diff --git a/doc/variables.xml b/doc/variables.xml
index b8336c5b..19b078ba 100644
--- a/doc/variables.xml
+++ b/doc/variables.xml
@@ -1094,7 +1094,8 @@
         </term>
         <listitem>Bar that shows how much space is free on a file
         system. height is the height in pixels. fs is any file on
-        that file system. 
+        that file system. This uses f_bfree (as per man 2 statfs)
+        if it's available, or f_bavail as a fallback. 
         <para /></listitem>
     </varlistentry>
     <varlistentry>
@@ -1104,7 +1105,9 @@
             </command>
             <option>(fs)</option>
         </term>
-        <listitem>Free space on a file system available for users. 
+        <listitem>Free space on a file system. This uses f_bfree
+        (as per man 2 statfs) if it's available, or f_bavail as a
+        fallback. 
         <para /></listitem>
     </varlistentry>
     <varlistentry>
@@ -1114,8 +1117,9 @@
             </command>
             <option>(fs)</option>
         </term>
-        <listitem>Free percentage of space on a file system
-        available for users. 
+        <listitem>Free percentage of space on a file system. This
+        uses f_bfree (as per man 2 statfs) if it's available, or
+        f_bavail as a fallback. 
         <para /></listitem>
     </varlistentry>
     <varlistentry>
@@ -1145,7 +1149,8 @@
             </command>
             <option>(fs)</option>
         </term>
-        <listitem>File system used space. 
+        <listitem>File system used space. This uses f_bfree (as per
+        man 2 statfs) if it's available, or f_bavail as a fallback.
         <para /></listitem>
     </varlistentry>
     <varlistentry>
@@ -1155,7 +1160,9 @@
             </command>
             <option>(fs)</option>
         </term>
-        <listitem>Percent of file system used space. 
+        <listitem>Percent of file system used space. This uses
+        f_bfree (as per man 2 statfs) if it's available, or
+        f_bavail as a fallback. 
         <para /></listitem>
     </varlistentry>
     <varlistentry>
diff --git a/src/conky.c b/src/conky.c
index f498ae59..98492b66 100644
--- a/src/conky.c
+++ b/src/conky.c
@@ -4327,13 +4327,19 @@ static void generate_text_internal(char *p, int p_max_size,
 #ifdef X11
 						if(output_methods & TO_X) {
 							new_bar(p, obj->data.fsbar.w, obj->data.fsbar.h,
-								(int) (255 - obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail * 255 /
-								obj->data.fs->size));
+									(int) (255 - (obj->data.fs->free ?
+											obj->data.fs->free :
+											obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail) * 255 /
+										obj->data.fs->size));
 						}else{
 #endif /* X11 */
 							if(!obj->data.fsbar.w) obj->data.fsbar.w = DEFAULT_BAR_WIDTH_NO_X;
-							new_bar_in_shell(p, p_max_size,
-								(int) (100 - obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail * 100 / obj->data.fs->size), obj->data.fsbar.w);
+							new_bar_in_shell(p, p_max_size, (int) (100 -
+										(obj->data.fs->free ?
+										 obj->data.fs->free :
+										 obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail) * 100 /
+										obj->data.fs->size),
+									obj->data.fsbar.w);
 #ifdef X11
 						}
 #endif /* X11 */
@@ -4391,13 +4397,17 @@ static void generate_text_internal(char *p, int p_max_size,
 #ifdef X11
 						if(output_methods & TO_X) {
 							new_bar(p, obj->data.fsbar.w, obj->data.fsbar.h,
-								(int) (obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail * 255 /
-								obj->data.fs->size));
+									(int) ((obj->data.fs->free ?
+											obj->data.fs->free :
+											obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail) * 255 /
+										obj->data.fs->size));
 						}else{
 #endif /* X11 */
 							if(!obj->data.fsbar.w) obj->data.fsbar.w = DEFAULT_BAR_WIDTH_NO_X;
-							new_bar_in_shell(p, p_max_size,
-								(int) (obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail * 100 / obj->data.fs->size), obj->data.fsbar.w);
+							new_bar_in_shell(p, p_max_size, (int)
+									((obj->data.fs->free ? obj->data.fs->free :
+									  obj->data.fsbar.fs->avail) * 100 /
+									 obj->data.fs->size), obj->data.fsbar.w);
 #ifdef X11
 						}
 #endif /* X11 */