Diesel Dip Stick

[Tim22]

I would like to make a dip stick for my fuel tank. Simple I thought! I drained the tank and then added 10 litres of fuel. I inserted an aluminum rod thinking I would just mark where the diesel line was, add 5 more litres mark again and repeat. Not so fast. When I removed the aluminum rod I could not see where the diesel line was either in sun or shade. So my question is what is the best material for a dipstick that will show the fuel level.

Sorry for the dumb question!

Tim

 

[rgranger]

What if you used a clear tube, then put your thumb over the end after you dipped, pull out and mark. Sort of like you can do with a straw in a coke.

 

[dlochner]

Try a wooden dowel. The wood will absorb some diesel.

 

[Afrakes]

+1 on the wooden dowel or stick. You could also coat the aluminum rod with flat black paint. That's what I did with my oil dip stick to make it easier to read.

 

[Mickstr]

Wooden dowel worked for me just fine on my O'Day 272...

 

[Kings Gambit]

Try a wooden dowel. The wood will absorb some diesel.

Doesn’t it have to flex, bend? I think mine would. Also, it’s flat.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Do you have an engine hour meter?

 

[Tim22]

Thanks for the suggestions.
The dipstick does not need to bend so I will try a wooden stick.
I do have an engine hour meter but it seems to run if the key is left in the ignition even if the engine isn’t running.

Tim

 

[Stu Jackson]

I do have an engine hour meter but it seems to run if the key is left in the ignition even if the engine isn’t running.

Tim,

I hate to break it to ya buddy but that's how they work! And why would you do that anyway?

Here's how to do it easily:

Fuel Log 101

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,3841.msg21571.html#msg21571

 

[RoyS]

Reminds me of a story. I was young and working at a shipyard in Boston. A Coastguard ship came in for some serious rehab work that included a complete deck and hull repainting. On the last day of the rehab a tanker ship pulled up alongside and began pumping diesel fuel into the below deck tanks of the Coast Guard ship. I watched as a young crewman on the deck inserted and removed a 15 foot dipstick to check on the filling height. As I watched I could see him struggling to get a clear reading on the stick. He began to rapidly insert and check, clearly displaying panic. Then the diesel started spraying out the dip stick port on the deck. The crewman started hollering and waving his arms. He put his foot over the dip stick hole momentarily stopping the outflow. I say momentarily because seconds later the diesel was pouring out the vent pipes that rose above the deck about 8 feet and then pointed down toward the deck. Diesel was now pouring out onto the deck at a fantastic rate and running overboard through the scuppers. Lots of hollering and scurrying about by various crew and eventually someone shut off the tanker's pumps. Meanwhile, just down the pier, another large commercial ship was having significant welding done along the hull. Having that ship enveloped in a diesel river was sure to improve on this disaster, but someone had the sense to halt the welding. Back at the Coastguard ship the deck was now completely free of all the new paint which had washed over the side. Still makes me laugh when I think about that day.

 

[Tim22]

The problem with fuel log 101 is that it’s not fail safe. For example, last year I had some work done on my engine. The mechanic, a highly competent and likeable guy, forgot to remove the key when he was done so I presume the hour meter ran for a couple of days. When you only use the engine for 50 or so hours a year this can seriously affect your fuel consumption calculation. On the other hand, a dipstick tells the true story regardless of engine hours.

Tim

 

[Richard Bryer]

There is nothing more reliable or inexpensive than a dipstick ( tell BMW that!!) I use a wooden strip- about 1" wide and 1/4 thick. I marked it by dipping the stick, marking the spot, then filling the tank, marking the spot and marking it off in litres by calculating the space between divided by the number of litres to fill- then extending down the stick to the bottom. It is a bit awkward to get down by the tank and take off the hose and measure but it is accurate.

 

[Stu Jackson]

The mechanic, a highly competent and likeable guy, forgot to remove the key when he was done...When you only use the engine for 50 or so hours a year this can seriously affect your fuel consumption calculation.

If your situational awareness is so non-functional as to be unaware of that kind of happenstance, then how many hours you run your engine in a year will have no impact and is meaningless anyway.
One learns that if the average hours per gallon is off more than 0.20 you should pay more attention.
Nothing is fail safe. I just figure sticking foreign objects in my diesel tank is one of the more unfavorable things I'd ever choose to do.
Oh, take a look at the date on the first entry in the spreadsheet in my link, probably going on 20 years now (gee, July 1998!!!~). I know, I know, it could go south on me any moment now, right?

And if he left the key in, unless your oil pressure alarm is broken, it had to be in the off position. If it was in the on position (which would run the hour meter) you'd hear the alarm, wouldn't you?