fitting a fuel gauge

[firstascent2002]

Hi guys,
My hustler has a tank with no fuel guage so I currently log the hours run since last refuel and become edgy after about 20. I has looking through e bay and seems that you can get a fuel guage and sender for arounf £40. The trouble is installing the thing. There are no access hatches into the tank so If I drill a hole in the tank I'm going to have lots of swarf falling in to the tank. Problem two is that I'm concerned that I might die as the deseil explodes with some vigor as the tank heats up as a drill. Shall I just keep doing what I'm doing or am I ok to brave it!

Thanks in advance

J

 

[nigelmercier]

Swarf will get filtered out, but when you have drilled the hole you will have an access hatch. Is the tank plastic, or metal?

 

[PCUK]

The diesel won't explode or even burn if you put a blow lamp on it! Put plenty of grease on the area you are drilling and keep wiping it away with the swarf.
I use a dipstick as my fuel gauge, 100% accurate all the time.

 

[mcdaida]

Guages tend to be rather unreliable. I have a sight tube, reinforced plastic tubing with a valve at the bottom and open at the top (above the level of the tank). When filling the tank and in normal operation the valve is left closed so no spills. Open valve when you want to see the level - easy. I have even made some marks on the side of the tank to indicate different levels. No nasty electrons required and no inspection hatch needed in the tank as a T piece can be fitted to the pipe supplying the engine.

 

[Sy-Revolution]

I bought one off ebay and the gauge didn't work. I'm going to try with an old Smiths clock out of a Mini that I had lying around, see if the sender works or if that was a dud too.

Might be worth trying these guys:

http://www.imsupplies.co.uk/home.php?xid=e03903c5da96c849183b1a98f68f3d70

I wish I had now......

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
The diesel won't explode or even burn if you put a blow lamp on it!

[/ QUOTE ] /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Yea, right. Let's see you put a blowlamp onto a dish of diesel. We used to have a diesel salamander inteh workshop - tip in 5 galls of red diesel, light the "blue touch paper" and run like hell. This damnn thing sounded like a ram jet on steroids when running at full chat. - No fans, pumps, nozzles or fancy gizmos - just a basin of diesel and a flue mounted on the lid.
---------------------

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

 

[cliff]

What you really need to fit is one of these.....

/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

---------------------

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Many years back when I was labouring for a builder I had to clear the corner of this large garden of trees, shrubs and the like, prior to putting down a double concrete base for owners new double garage. He had two concours jag mkIII's... I digress.

For two days I was stacking the waste I was hacking out into a rather large bonfire in the field next door. But the stack was damp and I could only get a simmer going in the base. Nay botha, I grabbed a bucket and tapped off 3/4 of the bucket of diesel from the central heating tank that was also being removed from that area.

Now, I had thought like the previous poster about diesel, I had seen people act without regard around the stuff saying how it was no way volatile. Cut to the chase, I threw this bucket onto the simmering fire...


WHOOOOSH! But unlike petrol, the whoosh didn't just die back again, it is sustained. I reckon I am lucky to be alive and more than that, I was just far enough away to only have my stomach turn over and not get 3rd degree burns.

By the time people had come running from the house the bonfire was nearly gone to ash, it had been taller than me when I bunged the fuel.

Moral. Don't underestimate the stuff, you may not be able to light the fumes like petrol, but when it does go, run like hell!

 

[timtap]

Simple answer is to not let the swarf get too hot ....
Use NEW drill bits and slow drill speed and have someone spray lubricant while drilling....

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
and slow drill speed and have someone spray lubricant while drilling....

[/ QUOTE ] /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif god the tears are blinding me...... I assume you mean coolant or cutting fluid, not lubricant, particularily if the tank is stainless steel.
---------------------

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

 

[[10753]]

Sounds like the current method has worked well so why change for a dial that may well fail or read incorrectly.

I too use your method of hours and amount used as I know the consumption.

Admittedly I have 60 gallons but you could always carry a small Jerry Can as reserve.

 

[rob2]

I second the sight tube idea. You can get the ones meant for heating oil tanks and plumb them into the supply line. I put a tap on mine so it can be positively isolated, although the standard tube has a push to open valve on it. Nothing really to go wrong - but recognising that fuel sloshes about when under way, it really only gives a useful reading under calm conditions. But then, the same applies to any type of gauge.

 

[moody1]

[ QUOTE ]
Many years back when I was labouring for a builder I had to clear the corner of this large garden of trees, shrubs and the like, prior to putting down a double concrete base for owners new double garage. He had two concours jag mkIII's... I digress.

For two days I was stacking the waste I was hacking out into a rather large bonfire in the field next door. But the stack was damp and I could only get a simmer going in the base. Nay botha, I grabbed a bucket and tapped off 3/4 of the bucket of diesel from the central heating tank that was also being removed from that area.

Now, I had thought like the previous poster about diesel, I had seen people act without regard around the stuff saying how it was no way volatile. Cut to the chase, I threw this bucket onto the simmering fire...


WHOOOOSH! But unlike petrol, the whoosh didn't just die back again, it is sustained. I reckon I am lucky to be alive and more than that, I was just far enough away to only have my stomach turn over and not get 3rd degree burns.

By the time people had come running from the house the bonfire was nearly gone to ash, it had been taller than me when I bunged the fuel.

Moral. Don't underestimate the stuff, you may not be able to light the fumes like petrol, but when it does go, run like hell!

[/ QUOTE ]

If its' anything like our heating oil - its more Kerosine than Diesel. No wonder it did what you say. Diesel though is a different matter, unless fire you throw it onto is already at sufficient temp to flash the diesel.
Cliffs heater does exactly that, raises the fuel to well over it's flash point, even past the spontaneous point in some cases.
All above info from our friendly fuels specialist.
So as he says drill away, as only problem is the swarf.