View Full Version : full tanks???
how in the sam hell can you tell if your fuel tanks are full? i really want to make sure i'm LOADED with fuel for this weekend. i'd like to avoid filling up on the water.
Ultra_Stealth
06-19-2007, 12:52 PM
how in the sam hell can you tell if your fuel tanks are full? i really want to make sure i'm LOADED with fuel for this weekend. i'd like to avoid filling up on the water.
Fuel Gauge????? :smashfreak::Laugh_at::D
I take it you don't trust your gauge or they don't work. Mine seem to be off a bit. To be honest, I usually wait for the pump to stop when I am filling them up. Then peek in and can usually see the level. Try a flashlight and see if it helps.
PUMP 'HER'
06-19-2007, 12:56 PM
Redneck style, with a stick?
scarabrick
06-19-2007, 12:57 PM
take it to a shop and have them install a mechanical gauge.
Fuel Gauge????? :smashfreak::Laugh_at::D
now why didn't I think of that :smashfreak::D
the gauges work but it's just like in a car, if you stop when the needle hits full it's not really full the same as it will usually go below the "E". as far as letting it shut itself off like in the car i don't think that would work because i have a tank on each side and they are filled from the back. i always use the gauge when i fill them but i'm never sure exactly where to stop. i guess i'll just keep filling them the way i have always done it. i was hoping one of you would have the miracle answer........like checking the fuel gauge :laugh:
here's another one, do any of you have a problem with the gas "burping" up through the filler tube while you're filling it? mine does that and it seems the only way to prevent it is to fill it more slowly.
kevnmcd
06-19-2007, 02:54 PM
here's another one, do any of you have a problem with the gas "burping" up through the filler tube while you're filling it? mine does that and it seems the only way to prevent it is to fill it more slowly.
Every F'n time....it really pisses me off! :cussing: Glad to know mine isn't the only boat to do this. I usually don't leave the handle when filling up. Based on where the guage is when I start filling, I just slow down the input when I think I am getting close before it burps out. The way I tell if mine is full is I slow down the input at the end and just look down the filler tube. Once I see fuel almost to the top of the neck, I know I am full! :D
kev, do you have tanks on each side of the hull and do you fill from the back? if so, i'll make sure i take a flash light with me when i fill up and try that. i didn't think i'd be able to see into the tank from there.
kevnmcd
06-19-2007, 03:50 PM
James - I have a 50 gal. belly tank but I do fill up from the back like you. The key (for me at least) is to end slow and just keep an eye on the filler neck. Good luck.
NdaWind
06-19-2007, 04:31 PM
I have 2 side tanks I fill from the back too. Only on the trailer does it come out the breather hole before it comes out the filler hole. on the water it always comes out the filler hole. I always figured when it comes out one of the holes I am full as I am gonna get. I do usually slow down and just listen the the gurgling as the gas goes in.
I know this won't help you for this trip, James, but if your engine is compatible with the Mercury Smartcraft display (the small rectangular one), I would highly recommend you consider having one installed. My fuel guage, like most, is notoriously inaccurate, however the Smartcraft accurately displays, among other info, the amount of fuel that has passed thru the fuel-injection system since it was last reset. I know the total capacity of my fuel tank, so if I fill it up as I will do before the dam run and reset the Smartcraft to zero, I simply subtract the amount of fuel burned from the tank capacity and I know within a gallon how much gas I have left. If I add more fuel during the weekend (but not top it off), I just mentally keep track of the total amount of fuel I have put in and subtract the amount of gas used per the Smartcraft display.
I couldn't imagine boating without it, as relying on the electric analog guage is no better than running blind. I have been told that the Smartcraft won't work with a supercharger and probably only for fuel injected engines.
Flo-Scan also makes highly accurate fuel management guages used primarily in large yachts, although they do have high capacity flow guages that might very well work with high-horsepower blown engines. I would be curious what the offshore racing boats use, if anything. I would think that fuel /weight management would be critical to them.
Wes
from what i've read i really like the info you can get from the smartcraft stuff. i don't know that i could install it on my ride though since it's an '01. i would consider it if it was possible. thanx for the input guys, as always much appreciated!
HavasuHome
06-19-2007, 10:21 PM
[QUOTE=Seas;130559]I know this won't help you for this trip, James, but if your engine is compatible with the Mercury Smartcraft display (the small rectangular one), I would highly recommend you consider having one installed. My fuel guage, like most, is notoriously inaccurate, however the Smartcraft accurately displays, among other info, the amount of fuel that has passed thru the fuel-injection system since it was last reset. I know the total capacity of my fuel tank, so if I fill it up as I will do before the dam run and reset the Smartcraft to zero, I simply subtract the amount of fuel burned from the tank capacity and I know within a gallon how much gas I have left. If I add more fuel during the weekend (but not top it off), I just mentally keep track of the total amount of fuel I have put in and subtract the amount of gas used per the Smartcraft display.
We also have the Smartcraft and do the same thing.
Ultra_Stealth
06-20-2007, 07:03 AM
Worst comes to worst and you run out of fuel, if PH is still running, I'm sure he would be glad to return the favor and tow you from the dam to cottonwood. :thumb: :D
wicked_tahiti
06-20-2007, 07:08 AM
You guys make me so afraid to get out on the water with you. For fear that my new engine may have problems, and i would have to be in "tow" which i would repeatedly be shunned for years to come....
METAL NOTE: make 2 test runs at the lake ALONE before meeting the LVHB crew...
kimswang
06-20-2007, 08:39 AM
You guys make me so afraid to get out on the water with you. For fear that my new engine may have problems, and i would have to be in "tow" which i would repeatedly be shunned for years to come....
METAL NOTE: make 2 test runs at the lake ALONE before meeting the LVHB crew...
Don't worry, if you're being towed on the lake WE WILL KNOW REGARDLESS!!:D:D
kimswang
06-20-2007, 09:14 AM
do any of you have a problem with the gas "burping" up through the filler tube while you're filling it?
Disconnect the vent hose and blow it clean, you have either a clogged vent or fluid in your line. Pretty normal if the vent hose is not routed with a steady climb....
Essex502
06-20-2007, 11:43 AM
Smartcraft as Bill and Wes recommended. My first fill up I didn't know how much it would take. I slowly filled the tank (Howard Bullet fills from either side to a single belly tank.) I left off the opposite gas cap. Avoided the "burp". Then on the water I ran the boat until it said I had used 70 gallons of the 75 available. When I filled up the next time I pump a little more than 69 gallons to fill. Close enough. The Smartcraft also displays the rate of fuel consumed in gallons/hr. so that you can adjust your cruising speed and trim to optimize fuel efficiency.
kevnmcd
06-20-2007, 12:04 PM
Disconnect the vent hose and blow it clean, you have either a clogged vent or fluid in your line. Pretty normal if the vent hose is not routed with a steady climb....
I think I will do this one of these days and see if it helps. Never thought of this until you mentioned it. Thanks.
duckbutter
07-05-2007, 09:43 PM
The key (for me at least) is to end slow .
i'm the opposite i usually start kinda slow till the wife has one then i pump furiously till i have one:devil:
kevnmcd
07-06-2007, 07:59 AM
i'm the opposite i usually start kinda slow till the wife has one then i pump furiously till i have one:devil:
Get your mind out of the gutter! :lookaround:
Mine always burps as well, but I am ready so I usually catch it. My fuel gauge is fairly accurate until I get to 1/2 tank and then it is almost as if someone shot a hole in my tank. I dont get far after that.
RodnJen
07-10-2007, 07:30 AM
Smartcraft as Bill and Wes recommended. My first fill up I didn't know how much it would take. I slowly filled the tank (Howard Bullet fills from either side to a single belly tank.) I left off the opposite gas cap. Avoided the "burp". Then on the water I ran the boat until it said I had used 70 gallons of the 75 available. When I filled up the next time I pump a little more than 69 gallons to fill. Close enough. The Smartcraft also displays the rate of fuel consumed in gallons/hr. so that you can adjust your cruising speed and trim to optimize fuel efficiency.
These new-fangled machines have come a long way. Our old outboard had a 10 gallon and a 2 1/2 gallon tank held in by bungies. You knew you were running out of fuel when the motor rpms increased on it's own then lost power. You then unstrapped the bungies and filled the tank trying not to spill on the fancy indoor/outdoor carpet. Oh ya, after you put in the can of oil, no injectors.
I do the same, fill from the back and listen/look to see how close I can get to the top w/o spilling. It does, however, start to spill out of the breather holes due to heat and or motion.
DaddyMack
07-13-2007, 09:52 AM
My boat is old... no burping... lol..
just fill it till it stops.. and then a little slow to watch it filled...but I think my tanks only hold 20 gal each...
But that's enough for about 2 or so days on the lake.. easily.. unless end to end to end to end...lol...
Since I don't have fuel injection, I kind of switch between tanks... when I run one dry.. then I know I need to head in and get gas...lol.... only one of my tanks has a fuel gauge.. so I run that last :smashfreak:
I did have a wierd thing happen thought last week... it was so warm in Havi that the fuel expanded and started coming out of one of the fillers before I got on the lake... that was fun...
kevnmcd
07-13-2007, 11:49 AM
I did have a wierd thing happen thought last week... it was so warm in Havi that the fuel expanded and started coming out of one of the fillers before I got on the lake... that was fun...
Yep...you have to be careful when you have full tanks that you don't leave it in the sun on the trailer. Fuel expands in the heat and will spill out of the breather (or in your case the fill cap).
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