Dipping stick to check fuel level...?

[Captain Crisp]

Is there such a thing? Or should I just use me ol bamboo?

I have a 10 gallon cylindrical SS tank with access from the top.

Thanks,

Crisp

 

[Poignard]

Is there such a thing? Or should I just use me ol bamboo?

I have a 10 gallon cylindrical SS tank with access from the top.

Thanks,

Crisp

My Twister's rectangular stainless steel tank had a brass dipstick attached to the threaded plug that screwed into the top of the tank.

This was marked with a notch every gallon.

Since you can no longer buy fuel in gallons, I got a length of 6mm dia. hardwood dowel and marked that with a notch every 5 litres.

(I guess the Frenchman who recently bought my Twister will thank me for that! )


But when you say your cylindrical tank has access from the top do you mean from one of the flat ends or into the curved side.

If the former, a dipstick can easily be calibrated with equally-spaced notches.

If the latter, calibration would not be quite so easy. You would have to do it by adding measured amounts of diesel to the tank and notching the dipstick accordingly. Or you could do it by calculation; which I might have been able to do when I was at school, but not now!


Tip of the day: keep a bit of chalk near the tank to rub on the dipstick. It makes it much easier to see the level.

 

[Boathook]

Make your own. Could be gallons or litres like @Poignard.

 

[Sandy]

I made my own for the last boat, marked in litres as it was a 50 ltr tank.

 

[ash2020]

I had an excellent one on my last boat. It was a piece of plastic tube stapled onto a thin piece of wood, marked in litres. You insert it into the tank, put your finger on the top and withdraw it. It shows the level exactly, in any light level.

 

[veshengro]

I had a simple hardwood Dowel marked in Litres for my Nic 32. Basic but reliable. Bamboo being hollow might get a bit messy unless you drain it each dipping.

 

[Captain Crisp]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Wansworth]

But surely it’s better a digital readout to repeater in the cockpit and chart table

 

[WoodyP]

It doesn't need to be marked in gallons or litres. Easy to gauge if it's more or less than half full. My vehicles all have a simple gauge and l manage not to run out of fuel, very often.

 

[Refueler]

Pine dowel unpainted ... for gasoline as it evaporates quickly ... and better to have a little soak into the wood - just gives a few more seconds to read.

If Diesel - then painted with blackboard or matt black paint ... diesel si not so fast to evaporate - so needs to not soak into the wood ... wipe off - dip again.

Forget bamboo - too shiny a surface.

Green garden canes are good ...

 

[Poignard]

It doesn't need to be marked in gallons or litres. Easy to gauge if it's more or less than half full. My vehicles all have a simple gauge and l manage not to run out of fuel, very often.

In my case that would not apply, since it is impossible to see into the tank.

And the problem was not so much fear running out of fuel, but of overfilling, resulting in mess, pollution, and possible prosecution.

 

[wonkywinch]

Pine dowel unpainted ... for gasoline as it evaporates quickly ... and better to have a little soak into the wood - just gives a few more seconds to read.

If Diesel - then painted with blackboard or matt black paint ... diesel si not so fast to evaporate - so needs to not soak into the wood ... wipe off - dip again.

Forget bamboo - too shiny a surface.

Green garden canes are good ...

Alternative is rigid thin clear plastic tube. Poke that to bottom of tank, block top hole with finger, withdraw from tank to see fuel level, take finger off to return fuel to tank.

Very common method in general aviation.

Aircraft Equipment and Operations | Fuel Testers & Gauges | SGE084 Universal | Fuelhawk Fuel Gauge Universal (11 inch) | Pooleys Flying and Navigational Products and Accessories

 

[veshengro]

But surely it’s better a digital readout to repeater in the cockpit and chart table

And a Bluetooth connectivity to my watch so that I could see the fuel level when ashore, Ah! and connect up Alexa so that she could tell me when I needed to refuel, and ...Ah! sod it back to me stick...

 

[Wansworth]

And a Bluetooth connectivity to my watch so that I could see the fuel level when ashore, Ah! and connect up Alexa so that she could tell me when I needed to refuel, and ...Ah! sod it back to me stick...

It’s the future……Get up to speed

 

[scottie]

i have heard that according to some people there is a surplus of old dipsticks completely uncalibrated to be found on this very forum

 

[38mess]

I use a hacksaw blade with a bit of string attached in case I let it go, it's perfect as half way is 30 LTRs, I was going to make a proper one but never got around to it

 

[veshengro]

i have heard that according to some people there is a surplus of old dipsticks completely uncalibrated to be found on this very forum
Guilty...

 

[Seashoreman]

i have heard that according to some people there is a surplus of old dipsticks completely uncalibrated to be found on this very forum
Guilty...

Actually I inherited an old dipstick with my boat. Rectangular 30 litre tank. Dipstick can wriggle down filler tube and stops at the plastic knob. About 18 inches, so maybe from a truck? Marked for half and full. Bit rusty so fuel shows up well.

 

[Refueler]

Alternative is rigid thin clear plastic tube. Poke that to bottom of tank, block top hole with finger, withdraw from tank to see fuel level, take finger off to return fuel to tank.

Very common method in general aviation.

Aircraft Equipment and Operations | Fuel Testers & Gauges | SGE084 Universal | Fuelhawk Fuel Gauge Universal (11 inch) | Pooleys Flying and Navigational Products and Accessories

View attachment 178979

Its actually what I thought about using on my mobo which has a plain flat stick - not very good .. and the pine dowel I made - very good.

One tip to users of this type .... make sure tube stays vertical !! once it angles from vertical can creep up and you lose the level. I used to have such on another item and the filler pipe was not dead vertical ...

 

[The Q]

My motorboat came with a 4ft brass marked off dipstick, it has a T handle at the top to stop it disappearing, but that's unlikely as it's a straight drop down the filler to the bottom of the tank .