How to judge how full the tanks really are.

G

Glen S

Member
Aug 10, 2009
194
Sarnia, Ontario
Boat Info
Currently boat shopping
Engines
none at the moment
Does anyone have any ideas / tricks to know just how full the fuel tanks really are. Obviously I have fuel gauges but how to judge when the tanks are truly getting full at the fuel dock. I don't want to fill the vent tubes with fuel or have it dripping out the vents into the water. I would have thought a sight tube on the tanks would have been helpful but......

Most of time not a huge issue but when we will be topping up for holidays would like to know they are full and also would be great to refill to the same level to chech fuel consumption (since I don't have fuel flow meters).
 
Glen S said:
Does anyone have any ideas / tricks to know just how full the fuel tanks really are. Obviously I have fuel gauges but how to judge when the tanks are truly getting full at the fuel dock. I don't want to fill the vent tubes with fuel or have it dripping out the vents into the water. I would have thought a sight tube on the tanks would have been helpful but......

Most of time not a huge issue but when we will be topping up for holidays would like to know they are full and also would be great to refill to the same level to chech fuel consumption (since I don't have fuel flow meters).
Click to expand...

When we gassed up for the first time this year, the captain took us to get gas because we did not know where the pumps where, or the how to drive the boat at that time to get to them,,, and your inquiry was asked by me
How do you know when your getting close to full....

QUOTE by captain....

2 ways
On our boat on the helm rocker port, or starboard start switch, click it once forward only to get the reading from the tank gauge and relate the progress back to the one filing the tank the reading...

The other way is the person filling to put there ear to the tank and hear the gas coming to the top...

Never did either....:huh:
 
Last edited:
My gauges have more of a sense of humor than a sense of fuel. Each one can be off by nearly 40 gallons. Fortunately, they're pessimistic.

To me, by the time I can hear the change in sound, it's already too late. With our crazy weather patterns, expansion can cause a spill anyway.

That happened to me just on the last fill-up. I thought I had calculated it perfectly - I stopped the pump before a spill, before the pitch changed and thought I was smart. The next weekend, fuel was spitting out the port vent at the dock. :(

I would REALLY like meters...
 
You get used to it. Listening is the key. Remember to stop fueling if you are near full and a loud boat goes by. It interferes with your listening to the air flow even if you think that you can hear it enough to continue fueling. I made that mistake once.

The second thing that I do is wrap a white terry cloth towel around the nozzle and hold it tight to the hull. I have had some splash back and drippage from the nozzle and the towel caught them for me. Beats paying a fine, or having to buy cleanup supplies at the fuel dock. If the towel does get a little fuel on it, I tie to the grab bar on the cockpit sink. Usually, the towel is dry and has just a light fuel odor left on it by the time we make our next stop.

Just a comment. The "new" gasoline mixtures do not seem to have as strong of a "gasoline" smell as the "old" gas did. Unlike the "old" gasoline, the smell will go away from fabrics after a few hours in the open air. If you got any of the "old" gasoline on your clothes, or a rag, it would smell like gasoline for weeks or until it was washed...
 
RollerCoastr said:
My gauges have more of a sense of humor than a sense of fuel. Each one can be off by nearly 40 gallons. Fortunately, they're pessimistic.
Click to expand...

:smt043Now thats funny. My gauge stinks, too. On plane, I have 1/2 tank regardless of how much fuel is really in there.
 
Much easier at my new marina. The pumps have an automatic shut off that actually works so didn't spill a drop for the first and only time so far I have been at the gas dock.
 
I very seldom will fill the tanks on the 330. Why carry around the extra weight? Our cruising is usually local so a large capacity isn't needed. I wait until the gauges show below 1/4 then put in 50 gals each side. That brings the gauges up to 3/4. Plenty to last us a few weeks.

If we're going out of the area I'll fill the tanks and use the ear method.
 
Gofirstclass said:
I very seldom will fill the tanks on the 330. Why carry around the extra weight? Our cruising is usually local so a large capacity isn't needed. I wait until the gauges show below 1/4 then put in 50 gals each side. That brings the gauges up to 3/4. Plenty to last us a few weeks.

If we're going out of the area I'll fill the tanks and use the ear method.
Click to expand...
Nice...I burn a full tank every 1 to 2 days..
 
Ear method rarely works for me either. By the time I hear it...too late. If I throttle back the fuel pump lever, well, I could be there for days waiting for it to actually fill.

I wish someone sold an accurate sending unit that didn't cost a fortune. My tank is made up of two rectangles, the smaller one on top. So when it's full, it very quickly goes down to 1/2 tank, and then will sit there forever. Even when it reports an 1/8 tank, I only need a 1/2 tank to fill it. I usually go by the hour meter to know when to fill. But I wish I could trust the gauge.
 
I would REALLY like meters...
+2 :thumbsup:
 
I guess I don't need to post my question about if my gage or sending unit is bad. Tank overflowed with gage reading between 1/2 and 3/4, thought maybe the sending unit was bad. Sounds like most others do the same thing. At least it was still on the trailer in the yard when I filled it up
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,241
Messages
1,429,115
Members
61,122
Latest member
DddAae
Back
Top