Sounding stick

[Roger Long]

The lady with the tape in the tank reminds me that I should mention my better sounding tube. This is an idea brought from aviation where we used to obsess about fuel even more than boaters.

Get a polycarbonate tube about 3/8" O.D. x 1/4" I.D. This is what I used:

http://www.smallparts.com/Polycarbo..._s=center-3&pf_rd_m=AIUBT5HP6PMAF&pf_rd_t=101

File your marks around the outside and paint red with a small brush. To use, dip it in the tank, put your finger over the end, and lift it up. Remove your finger and the fuel goes back in the tank. The nice thing about it with diesel is that it lets you view the clarity and condition of the fuel and may even tell you if there is crud drifting around in the bottom of the tank.

I put an epoxy plug in the bottom of mine and drilled a smaller hole so the fuel would stay in more easily. You don't have to press your finger quite so hard then to keep air from leaking though the fingerprint grooves.

You can also slip a piece of clear plastic hose over it and attach it to an electric fuel pump to suck fuel from the very bottom of the tank to check for sediment.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Dip it in the tank?

None of the tanks I have ever seen have an easy way to do what you are describing Roger. Does you tank have an access port that is easy to get to? Or are you putting this thing down your fill pipe?

See you on the waters.

 

[Roger Long]

None of the tanks I have ever seen have an easy way to do what you are describing Roger.

This is a substitute for the hard to read dowel or stick usually used on tanks where there is suitable access. If you aren't currently using a sounding stick, this post is not for you.

A sounding sitck is more accurate than the usual gauge. Here's how I modified my tank so it could be sounded: (Third picture down)

http://www.rogerlongboats.com/StriderFuelSystem.htm

I replaced the elbow on the vent fitting with a cross. If you are not adding the second vent line, you can just use a Tee. You need sufficient headroom or a hatch above the tank, of course, a small deck plate might make this work out in some situation. This vent on my boat is also very useful for filling the tank from jerry cans using a siphon hose or the fuel pump on a 12 v. outlet cord I rigged up. Much less chance of a spill.

Here's another view: