DIY tank Gauge

[WayneS]

Time to ask for your input again.

Up till now the only way for me to find out how much fuel I have in my tank was to push an old fishing rod down the filler. Having already broken a piece off in the tank I now think that a better solution is called for.

I am loathe to spend too much, or make any holes in the tank (cos holes mean leaks....) so am looking to have a simple clear plastic pipe up the side of the tank....

Not wanting to make holes in the tank, I am looking to just add a "T" piece into the outlet (After the shutoff tap) with the tail pointing upwards, to which I will attach some pipe. If possible I will feed the top end back into the tank but if not possible I will just make sure that it extends well above the tank.

However, my big concern with this is....will this pipe then become the path of least resistance when the fuel pump kicks in, so that instead of taking the fuel from the tank, it sucks is down my new pipe and then ends up sucking air. Am I right to be concerned about this or am I just being silly.

If this is a problem I suppose that I could just add a shutoff valve at the top or bottom of this new pipe and only open it up when I what to check the fuel level.

I'm sure that I have not explained things very clearly but I hope that you get the concept.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers

Wayne

 

[kgi]

this is exactly what i have fitted on my own boat, but be careful when refuelling because sometimes you may overpower your breather pipe and it will blow out of the gauge pipe. the breather pipes on my boat were not overly large, but i think were afair representation of british boatbuilding 20 years ago, so just be aware of it keith

 

[Guest]

Also worth doing is find a bright plastic beed that won't disolve but floats in petrol. This makes it much easier to see the level. It must of course be smaller than the inside of the pipe. Also to solve the other problem you should seal the top off but leave a very small breather hole ie a pin hole. You may need to clear this out occasionally. It doesn't need to let air in or out very fast.

 

[harvey]

I've been thinking along the same lines......
I reckon that you'd need to have a shut-off valve at the point where you take the lower feed from the tank and this removes any possibility of sucking air down the pipe (especially if the tank hasn't got much fuel in it). You simply open the valve to take the reading and then shut it off again afterwards. If you put a valve in the top and bottom of the pipe which gives you the tank level reading, then you wouldn't have to cut a hole in the top of the tank to feed the pipe back in and nor would the level-pipe overflow after filling the tank to the brim and then heeling over but you'd need to open both shut-off valves to get your reading.
Nice job for the weekend!

 

[Paulka]

That's exactly what I did a few weeks ago, after being caught twice with a dry tank!
I have a small ball valve at the bottom, just to be able to shut off in case the plastic pipe would get leaky, or need replacement.
I choosed to feed the upper part back into the tank, mainly to avoid the nice diesel smell.
Yes, my tank already had a threaded hole just near the top.
Flling the tank 10 liters at a time, I marked the plastic pipe with permanent marker.
It works better than any sophisticated computerized super gizmo!

Nice job for a rainy week-end.

Paul

 

[LadyInBed]

Did it on my last boat. Fed the top end into the breather hose via a T piece.
Used 1/2 or 5/8 inside D hose, no problem with it sucking dry.
Padded out the bottom T piece to fit the plastic pipe.
It lasted well over 16 years and is probably still going strong.
Puting in a floating ball is a good idea, as the pipe will discolour with time.
It is also a good idea to put graduation marks in ltrs up the side of the pipe so you know how many running hours you have left.

 

[Joe_Cole]

For what it's worth this is what happens with Central heating oil tanks and they seem to have a simple tap at the bottom of the pipe. You press it in to get a reading. As far as I know the tap is simply a safety device to prevent leakage if the pipe gets damaged. For that reason alone I'ld fit a stop cock.

It may even be possible to adapt a central heating gauge. It will certainly be cheaper....unless you buy it at a Chandlers!

Regards

Joe Cole

 

[mtb]

Bad idea , its against the regs , re fire risk and so on .

I agree its a good way of knowing whats in the tank .
But if you do it put the correct flame trap gauze over the air side or as already said run it back into the tank.
A dip stick is the simplist way but the lower end must not be able to strike the tank's bottom.
I would think a tank gauge from a ford transit would be one of the best to use , because you can ajust the length of rod by simply bending it . Sealing is not a problem red hermatight will give a good seal , stuff like instant gasket turns to jelly when in contact with petrol.
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug