Fuel Gauge.

[Mark & Michelle]

The narrowboat we have just bought has not got a fuel gauge and the last owner used to dip the tank. Does anyone know if a fuel gauge can be easily fitted and what the costs would be?

 

At present we are at a residential mooring but once we get traveling we need a bit more accurancy.

 

Thanks.

 

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya,

Fuel gauges can be 'Relatively easy to fit, especially as there are ones that fit on the outside of the tank so no drilling is required but as with 'Most' gauges they are only a guide as to levels anyway, so it's sometimes easier and more accurate to dip the tank.

But for convenience, Yes, a gauge & sender unit are widely available, easy to fit, & a useful guide.

[John V]

must say I have always found dipping the.........I see Paul has beaten me to it........Ditto

[gazza]

You can't get more accurate and reliable then dipping the tank.

 

Mark the dipstick off at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full.

 

Job done.

[WJM]

Fuel gauges are not normally fitted to narrowboats - and in my experience they are not a necessity. A dip stick is far more reliable.

[gazza]

Three posters furiously tapping away! Paul got there first :-)

[ditchcrawler]

Next time you fill up see how many cm. the level rises for 10lt then mark the dip stick in 10lt units. Most, not all Narrowboats do about a lt per hour so you will so get a feel for how often to dip the tank. I never buy X number of Lts but just ask them to fill the tank. A fuel gauge WILL go wrong at some point.

[Alan de Enfield]

Wait until your fuel level is farly 'low' (but you have enough to safely run the engine)

 

Get a dip-stick and mark the level.

Add 10 litres and mark it again

Add 10 litres and mark it again

repeat until full.

 

Assume the worse and use your engine usage as 2 litres per hour.

Each mark will be 5 hours cruising.

 

Dip your tank everyday (whilst doing oil, water and belt checks) and you can see if you will need to re-fuel in the next couple of days.

ditchcrawler, on 27 Aug 2014 - 09:18 AM, said:

Next time you fill up see how many cm. the level rises for 10lt then mark the dip stick in 10lt units. Most, not all Narrowboats do about a lt per hour so you will so get a feel for how often to dip the tank. I never buy X number of Lts but just ask them to fill the tank. A fuel gauge WILL go wrong at some point.

 

Great minds etc etc.

 

The problem with arbitarily marking based on a single 10 litre rise is that you are asuming that there is no change in the tank shape/dimensions.

Why - when I post at 09:18 then make another post at 09:22 does it add the second post to the first post and re-write the time of the original post ?

 

Edit - and now its done it again with a 3rd post ?

Edited August 27, 2014 by Alan de Enfield

[FadeToScarlet]

My dipstick is an old metal meter ruler- each CM higher on the ruler is 8 litres, so you can work out the consumption of diesel with some maths, down to 0.8 litres.

[Grace and Favour]

<<Snip>>

 

Why - when I post at 09:18 then make another post at 09:22 does it add the second post to the first post and re-write the time of the original post ?

 

Edit - and now its done it again with a 3rd post ?

If one keeps joining all these posts together is it an offence?

 

 

 

 

(Although I surmise that the answer to your question is that the software simply lists the time of it's latest addition/edit - and the majority of posts are not edited of course.

[Alan de Enfield]

If one keeps joining all these posts together is it an offence?

 

 

 

Only if you are 'wired'

[Scholar Gypsy]

I've never dipped my tank in the last 20 years. I just use the hour meter and refill every 80 hours, when it will take 120 litres to fill. I have measured the tank externally and the nominal capacity is about 170 litres, so I am confident I won't run out...

 

I do occasionally pump some fuel out from the bottom of the tank (using an oil extraction pump connected to microbore copper pipe) to see if there is any water, crud etc.

[gazza]

I've never dipped my tank in the last 20 years. I just use the hour meter and refill every 80 hours, when it will take 120 litres to fill. I have measured the tank externally and the nominal capacity is about 170 litres, so I am confident I won't run out...

 

I do occasionally pump some fuel out from the bottom of the tank (using an oil extraction pump connected to microbore copper pipe) to see if there is any water, crud etc.

That's another good way of doing it.

 

We had a Vauxhall frontera that had a faulty fuel gauge.

I used to fill the tank to the brim, Zero the trip when it got to about 300 miles on the trip it was time to start looking for a petrol station.

Never ran out using that method and didn't worry about replacing the sender which was a pig to get at!

[eightacre]

My understanding is that it is not good practice to let the tank get too low - due to condensation & sludge issues. Like others have said previously, I monitor the engine hours and look to top up after about 60.

[WJM]

I've never dipped my tank in the last 20 years. I just use the hour meter and refill every 80 hours, when it will take 120 litres to fill.

That is almost ok if the only thing you feed from that tank is your engine. I use diesel for my heating too so that method wont work. I wonder too if the type of engine running can have a significant effect. In winter I can be running my engine close to idle simply to charge my batteries or I can be hammering it hard to push upriver in a strong stream. And that that is before you consider the possibility of someone stealing your diesel. Best to take a fail-proof reading with a stick.

 

 

I am told that the presence of a dipstick will cause a failure on a BSS inspection. I am not sure of the truth of this so I just put mine out of sight. The reason I was told is that repeated use can wear out the base of the tank directly below the opening!

Edited August 27, 2014 by WJM

[bizzard]

You fix a little cross bar at the top end of the stick which will rest on the filler neck so it doesn't quite reach and hit the bottom.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

That is almost ok if the only thing you feed from that tank is your engine. I use diesel for my heating too so that method wont work. I wonder too if the type of engine running can have a significant effect. In winter I can be running my engine close to idle simply to charge my batteries or I can be hammering it hard to push upriver in a strong stream. And that that is before you consider the possibility of someone stealing your diesel. Best to take a fail-proof reading with a stick.

 

 

I am told that the presence of a dipstick will cause a failure on a BSS inspection. I am not sure of the truth of this so I just put mine out of sight. The reason I was told is that repeated use can wear out the base of the tank directly below the opening!

I think it would definitely add interest to the fault finding

process if your Engine stoped one day, & when dipping your tank to make sure of the obvious,

you found plenty of 'Fuel' in the tank. Infact noting it's the same level as the water outside !.

Edited August 27, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[The Lockie]

 

 

I am told that the presence of a dipstick will cause a failure on a BSS inspection. I am not sure of the truth of this so I just put mine out of sight. The reason I was told is that repeated use can wear out the base of the tank directly below the opening!

Always made me smile that one , how long do the reckon it would take a piece of wooden dowel to wear through 10mm of baseplate!!

[system 4-50]

Dip sticks

When mine shows 60mm left then the engine will stall any minute.

If you are careless when dipping you can introduce diesel bug. I base this suggestion on the lovely growth I got on an unwiped wooden dipstick left in a gas locker for several weeks. Possible?

[Kae]

Dip sticks

When mine shows 60mm left then the engine will stall any minute.

If you are careless when dipping you can introduce diesel bug. I base this suggestion on the lovely growth I got on an unwiped wooden dipstick left in a gas locker for several weeks. Possible?

 

Can only really see that being the case if you dip different tanks with it and transfer the bug between the two. "Bug" exists in the water layer, I don't see how it can grow on your dipstick.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Dip sticks

When mine shows 60mm left then the engine will stall any minute.

If you are careless when dipping you can introduce diesel bug. I base this suggestion on the lovely growth I got on an unwiped wooden dipstick left in a gas locker for several weeks. Possible?

 

Did you use it to dipstick your poo tank as well ??

[system 4-50]

 

Did you use it to dipstick your poo tank as well ??

No, I used something else that readily came to hand.

But back to the subject. I used a length of wooden rod. It got coated in diesel. When I came back to it a few weeks later, the dieselled part was covered in a white furry fungus. I decided it was better not put back in tank and threw it away. Obviously something had grown on the diesel but whether it was diesel bug or not, I don't know.

[Phil Ambrose]

No, I used something else that readily came to hand.

But back to the subject. I used a length of wooden rod. It got coated in diesel. When I came back to it a few weeks later, the dieselled part was covered in a white furry fungus. I decided it was better not put back in tank and threw it away. Obviously something had grown on the diesel but whether it was diesel bug or not, I don't know.

Furry growth most likely a regular mould which has been able to feed from the dried diesel on the stick, a quick wash off would fix that. Unlikely to be "Diesel Bug" as that particular bug lives and thrives in water sitting at the bottom of your fuel tank and feeds from the hydrocarbon of the diesel forming clumps as in a colony of the bug, the clumps eventually join up to continue to grow to form the jelly like substance which clogs up fuel lines and filters, I may be wrong.

Phil

[mango]

Furry growth most likely a regular mould which has been able to feed from the dried diesel on the stick, a quick wash off would fix that. Unlikely to be "Diesel Bug" as that particular bug lives and thrives in water sitting at the bottom of your fuel tank and feeds from the hydrocarbon of the diesel forming clumps as in a colony of the bug, the clumps eventually join up to continue to grow to form the jelly like substance which clogs up fuel lines and filters, I may be wrong.

Phil

Diesel bug is a general description for the consortium of bacteria and fungi that can grow at the interface between diesel and water in the fuel tank or elsewhere. The appearance will depend on what is growing. if it gets into the fuel lines and filters it can cause mayhem, as you say.

 

We need boat builders to put in some kind of a sump that can be drained of water and debris as regularly as is necessary. With a narrowboat, the easiest way could be to have the base of the tank angled down the one corner, next to the drain point. The reasons that water can get into fuel is the poorly designed deck fillers that depend on a seal to keep out water and tank vents sited where water can get in. Both problems can be avoided.

[WJM]

We need boat builders to put in some kind of a sump that can be drained of water and debris as regularly as is necessary. With a narrowboat, the easiest way could be to have the base of the tank angled down the one corner, next to the drain point. The reasons that water can get into fuel is the poorly designed deck fillers that depend on a seal to keep out water and tank vents sited where water can get in. Both problems can be avoided.

It is a nice idea but, generally, the diesel 'tank' is simply the back part of the boat walled off. Meaning that the bottom part of the tank is actually the bottom of the boat.