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Fuel gauge

I got pretty much down to empty, but since it was at my dock, I just put 5 gallons in.  So in the immortal words of Sgt Schultz, "I know Nothing"!
 
The manuals give warnings to the effect of "Don't trust your gauge!" and that they might read off by 1/4 tank.  That being said, mine has been incredibly accurate. 

Now that being said, there are always failure modes and you don't want to risk running out of gas.  The manuals suggest you get comfortable with your boat's usage rates depending on how you are using it.  That's pretty easy when you're doing a lot of stable cruising at throttle settings with known rates from the performance bulletins/past experience, but it sure is a lot tougher if you do a lot of water sports with varying throttle settings.

In the immmortal words of Ronald Reagan -- "Trust, but verify!" 
 
They really aren't very accurate, especially compared to the one in your car. Given the different tank sizes and configurations, there can be a drastic difference between one model and another. 

The best thing to do, if you really want to know, when it gets down to 1/4 tank, get a 5 gal. can of gas to put on board, (safety first! secure it well!) and then see how close to empty you can get.

Of course, don't get too far from the docks, just in case!
 
I'm lucky as my tank is in sun deck so I can open it up and see the fuel in tank. My gauge is pretty close, but I never get below 1/8 tank.
 
In a square tank of a certain height, like the S series has they should be good. The depth to volume ration is pret th constant. In a transom tank or a tube tank that ratio changes from full to empty = less accurate.
 
my rcw is not very accurate. I run mine down to empty where the needle won't move anymore and I still have 6-7 gallons left and it is a 24 gallon tank. that is piss poor accuracy in my book
 
I'm curious to hear how accurate it has been for anyone with the 56 gallon ESP tank. I don't have enough experience with it to know yet. 
 
I have the 54 gallon ESP tank.  The fuel gauge is very accurate.  On the gauge there are 8 bars visible when the tank is full.  54 gallon tank divided by 8 bars = 6.75 gallons  of fuel per bar.  I fuel my boat with 5 gallon cans, so it has helped to know how much I need to purchase and how much I can put in.  I have run it down pretty low (last bar) and haven"t run out.  
 
Something else to consider, when your boat is on the water, the bow sits high, and your fuel migrates to the rear of the tank.

When you are on a trailer, or lift, the boat sits level, and the fuel is at a more even level in the tank.
 
On our GCW model our gauge has been very accurate. No complaints here.

Steve
 
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