Dipping tank with brass dipstick

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pcatterall

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We like to be sure of how much fuel we are using and like the simplicity of the dip stick but sometimes it is difficult to read the level
We have tried chalking the stick but even then it's not always clear.
Are there any tricks we could use?
We don't want to fit sight tubes or guages thanks!
 
You could try sanding the dipstick with a coarse paper on the side that you look at (assuming it has a flat face, if not do it all round). Objective is to cause the liquid level to give visual contrast between wet and dry. A rough surface will retain more liquid (fuel) and so look wetter.
 
Why are you using brass?

I've seen good results with petrol tanks on wooden sticks. The best being inlaid in dark and light woods alternating every 10 litres or so.

Dipped through the filler port.
 
I use a length of wooden dowel (from B&Q) gave it a coat of white spray paint, masked off every 5cm with thin strips of tape, overspayed with a couple of coats of matt black from Halfords, removed masking tape. Works well for me.
 
Back in the dim and distant past when boat at the time did not have gauges nor a sight glass i used a wooden (Teak IIRC) dip stick 1" X 3/16" with little notches cut into the 3/16" side. Tank was drained and cleaned, filled until fuel could be drawn from the outlet, dip stick inserted and the fuel level marked by notching the side of the stick with a hacksaw. Fuel was added a gallon at a time and the dip stick marked accordingly. It was only a 10 gallon tank so not so many marks (11). If you have say a 50 gallon tank the mark it every 5 gallons above the outlet level. HWMO went a bit further and used a set of hard stamps to stamp the wooden dip stick 1~10. The fuel tended to stick in the notches making it easy to read
 
Plain wooden dowel, possibly with notches for 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full.
This is what I had on my previous boat.

Unfortunately the tank on my present boat has no provision for dipping so I have a sight gauge. I have recently replaced the original plastic tube that had become unreadable with some thick laboratory glass tubing (unaffected by hydrocarbons) and have placed a white-painted board behind it with black diagonal stripes; very easy to see at a glance and no messing around.
 
Get a length of kitchen roll that is longer than your dip stick. Dry the stick with another piece and re-dip the tank. Carefully lay the wet stick along the first piece of kitchen roll. The wet diesel will mark the paper and you will be able to see where the level is.
 
I use a old white plastic sail batten, Dry in with a paper tile and dip it it is very easy to see the level because the wet part is shiny. Graduating it is the only chore, yu need an empty tank to start and fill it 5 litres at time and mark the stick each time. I put a hacksaw cut across the face of the batten and use a laundry marker for the numbers.

David mh
 
We use a sight tube for fuel, strapped up the side of the tank (its a tall narrow tank) and plain wooden dowels for water. Both are sufficiently accurate and convenient for our usage. We know the capacity of both tanks, marked the sight tube, and our water tanks are 200l and amazingly when they are around 25% emptied we have used about 50l - simple stuff, who cares if you have used 40l or 60l!

We have normal deck fillers for water but have big spinoffs on the top of the tanks (under the cabin sole) for cleaning. I simply drilled into the spin off attached a 3/4" threaded 'blank off'. Take the blank out, dip - easy.
 
We used brass dip sticks for years quite happily, the main thing is never polish them, they lived in the cockpit exposed to all weather and had a nice dull colour which showed the level perfectly. Leave them in the garden this winter and they'll be fine by spring. We preferred them over wood as there's no diesel smell left on them after a quick wipe.
 
My tank has a brass dipstick permanently screwed into the top. The dipstick has a number of grooves round its circumference, about 1/2" apart, which hold diesel and clearly indicate the level. Easy enough to do with a small triangular file.
 
We have a white acrylic plastic rod, sanded to give it an overall matt finish and with razor cut notches every five litres. The razor cut notches hold on to some of the fuel so fairly easy to see.
 
Porthandbuoy said:
My tank has a brass dipstick permanently screwed into the top. The dipstick has a number of grooves round its circumference, about 1/2" apart, which hold diesel and clearly indicate the level. Easy enough to do with a small triangular file.
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Thanks all! Our stick is as above and is difficult to read. The stick is permanently in the tube so paint could be an issue if it dissolves.
 
My tank has a stainless steel dipstick and it's completely unreadable. I resorted to a wooden stick but these are better still imho:
lpv2.jpg


Polypropylene so excellent compatibility with diesel. 34cm long so enough for my tank (it's big but 'flat'): yours might be different. dip in, cover end with thumb, pull out, read level, lift thumb and let residue run back into the tank.
 
Set fire to it and see where the flames stop, that's your level.
 
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