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Gas Gauge/Tank

Jack M

Jack M

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Indian River ,Michigan
I have a 24 Gallon Fuel Tank with , 21.4 capacity .

I have been using "treated" corn gas all year .

My plan was to run it almost empty then fill it with non ethanol gas at the marina for the rest of the season and for storage . .

Yesterday the gauge was on E ,I pulled up to the marina and figured I would put in about 20 gallons .

It barely took 15 and it was full .

So my gas gauge is  off by a quarter tank .

Question is ,If anyone else  has had this issue ,was it the gauge or the float  ( sending unit ) in the tank ?

I am glad it shows less than actual other than showing a quarter tank and be empty .

 

Thanks 
 
Ours will stay on full for a while and then drop pretty quickly. I've just gotten used to it. Fuel guages in boats are notorious for being off.
 
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Thanks ,Carl .This being our first boat I wasn't sure .

I can live with that .
 
You just get used to where the guage is and how much you've got left.
 
yeah, you have to let this issue go..

I am on my 7th boat and I have yet to have one that is

accurate on anything but Full or Empty....
 
I have been told to not use ethanol at all as it draws moisture I use to run it in my chainsaws all the time till I burnt a hole in the cylinder. I only use regular and stabil. My darn Nitro bass boat used to run out of fuel when it hit half tank turns out the pick up line had a crack in it replaced that then all the water that has settled in the tank over the years got sucked up in the motor ran terrible. At least the the Bennington has a fuel water separator. The boat mechanic at my dealer also said to not use sea foam in boats which I also have been using for a couple of years. I guess everyone has a different opinion,but my bass boat has run great all summer this year and its 18 years old.
 
Newer engines are designed to "work" with ethanol better than older engines. It's still best practice to use Marine Stabil or comparable product to protect the fuel. The fuel is not so much the problem, but the fact that boats sit on water, and the motors are not run as frequently as cars. I use Stabil in my boat and snowblower. Mowers run weekly so I don't use it there. The big problem with ethanol is older rubber lines as it tends to deteriorate the rubber. This then gets sucked into the carb and causes clogs or stuck needle & seat.

As for fuel gauge, I use mine as a reference point only, but luckily I just open my sun lounge door and can see the fuel level in my tank.
 
I can fill my tank to the point that it won't hold another drop and the guage will only register 3/4 full.  This is something I've learned to tolerate.
 
It appears that most are having an issue with "accurate " Gas Gauge " readings ,and we are putting up with it , tolerating it  and dealing with it .

Has anyone looked into it to find out if it is the gauge ,or the sending unit in the tank ?
 
Some of the problem is the shape of the gas tanks.  The sending unit only knows if it is half way up or down.  On one of my toons the tank is tapered so the top half is only 1/4 of the fuel.  It is something you live with when boating.
 
Just remember, I bet your cars fuel gauge ain't exactly perfect either. When it's on "E" you probably have a couple gallons left. Just get used to the gauge vs. the tank. That's why I love my above deck tank, no gauge needed, even though I have one. .... :)
 
How would you check actual fuel level in the tank vs gauge reading when the tank is in the motor pod? It was pretty well covered in our sslx. I never let it get below 1/4 as I didn't want to have to jump in and tow the boat back. As for fuel gauges in vehicles. I modified the 57 vw tank in the buggy from a mechanical sender to an electric from a 74 super beetle. Long story short I had to shorten the float arms and angle so it would work with the old tank. I found out the hard way my modifications were spot on as when the needle hit E, I ended up on the side of the road.
 
Not sure on that question...... I think you are pretty much dependent in the gauge there .... :-(
 
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The one good thing in the reply's, is that everyone has more gas than the gauge is reading .

Obviously it would be quite an issue if the gauge's are reading half or quarter and you are empty .
 
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jsfb6pts said:
The one good thing in the reply's, is that everyone has more gas than the gauge is reading .

Obviously it would be quite an issue if the gauge's are reading half or quarter and you are empty .
Click to expand...
Good point.  I am on my first tank of gas, so not sure how my gauge works.
 
I have substantially LESS gas in my tank than the gauge shows.

But, I have found my gauge to be very consistent and accurate (from experience), it's just the lines on the fuel gauge are in the wrong spots, if that makes sense.  I believe this is due to the long narrow gas tank being in the motor pod, and the Express Package making the front very bow-high, which tilts the tank making all the gas run to the back where the sender is.

I drained my tank completely this weekend.  Siphoned it out by disconnecting the fuel line.  Thanks for the suggestion Steve - taking the sender cap off to siphon would have been much more work.  I still need to buy a hose clamp...

I slowly filled the tank and allowed time for the gauge to settle.  Here is what I came up with:

Empty tank = Gauge reads exactly on the "E" line.

1/8 tank = 2 gal.

1/4 tank = 3 gal.  (Should be 6 since it is a 24 gallon tank)

3/8 tank = 6 gal.

1/2 tank = 8 gal.  (Should be 12)

5/8 tank = 11 gal.

3/4 tank = 14 gal.  (Should be 18)

7/8 tank = 17 gal.

Full tank = 20 gallons.  (Should be 24)

I have a "24 gallon" tank according to Build a Boat.  As it turns out I can put 26 gallons into the boat.  Probably a combination of the tank holding more than it's rated and the filler hose holding maybe a gallon as I filled it with gas all the way to the cap.  Since the tank tilts back due to the Express tube, the fuel sender tops out long before the tank is totally full.  That is why I can run the boat a long time before the gauge starts to drop off "F", but then it drops fast, like Carl's.
 
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To add to the above, the needle moves quickly off of E as I fill it with just a small amount of gas.  So, don't let the needle get down close to E, or it will REALLY drop quickly.  I have experienced this once when I barely made it home and the needle was on E when I got back to the dock.

But above that, each 1/8th tank is pretty close to 3 gallons of gas, until it tops out on Full at 20 gallons.  Then the tank holds 6 gallons more.  Again, due to the tilt of the tank and the sender being in the back.

All the above is a whole lot of typing, info and reading just to say you need to get your butt back to the dock ASAP when the gauge shows 1/4 tank!  Pretty much what Andy said above.  I guess maybe I didn't need to do all this, I should just listen to Andy.
 
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