fuel gauge

We have an Albin 36, Fuel gauge is clear line on side of tank but we cant see fuel.* Does anyone have a place to get new clear sight gauge line that will work or Ill take some advice. Thanks, Tom

Tom: At least one guy nearby could reach his top site-tube fitting from inside the tank through an inspection hole, and put one of those tiny sink drain snakes you see at a lot of drug stores in the TV Special's area, attached it to a variable speed drill, and turned slowly while moving the snake in and out of the fitting. It cleaned it up enough to read. If the glass tube is clear as you reported, then check above and below the tube for valves. My Krogen also has the tube, but I have bat-handle 1/4 turn valves above and below. It enables you to take a reading, close the valves, and then after cruising, check the old reading again before opening the valves again for the new reading. If it's a case where the tube is simply too dirty to see anything inside and you'd rather not remove it, try painting the area behind the tube (or the back of the tube itself) with either white or something bright and luminous. If still a no-go, try shining a flashlight through the tube, and if you can see the light through it, place a grounded 12 V LCD strip on a piece of thin wood or other insulator glued to the tank behind it to backlight it. I broke the last couple of tubes I tried to fix, so be careful.

marlin wrote:
We have an Albin 36, Fuel gauge is clear line on side of tank but we cant see fuel.* Does anyone have a place to get new clear sight gauge line that will work or Ill take some advice. Thanks, Tom

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*just did mine...same size as on my water tanks...something like 1/2" for my boat. Bought a bunch of 1/2 in clear vinyl tube nat local hardware store...bought enough to redo in a year or so if it becomes discolored again.


-- Edited by psneeld on Friday 24th of February 2012 04:15:58 PM

1/4 " clear plastic hose "for diesel" isn't much more expensive than the "not for diesel" stuff. It won't discolour.

Where would one find this special diesel hose?

My marine mechanic got me some. Seems it wasn't unusual.

I had a similar problem on my water tank sight glass (plastic). When I replaced it I dropped in a little bright orange plastic fishing float so I could see the meniscus easily. Not sure if something like that is "diesel-proof," but it sure makes it easier to see.

dvd

Just search for Tygon Fuel Tubing or Tygon diesel tubing.

1/4 " clear plastic hose "for diesel" isn't much more expensive than the "not for diesel" stuff. It won't discolour.


Your insurance fellow may want to see the USCG "fuel" hose markings on this stuff.

Put a valve top and bottom and open it only to check fuel level. The stuff with hose markings tends to have poor visibility.

The diesel in our area is dyed a really dark red. It doesn't take long before I can't tell the difference between the actual fuel level and the stain on the inside of the old PVC sight-tubes. The new Tygon tubing finally arrived and I fitted it today. The difference is night and day. Why did I wait so long? There are doubtless many sources, but I ordered mine from McMaster Carr.

We have had the same clear plastic tube sight gage for 14 years. Must be a for diesel tube. There a valve at the bottom.I can read fine... red fuel helps. I found some "U" channel aluminum that fits nicely around the back side of the full length of the tube. This offers some protection. If I don't close the valve after reading, the tube becomes the weakest link.

psneeld said:

*just did mine...same size as on my water tanks...something like 1/2" for my boat. Bought a bunch of 1/2 in clear vinyl tube nat local hardware store...bought enough to redo in a year or so if it becomes discolored again.


-- Edited by psneeld on Friday 24th of February 2012 04:15:58 PM

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some plastics are not designed to be used with fuel and willl disolve, change color etc. when used with pther materials. No tubing should be used that isnt designed for use with diesel fuel if you have a diesel,or gasoline if gas powered. This is especially important for systems your life may depend upon.

bfloyd4445 said:

some plastics are not designed to be used with fuel and willl disolve, change color etc. when used with pther materials. No tubing should be used that isnt designed for use with diesel fuel if you have a diesel,or gasoline if gas powered. This is especially important for systems your life may depend upon.

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Gimme a break...vinyl or PVC doesn't "dissolve" but it does harden with age. Long before any sever issues arise, the tubing will be replaced due to discoloration or I will be replacing my tanks in the next few years.

The real joke is the tubes are secured by shutoff vale. The only time they could leak more than a few ounces of fuel is when checking the fuel quantity and I'm staring at them.

Some of you guys got to get out more into the real world and see what is being used on boats all over the place. Not everyone shops down the street at West marine every weekend...

When I first started working in a marine store I remember selling replacement sight glass tubes that really were glass.

HopCar said:

When I first started working in a marine store I remember selling replacement sight glass tubes that really were glass.

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Those same glass sight tubes are still available wherever boiler and pipe fitter supplies are sold. Quite common and surprisingly durable too.

CPseudonym said:

Those same glass sight tubes are still available wherever boiler and pipe fitter supplies are sold. Quite common and surprisingly durable too.

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If you read the article I posted today on the sinking of the Bounty (A Legendary Ship's Final Hours Battling Sandy - ABC News), it mentions that the engineer left the engine room for about an hour and when he returned the day tank was broken. How does a day tank break? Perhaps it had a glass sight tube?

psneeld said:

............ Not everyone shops down the street at West marine every weekend...

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We need to support West Marine so it will be there when we really need it. I just take the Internet pricing and they match it. Sometimes they give me stuff for free. And if the hardware store stuff is $2.00 and the marine stuff is $2.50, I spring for marine just for the peace of mind.

If it really doesn't matter (like interior screws and wire ties), I'll just use the less expensive hardware store stuff. I had to redo some of my boat's potable water plumbing and the local ACE Hardware store had matching PEX fittings so that's what I used.

rwidman said:

We need to support West Marine so it will be there when we really need it. I just take the Internet pricing and they match it. Sometimes they give me stuff for free. And if the hardware store stuff is $2.00 and the marine stuff is $2.50, I spring for marine just for the peace of mind.

If it really doesn't matter (like interior screws and wire ties), I'll just use the less expensive hardware store stuff. I had to redo some of my boat's potable water plumbing and the local ACE Hardware store had matching PEX fittings so that's what I used.

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You support it...I have ZERO need for it...but that's really not my point anyway...

No matter what gear you buy from wherever...knowing how and why it will or will not work is important. Buying something marine is no guarantee that it's worth a toot and buying something far more inexpensive and adapting it is just as acceptable....as long as you know what you are doing. For those who say it will devalue your boat just haven't been around the block enough.

When I take my Internet price to my local West Marine they match the price. I have to pay sales tax but no shipping. And the part is there when I need it, not two weeks away. I can measure it and I can return it if I change my mind.

Since Boaters World closed, WM is the only game in my town.

especially if you only shop at marine stores for marine stuff....

but even then I know that isn't true as I bought stuff at Ross Marine just South of Charleston when I had my boat stored there and worked on it.

captrigney said:

How does a day tank break? Perhaps it had a glass sight tube?

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Perhaps it did. Everyone that's ever discussed using sight tubes on a boat swears they only open the valves while checking fuel level then close them. IF that's true, they would never be capable of spilling more than a half cup of fuel, if not true they can drain the tank. Perhaps closing sight tube valves was not part of this engineers SOP?

I do not normally close valves to sight tubes myself, but I'm also not using them within the confines of an enclosed boat hull. I've only witnessed one failure in 20 years and that was impact related to human error...(mine)

Our sight tubes are closed other than when checking levels, SOP, I swear by it, really. They are teed into the outlet and return line so the only time you can get an accurate reading is when the engine is off so it's easy to remember when engine room/fluid level checks are performed.

psneeld said:

Gimme a break...vinyl or PVC doesn't "dissolve" but it does harden with age. Long before any sever issues arise, the tubing will be replaced due to discoloration or I will be replacing my tanks in the next few years.

The real joke is the tubes are secured by shutoff vale. The only time they could leak more than a few ounces of fuel is when checking the fuel quantity and I'm staring at them.

Some of you guys got to get out more into the real world and see what is being used on boats all over the place. Not everyone shops down the street at West marine every weekend...

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Maybe i should hyave used the word fail in stead of dissolve.
So if the tube leaks then their is an automatic shut off valve that seal off the site glass? I've never seen that, all i have seen are simply a tube connected to the tank with maybe a manual valve. My experiance is with large tanks and fuel is always in the glass registering the level in the tank.
Now i am not a chemical engineer but was involved in testing of different types styles of portable fuel tanks for CARB. When i asked our chemical engineers why it was necessary to include specific requirments as to the type of plastics used in the construction of hoses nozzles tanks, they looked at me like i was an idiot, repling, "don't you realize that most plastics are made from petrochemicals and as such may be prone to failure when used to contain petrochemicals or fuels? That plastics must be formulated for the purpose for which they are intended and only plastics certified for fuel use may be used for fuels." We did have issues with five gallon water jugs people were buying for gasoline when the new cans hit the market with the no drip or spill nozzles. People were buying them to use for fuel because they cost $5 and the new cans for fuel at that time cost around $20. Same can as far as shape size just different spout. The water jugs were not required to have the no spill drip spouts like the fuel cans were.

bfloyd4445 said:

Maybe i should hyave used the word fail in stead of dissolve.
So if the tube leaks then their is an automatic shut off valve that seal off the site glass? I've never seen that, all i have seen are simply a tube connected to the tank with maybe a manual valve. My experiance is with large tanks and fuel is always in the glass registering the level in the tank.
Now i am not a chemical engineer but was involved in testing of different types styles of portable fuel tanks for CARB. When i asked our chemical engineers why it was necessary to include specific requirments as to the type of plastics used in the construction of hoses nozzles tanks, they looked at me like i was an idiot, repling, "don't you realize that most plastics are made from petrochemicals and as such may be prone to failure when used to contain petrochemicals or fuels? That plastics must be formulated for the purpose for which they are intended and only plastics certified for fuel use may be used for fuels." We did have issues with five gallon water jugs people were buying for gasoline when the new cans hit the market with the no drip or spill nozzles. People were buying them to use for fuel because they cost $5 and the new cans for fuel at that time cost around $20. Same can as far as shape size just different spout. The water jugs were not required to have the no spill drip spouts like the fuel cans were.

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Manual shutoff....how complicated can some of you guys make this?

I just deleted a long answer about chemical engineering, vinyl tubing and the realities of keeping life simple...

So in short...read my first sentence...

psneeld said:

Manual shutoff....how complicated can some of you guys make this?

I just deleted a long answer about chemical engineering, vinyl tubing and the realities of keeping life simple...

So in short...read my first sentence...

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use walmart tubing if u like to save a buck. My intent was simply to point out the many diferent plastics each designed for a specific purpose and improper choice for the application can pose potential hazard.
Is your life not worth the extra 50 cents?

rwidman said:

Since Boaters World closed, WM is the only game in my town.

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There are a few others. Defender and Hamilton Marine are the first two to come to mind. Defender has a good website, reasonable prices and fast shipment.

dwhatty said:

There are a few others. Defender and Hamilton Marine are the first two to come to mind. Defender has a good website, reasonable prices and fast shipment.

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Apparently I wasn't clear. West Marine is the only local boating retailer left in my town (and many others). Of course there are many Internet vendors. I use defender's prices to get West Marine to price match. I have an account at defender and buy stuff from them that is not available locally.

rwidman said:

Apparently I wasn't clear. West Marine is the only local boating retailer left in my town (and many others). Of course there are many Internet vendors. I use defender's prices to get West Marine to price match. I have an account at defender and buy stuff from them that is not available locally.

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Plus local marinas that sell stuff or can order it.....