No fuel gauge = frayed nerves

[scottishguy]

Just bought a Freedom Escape 5.3m and it's great...only problem is there's no fuel guage and I'm paranoid about running out of fuel meaning I can't relax and enjoy the tranquility:'(

Does anyone have any experience installing an electric fuel gauge sender in their boat? What parts will i need and what costs are involved?

[levinge]

Was the boat brand new or did you pick it up second hand.

If it was new, it should've come with a guage or you should've had one installed.

Best advice is to take to someone and get it done professionally, seen toooooooo many problems occur when novices try to do the job, sort of like doing your own plumbing job, sometimes it works sometimes you still have to call a professional.

Might cost you a couple of dollars, but at least they will do a proper job...

[scottishguy]

Boat is second-hand 1996 model hull with a 90l underfloor tank. I have not investigated if the tank has the sender fitted, in which case it should be easy to add the wiring and gauge, then again it might be simpler and cheaper to tow her to a specialist and be done with it.

[FNQCairns]

Carry a jerry just in case? Now after getting to know my boat I can estimate to around 10km when the 85L tank will be empty, a GPS is needed though.

cheers fnq

[leezor]

Invest in a fuel flow meter like this one http://www.northstarnav.com.au/en-au/Products/Fuel-Management/F210-Fuel/

Much more reliable than a gauge, easy to DIY and also has other features like fuel burn etc.

[ozscott]

Yep I have a Navman fuel flow meter and it is very accurate and was a breeze to install myself.

Cheers
PS. I think that they are now Northstar as above.

[finding_time]

Scottishguy

your not alone in the fuel gauge stakes mate , many boats dont have them, mine (Kevlacat) doesn't most larger boats dont. Eg large cruisers, game boats etc, etc,

As others have said a fuel flow meter is great, a piece of dowel with marks works well to depending on your fuel filler! Fuel gauges are generally terribly inaccurate due to where there placed , shape of tank , how the boat sits in the water, etc.


Ian

[mik01]

just read the manual - it really seems very easy

what do one of these babies cost?

[muzzytt]

I fitted a navman 3100 it is the thing to have and it is very accurate and has low fuel low batt alarms can also be hooked up to gps chartplotter for excellant fuel vs distance travelled. Its much better than the useless dipstick i found recently.
Got mine from a singapore based ebay seller was very cheap

[Fishbait]

Invest in a fuel flow meter like this one http://www.northstarnav.com.au/en-au/Products/Fuel-Management/F210-Fuel/

.
How much to buy these? and where from? Cheers, Darren

[White Pointer]

G'day,

I'm getting a boat built and asked for a fuel gauge and the boat builder refused to do it.

Reason? Don't mix petrol and electricity on boats.

Solution: Install NMEA wiring from the Suzuki 175HP to the Lowrance GPS and you have a trip computer with engine monitoring. Fuel burn and remaining range and all engine instrumentation is displayed.

Back up: I asked for an inline fuel flow meter and was told they were problematic and a better back up was a stick to dip the tank. The boat's fuel filler is in the floor and directly into the tank - not through a gunnel mounted filler - so the stick will work fine.

I don't know if any of these options are available to you but based on the expert advice that I have received, if you are considering drilling a hole in your tank to put in a gauge, put in a dipstick instead.

Regards,

White Pointer

[ozscott]

I dont believe that inline fuel flow metres are problematic. My Navman uses a transducer in line, which is just a light alloy turbine with an infrared sensor beamed onto it. It was dead easy to install and I use a head unit which is a round traditional looking guage - backlit - with two buttons. It shows instant litres per hour, fuel used, fuel remaining and a host of other functions that I dont normally use. From memory when I got it about 8 years ago it was about $270 inc guage. I too it out of my Haines and stuck it in the Seafarer and as long as you mount it after a good fuel filter (the specifics of which are contained in the fitting instructions) fit it upright (easy to do against a wall of the boat for eg with p clips) and dont squeeze the 3/8th connectors too hard (ie either use the plastic clips supplied with the unit or make sure you are very gentle with stainless ones) its very accurate (about 98%) out of the box...I love it because I get paranoid about fuel use as well. It also has a very big advantage over other fuel guages etc - litres per hour allows the most economical cruise speed for the conditions and load (just remember that you have to take into account speed to make litres per hour worthwhile).

Cheers

[Scott nthQld]

Its pretty simple, I recently completely re did mine.

First you need to get the dimensions of your tank, I'm assuming its an underfloor?

If thats the case, unscrew and lift the boards, onthe top of the tank there should be a slot for it, often covered by a plate that is screwed in with a gasket between.

Remove this plate and to get the depth of your tank, use a ruler, or tape measure and insert it until you touch bottom, take a measurement so you know what size sender unit you need, ie so you don't get one that is too ong and won't screw down.

OPnce you have this measurement, go into your local telwater dealer and ask for one in that size, if it is a factory fitted tank, then they should have the part instock to suit. Whilst you are there, get some tinned wire, and a guage, as well as a fuse to suit. The sender will usually have some wire attached already, but you may need a bit more length, so don't buy extra wire if you don't need it.

Once you have you sender unit, its just a matter of putting it in, lining up the holes and screwing it down, making sure you can got the gasket lined up correctly as well. screw down, sender unit installed, easy.

Now you need to run the wire and screw down the floor again, make sure you get the wire out before you screw down the floor (unlike me) otherwise thats just more unnessessary work. You best bet is to run the wires through some small flewxible conduit to protect it a bit so it doesn't get knocked around. once you've done that, run the wire inside the conduit upto where you would like the fuel guage installed, once an appropriate location has been decided upon, cut a hole in the dash big enough for the guage to just fit without having to squeeze it in very tightly. Use a metal cutting hole saw for the job, but first, use a small drillbit to put in a pilot hole to guide the chunkier holesaw bit.

Once you've cut the hole, put in the guage and use the supplied clamps and fittings to secure it into place. Once thats done, plug your sender cables into the designated positions on the back of the guage.

From the guage you will now have the 2 sender unit wires (power and earth) and a second set, power and earth for the guage. Under the dash there should be a bank of circuits you can hook the guage upto, which will run to the battery, this is where you're power comes from. Making sure the battery is disconnected, put in an in-line fuse from the guages power cable and plug into this bank. You won't need a fuse if the bank or guage already has one built in.

Connect the battery and test. It may read the wrong way (as mine did) ie empty will be full, full is empty, if thats the case, you may just have the sender unit plugged into the guage the wrong way, unhook the battery and swap the wires around. In my case that fixed it.

It can be fiddly at times, but as long as you have the electrical infrastrucure there to begin with, ie the circuit bank, its very easy.

I should mention that you should do this with an empty tank, but mine was half full, and I'm still alive to tell the tale.

As other have said, it won't give accurate readings in rough water, but I reckon its better than spending a k or more if you don't have the dollars for it.

[MyWay]

As Ian say u dont need to stress about fuel gauges , as they are never accurate not even some of this electronic thinks above what another guys suggesting .
Fill up fuel tank have nice run for around to 50 klm and go back to petrol station and top up . .Next time do 100 if you can and so on and soon you will find out what is your fuel range(dont forget if you are in ruf sea and more load on boat it my use 10 to 20 % more).
The best way is to go by GPS trip meter if you got one on boat.

I got electric fuel gauge and it shoving all over the place not on just this boat every one i had . I got also Navman fuel flow meter and it is all so not 100%accurate

If you going to install any of this , they are totally safe to have on boat when they are instilled by professional .

myway

[MyEscape]

I have a 4.35 Seajay with an under floor tank of 60 litres. Too big really for my boating so it's rarely filled up.

No fuel gauge either. But it's no problem as I also carry another 10 litre tank in case I run out.

When I get home I put this fuel into the tank, and fill up the carry tank again for the next trip.

No stress.

But you need to be aware of your range, regardless of a gauge or not.

Steve

[scottishguy]

Some good feedback there guys, thanks for that.

I'll stick to the length of dowling I've been using and carry a spare 10litres in a Jerry just in case.

I did have a look at the Navman fuel meters as I have the Navman 5380 GPS but at nearly $300 I want to be sure that they will do the job.

[ozscott]

The Navman fuel flow meter does the job very very well...I set the alarm for low fuel in case I dont think to look. I did it once down at the Pin for 10 litres and when it went off I decided to run it down...when it said I had no fuel left (from an 80 litre fill up) there was less than a cup in the bottom of the tank...

The main thing is to wire it so that it is not powerered when the motor is off...because the fuel sloshing in the transducer will cause it to read that fuel is being used...easy enough when installed properly.

Go and use the dip stick etc and then when you get of sick of dipping, and sick of the safety aspect of opening the tank when out int he drink...and when its sloppy a dip is hard to do, get a Navman and dont look back.

Cheers

[Noelm]

don't think ou would use a dipstick while at Sea, you should have enough to go where you want to go and back, the dipstick is used at home.

[finding_time]

Scottishguy

As Noel said best leave the dip stick till the boats back in sheltered waters, but over time you will get very good at estimating fuel used for the day! My guesses always seem to be within 5% of the actual fuel used! It becomes second nature after a while and all it takes is watching the distance and engine times and taking note of actual fuel used during the day. Do this ten times and you'll soon work out where and how the boat is using fuel!


ian

[ozscott]

Ian - your probably spot on, but I dont use the boat enough these days to remember how much I use going where...hence the need for an accurate device for me.

Cheers