Permanent fuel gauge reference

[tribologist]

When i filled up after my gas ordeal took I the opportunity to make a fuel level stick. Then i transcribed it on the board running next to it in case i loose the original. If in doubt i can now always get an accurate fuel reading.

Interestingly the tank is short of 20 gal. I filled with about 1.5 gal, sucked it down until i got air. About .5 gal. E.g empty from a practical point... then i added a gal at a time and i got about 18.5 in before i got flow out of the front port and only 1/2” headspace so practically we have about 18 gal capacity.

[tribologist]

This is more useful...

[kerrye]

Where are you inserting the stick?

[DesertAlbin736]

Where is your fuel guage float/sensor located? Our gauge is a simple mechanical float which appears to be near the outboard side of the tank near the front end, read by looking through a peep hole in the floorboard over the tank.

From the very beginning since initial purchase, and now on our 3rd log book, starting in May, 2014 I've kept a record of every drop of fuel ever put into the tank along with engine hour meter readings each time fuel was added. Also a daily cruising log journal (79 cruising log pages per book plus tabs for fuel, maintenance, radio, vessel inventory) with entries for each day on the water, where we started, where we went, what we did & saw, where we ended, beginning & ending engine hour reads, average RPMs. I didn't at first, but starting in July, 2014 and every entry afterwards noted fuel gauge readings in the daily log, sometimes just one reading, later recorded start & finish readings for each day. The most I've ever put in the tank at one time was 10.6 gallons, & usually between 4 to 8 gallons. At that time, July 12, 2018, we started the day with the tank guage reading 1/4, then refueled after an additional 2 engine hours on a short run from Melanie Cove to Refuge Cove fuel dock in Desolation Sound. In that case we had logged 28.9 engine hours since the previous fill up, averaging 0.37 GPH. So with our tank a gauge reading of 1/4 is really about half a tank because it doesn't measure the inboard sloped portion of the tank. I base my max range calculations on 15 gallons with 5 gallons left in reserve.

So it will interesting when I pull our tank this fall/winter for inspection & cleaning & see what the exact capacity really is & how it compares with yours. Generally we just fill the tank until the gauge reads full & don't really know how close to the top it actually is. In any case, when my gauge reads "E", which I never let it get that far, I probably have at least 6 to 8 gallons or so left.

Evergreenlogbook.jpg

[tribologist]

You can see the plugged bung hole on the right side of the pictures. I do the same thing so its not likely i need it but that time when you really need to calculate your range due to the fuel place stopped selling diesel it will be handy. I should buy a nice log but the PPO’ started one when he got it in 2004 so I'm continuing it.