 |
04-06-2016, 17:40
|
#1
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Port Townsend, WA
Boat: Tashiba-31
Posts: 240
|
Fuel Guage Rod
My Tashiba-31 has a fuel tank with a dip stick to show fuel level. The dip stick is bare metal and it's very hard to actually see the fuel level. Any suggestions - short of installing a fuel gauge?
__________________
__________________
|
|
|
04-06-2016, 17:46
|
#2
|
Senior Cruiser

Join Date: May 2008
Location: cruising SW Pacific
Boat: Jon Sayer 1-off 46 ft fract rig sloop strip plank in W Red Cedar
Posts: 12,075
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
I made dip sticks for my tanks out of bare 5/16 inch dowel. You could do so as well, transferring the marks from the metal one for calibration. This is easier to read than metal rod. Another dodge I've not tried, but that sounds ok: dip the rod, then hold it against a clean paper towel. The level will be apparent.
jim
__________________
__________________
Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II , lying Twofold Bay, Eden,NSW after our 32d crossing of Bass Strait!
|
|
|
04-06-2016, 17:47
|
#3
|
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2009
Boat: JBW club 420, MFG Bandit, Snark
Posts: 664
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
I'm not familiar with your boat or its tank locations, but could a sight glass work for you? Is there access to the side of the tank?
Sent from my XT1080 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app
__________________
|
|
|
04-06-2016, 18:50
|
#4
|
Sponsoring Vendor


Join Date: May 2011
Location: Miami Florida
Boat: Ellis Flybridge 28
Posts: 3,239
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Like Jim, I find wood makes the best dip stick.
There is a product that a lot of people don't know about. It's a paste that you can put on dip sticks and if there is water in the tank, the paste turns bright red. It's called water finding paste.
Kolor Kut Water Finding Paste
__________________
Hopkins-Carter Marine Supplies & Fishing Tackle
What You Need, at the Price You Want...with Service!
|
|
|
04-06-2016, 19:19
|
#5
|
Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Good question
Boat: Rafiki 37
Posts: 4,547
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Wood dowel here. Pretty easy to read.
|
|
|
04-06-2016, 20:25
|
#6
|
Senior Cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Boat: Tayana Vancouver 42
Posts: 1,941
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Wood dowel here too. Simple, cheap and effective.
S/V B'Shert
__________________
|
|
|
05-06-2016, 04:48
|
#7
|
Senior Cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Louisville, KY
Boat: Globe, cutter/ketch,38
Posts: 589
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Did away with the dip sticks and installed a Tank Tender. Love it as I can monitor my two water tanks and fuel tank with one unit and no power required, (other than my finger). My tanks required me to lift the cabin ladder, and remove a floor board to gain access to the dip sticks. As I monitor them daily, that was a pain. It was also easy to install. I must warn you thought that it is a bit dear on pricing.
__________________
www.sailboatvigah.com Boats don't like being neglected, but then neither do significant others!
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 14:10
|
#8
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Port Townsend, WA
Boat: Tashiba-31
Posts: 240
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Ok, as suggested, I got myself a wood dowel that fits in the tank. It does a great job of showing the fuel level. Only problem is that now I have a wood dowel that smells of diesel and it's smelling up the cabin. Even after whipping the dowel immediately after use it still smells of diesel for days.
How do you keep the rod from smelling? Do you seal the dowel to prevent it absorbing the fuel?
__________________
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 14:16
|
#9
|
Moderator

Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Albany Ga.
Boat: Island Packet 38
Posts: 17,973
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
I'm not so sensitive to smell, but another way is to use a clear plastic tube, stick it in, put your finger over the top before you withdraw it and of course the level of fuel is easy to see in the tube, and you can clean all the diesel off of a plastic tube, probably have to spray some cleaner inside to get it perfectly clean though.
It's what we do with aircraft, just be darn sure your tube it too long to fall completely in the tank if you drop it, cause one day you will.
Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum
__________________
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 14:20
|
#10
|
Senior Cruiser

Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Long Beach, CA
Boat: Tayana Vancouver 42
Posts: 1,941
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Right after use I wipe the dowel carefully with an oil absorbing pad. That takes up most of the odor.
S/V B'Shert
__________________
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 14:28
|
#11
|
Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,248
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
I varnished the wooden dowel, so that the diesel doesn't soak into it. So I just wipe the stick with a paper towel, and the smell is minimal.
__________________
Bristol 31.1, SF Bay.
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 15:45
|
#12
|
Sponsoring Vendor


Join Date: May 2011
Location: Miami Florida
Boat: Ellis Flybridge 28
Posts: 3,239
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
You could store the stick in a length of PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end and a cap not glued on the other.
__________________
Hopkins-Carter Marine Supplies & Fishing Tackle
What You Need, at the Price You Want...with Service!
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 15:48
|
#13
|
Senior Cruiser

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Houston
Boat: '76 Allied Seawind II, 32'
Posts: 6,132
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
Quote:
Originally Posted by HopCar
You could store the stick in a length of PVC pipe with a cap glued on one end and a cap not glued on the other.
|
That's the winner!!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum
__________________
|
|
|
15-09-2016, 16:13
|
#14
|
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2008
Boat: Custom cutter, 42'
Posts: 410
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
To make a metal dip stick work you need to give it a rough surface. Sand it with the coarsest sand paper you can find - 36 grit or so is good. This will increase visibility a lot.
You don't mention what you use to access the tank with your dipstick. If you can mount the dipstick in the cap which seals your tank access then it will be stored in the tank and you will have no odor or storage issues.
__________________
|
|
|
17-09-2016, 04:32
|
#15
|
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Southern Chesapeake Bay
Boat: Norseman 430, Jabberwock
Posts: 769
|
Re: Fuel Guage Rod
You could drill a series of holes in the dipstick.
__________________
__________________
|
|
|
 |
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Rate This Thread |
Linear Mode
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
|