Fuel tanks and usability

Re: question of range

I increase my range with a bit of free power ... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif .... I think I've got a smaller fuel tank than most of your water tanks ... about 25l .... !!
 
Re: question of range

It does piss me off when folk talk about something they have no experience of, but just wade in on potentionally dangerous situations. There is nothing more important than enough fuel in a mobo. Options of standing off or outriding a storm, just do not exist. There is only the option of enough fuel to safe haven, where ever that may be.

Mobo's are not the easy option, just a different option, but with maybe, far more dangerous concequences.
 
Re: question of range

It's the one thing I don't skimp on. In the list of dos/dont dos it should be in 96-point font.

I'm happy if the tank is full to 2/3rds. A bit tetchy if half full. Getting quite stressed if from half towards the red zone (1/4). Anywhere in the red zone, and I will probably stop talking, apart from insisting on the wearing of lifejackets... and then it only takes 160L which means that I had 60L (lots) left.

This probably all stems from childhood paranoia: pop owned engineering works + petrol filling stations, and used to drive around in Jags running on 2 or 3 gallons of tank dredgings. Defining moment was probably when his 12mth old XJ6 had to be pushed by plod and some helpers under Tonbridge railway bridge, cos he had run out (again). A 7-yr old at the time, you don't forget these things easily...

dv.
 
Re: question of range

It does piss me off when folk pontificate about there being "nothing more important than". I can think of many situations where the amount of fuel would be of secondary importance and, if I had a rag on a stick, like Fireball, I could probably think of a few more.

I suspect that Fireball was just injecting a little lightness into the discussion.
 
Re: question of range

Seems to have engendered a good discussion, moving on slightly. What about fuel gauges. I don't have one. I use a dipstick when filling up and then use the Floscan fuel computer to tell me how much I have used and how much I am currently using at any particular throttle setting.
What do others do?
 
Re: question of range

Fireball, thanks for your injection of light humour, sorry some people engage their mouth (or in this case fingers) before their brains.
 
Re: question of range

[ QUOTE ]
Seems to have engendered a good discussion, moving on slightly. What about fuel gauges. I don't have one. I use a dipstick when filling up and then use the Floscan fuel computer to tell me how much I have used and how much I am currently using at any particular throttle setting.
What do others do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Is the floscan system any good?

In harlequin I will have to go into the locker under the cockpit to where the tanks are. There, if a valve is opened the diesel will fill a clear tube to the same level as whats in the tank.

One of the things I'm going to do is try and mark on the side of the tank a scale to get the approximate contents.

Steve
 
Re: question of range

The Floscan system is very good, especially being able to read exactly what you are using at any time. The even more sophisticated version can be interfaced with the plotter to give a circle of range to show exacly how far you will go with the fuel remaining and this circle can of course be adjusted by altering the throttle setting. Useful in a do or die situation.
Trouble is these systems are very expensive for larger engines. I had a much cheaper system which was almost as good before I fitted the larger engine which was beyond the capacity of the old unit.
 
Re: question of range

How large is your engine? Harlequin has 2 x 135hp 6.5L non-turbo engines.

S.
 
Re: question of range

Just remembered the name of the old fuel computer. Mecdine. They did units for petrol and diesel but for some reason were not very popular, despite being accurate and reliable. I think if they were reintroduced now, they would do very well.
You sometimes still see old stock of these in the petrol version in chandlers at only a few quid. Generally because the chandler can't remember what it is!
In fact there was no difference in the electronic side of the two versions. The diesel sytem used a clever fuel cooling device that also doubled as an automatic bleed system and allowed the fuel returning to the tank to be deducted from the fuel leaving the tank, thereby giving an accurate read-out of fuel actually being used.
 
Re: question of range

Thats a bit of a jump in power... did it make much difference? (Are you a semi-disp or full disp?)

S.
 
agree with most said here.

Think safety margin depends on actual size of tanks and what you're doing. So iam fine twidling about on the coast with 500 litres in the tank. But capacity is 6000 which i wd fill for big trip really or measuring range. Meanwhile the 500 will get me 40/50 miles but fine for 5 mile trip.
 
Re: question of range

The boat is a semi-d although the original Dutch spec' was full displacement with a recommended max' power of 60hp.
9 knots max' 140hp Bedford
12 knots max' with 300hp Cummins at which she is on the planing threshold.
14 knots with main Cummins 300hp and 30hp BMC wing running together flat out at which point she is planing.
Can't do that for more than a couple of minutes as both over-rev and wing starts overheating.
 
Broadening the discussion slightly, I have often thought about fitting extra tanks to increase range. Anyone done this and what system did they use?

Thoughts:
Plumb extra tanks into existing tanks?
What about differences in height?
Mount extra tanks higher and have shut-off valve to drain into main tanks when needed?
Pump into main tanks when needed?
Run completely separate fuel system and filters, switchable when needed?
Effect on boat balance - keep extra tanks low and amidships?

In the Med, it could pay for itself if it allows filling up where fuel is cheap. Fuel price varies enormously depending on the tax regime.
 
If you can't keep the tanks at the same level, the safest solution would be to mount them in any convenient position. Fill them separately and use an electric transfer pump to pump the fuel into the main tanks when needed. For additional safety have a hand pump also plumbed in for the day when the electic pump packs up.
If the new tanks are installed higher and a valve is used to drain them into the main tanks, there is the danger that at some point someone will inadvertetnly turn on the transfer valve when the main takns are full and cause them to overflow.
 
You've not heard of my 45 gallon oil drum then!

Drum 12 quid. Bit of a frame to rest it in. All painted with hamerite. Strapped down. BSP bend and cap for filler. Tap and pipe fitting at bottom, in line pump. Could have gone direct to tanks, but easyer to just stick pipe down filler caps.

Put it in for French trips, but find it saves a fortune in juice as I can bypass anywhere that wants to rip me off. Might have cost £30/40 in total.
 
Haydn said:

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Drum 12 quid. Bit of a frame to rest it in. All painted with hamerite. Strapped down.

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Do you keep it on the aft deck ? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif If so, I assume you could maybe take a couple of them to really extend your range. Shame I can't do that with my sportscruiser - drums would have to sit on the engine hatch making it impossible to open them.
 
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