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Old 02-07-2018, 01:27   #1
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Alternative to fuel gauge

I have 7 small fuel tanks below deck. Roughly 25 gallons each. Is there an alternative to installing a fuel gauge (sender)? All I need is a signal that the tank is full.
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Old 02-07-2018, 03:21   #2
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

Dipstick or sight tube can work. I prefer a sight tube if it is practical to install one.
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Old 02-07-2018, 12:55   #3
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Alternative to fuel gauge

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Originally Posted by gauvins View Post
I have 7 small fuel tanks below deck. Roughly 25 gallons each. Is there an alternative to installing a fuel gauge (sender)? All I need is a signal that the tank is full.


Simple float switch should do if you only need to know when full. Connect the switch to a little LED.
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Old 02-07-2018, 13:36   #4
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

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Dipstick or sight tube can work. I prefer a sight tube if it is practical to install one.
+1. Hard to beat the reliability and accuracy of a stick!

OP: thats a rather unsual configuration. What kind of boat?
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Old 02-07-2018, 14:01   #5
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

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+1. Hard to beat the reliability and accuracy of a stick!

OP: thats a rather unsual configuration. What kind of boat?
Quite, we have a garden cane with marks on it for every 5 gallons. It's probably 30 years old now and very well preserved with a dunk in the diesel every couple of months. High tec? nope and it doesn't need an app either

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Old 02-07-2018, 14:34   #6
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

Ive got Tander Tender pneumatic gauges which are quite reliable, but 2 of my 3 tanks can be measured with a stick too.
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Old 02-07-2018, 14:42   #7
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

A thermistor. It's the little gadget they use for low fuel warning in a car, only you would use it in reverse. They conduct when they get hot so you would put it at at the top of the tank. The light would come on when the tank was not full.
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Old 02-07-2018, 18:57   #8
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

I too like Tank Tenders.
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Old 02-07-2018, 23:04   #9
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

I use a stick, but I have rectangular tanks so figuring the results is easy. The best way with multiple odd sized tanks is to have a day tank that supplies all fuel needs and a transfer pump. As you use fuel, you pump the unmeasurable tanks into the day tank first.
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Old 03-07-2018, 09:31   #10
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

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Originally Posted by Pete7 View Post
Quite, we have a garden cane with marks on it for every 5 gallons. It's probably 30 years old now and very well preserved with a dunk in the diesel every couple of months. High tec? nope and it doesn't need an app either

Pete
+1

My dip stick came with the boat new from the manufacturer. It has marks for every 5 gallons on it. Even came with a tag attached telling what it was used for with the Down East Yachts logo printed on it. Been hanging on its original hook in the engine room for 41 years and counting.

Every time I use it I just smile.
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Old 03-07-2018, 10:45   #11
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

Without knowing more about your tank configuration an answer seems impossible.
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Old 03-07-2018, 12:58   #12
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

Quote: " All I need is a signal that the tank is full."

Surely that's a non-problem?

Around here the gas dock attendant ALWAYS hands the nozzle to the skipper - or a trusted crew member. The reason is simple: If there is a spill - or if gasoline goes into a diesel tank - the gas dock man can yell "It wasn't me!"

So as you - the skipper - stand there with the nozzle in yer 'and, you can't see your fuel gauge anyway, but you can hear the gurgle of the fuel going down the filler hose change pitch as the tank(s) fill(s) and the fuel begins to rise up in the filler hose. Stop there if you have lotsa capacity. If, like me, you don't, go DEAD slow till you actually see the fuel near the top of the filler.

I always keep an engine diaper handy in case I should blow it, but why would you blow it? As skipper you're sposed to be on the ball! I wrap the diaper around the nozzle as I return it to the dock man. Not even a single drop gets spilled.

How do I know how much is left at any given time? Well, I don't really. I know that I burn 2 litres per hour at 2,400 RPM. My hour-meter readings, noted in the log, tell me how many hours since the last fill, and therefore how much I've used. I plan to press up, and usually succeed in doing it, before I'm down to the last 20 litres of my total tankage of 60 litres.

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Old 03-07-2018, 13:39   #13
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

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Originally Posted by TrentePieds View Post
stand there with the nozzle in yer 'and, you can't see your fuel gauge anyway, but you can hear the gurgle of the fuel going down the filler hose change pitch as the tank(s) fill(s) and the fuel begins to rise up in the filler hose. Stop there if you have lotsa capacity. If, like me, you don't, go DEAD slow till you actually see the fuel near the top of the filler.
On our Catalina 30, the tank vent is lower than the fill tube, and on the transom where it can not be seen. I have to turn on the accessories switch (Which gets the Low Oil Pressure alarm sounding...) and watch the fuel gauge as I fill the tank. If I don't, the fuel will come out the vent on the transom well before it is detectable in the fill tube.
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Old 03-07-2018, 13:55   #14
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

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On our Catalina 30, the tank vent is lower than the fill tube, and on the transom where it can not be seen. I have to turn on the accessories switch (Which gets the Low Oil Pressure alarm sounding...) and watch the fuel gauge as I fill the tank. If I don't, the fuel will come out the vent on the transom well before it is detectable in the fill tube.

Our boat has the same issue, and it has a reasonably accurate fuel gauge. Even so, we use a dipstick to check levels whilst filling.
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Old 03-07-2018, 14:27   #15
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Re: Alternative to fuel gauge

Quote: "On our Catalina 30, the tank vent is lower than the fill tube"

I doubt it not! Every "make" of boat has it's peculiarities and deficiencies depending on who was in charge when the boat was built - the cost accountant or the sailor :-). This one, however, would be relatively easy to remedy.

TP
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