = wheeledGalPerDay + trackedGalPerDay + genGalPerDay1760 = 1760
- Calculate Total fuelTotal fuel = totalDailyGal * daysOfSupply12320 = 12320
- Calculate 5K tanker loads5K tanker loads = ceil(totalForPeriod / 5000)3 = 3
Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
What changes Daily fuel the most: vehicle count or operating hours?
Operating hours per day. It multiplies directly into both the wheeled and tracked fleet's fuel burn (lines 15-16), so it moves Daily fuel more than adding vehicles of either type does at the default fleet of 30 wheeled and 10 tracked vehicles. Generators are unaffected by this input -- they run a flat 24 hours a day regardless (line 17).
Do tracked vehicles really burn more fuel than wheeled vehicles per hour?
Yes, more than three times as much: 10 gal/hr for tracked vehicles versus 3 gal/hr for wheeled vehicles (line 15). At the default 10 tracked and 30 wheeled vehicles, tracked vehicles' smaller headcount still contributes more to Daily fuel than wheeled vehicles do, purely because of that per-hour rate gap.
Does days of supply change how much fuel I burn each day?
No. Daily fuel is computed entirely from vehicle counts, generator count, and operating hours per day (lines 15-19); days of supply never enters that formula. It only multiplies the already-computed daily total into Total fuel for the whole planning period (line 20), making it the largest single lever on the period total even though it has zero effect on the daily figure.
Why do generators contribute less to fuel demand than the vehicle fleet?
Generators consume a flat 2 gal/hr each but run a fixed 24 hours a day regardless of the operating-hours input (line 17), while wheeled and tracked vehicles burn more per hour but only for the entered operating-hours figure. At the default 5 generators against 30 wheeled and 10 tracked vehicles, the generators' 24-hour runtime is not enough to overtake the larger, higher-rate vehicle fleet's contribution to Daily fuel.
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