View Full Version : Fuel gauge ideas
Flyin Farmer
10-02-2017, 05:16 PM
My model III project is coming together however I have hit a small roadblock. I had planed on using a standard Kitfox fuel level tube for a gauge which I had purchased ,but when I started to install it I found my fiberglass wing tank has no reinforced points for the threaded fittings to go into just a fuel outlet and a breather outlet. I called Kitfox and they said I must have a really old tank and did not recommend drilling into the thin tank wall and therefore I need some means of getting a fuel gauge that will work ,looking for ideas. Thanks
Would you not be able to lay up addtl layers of fiberglass to make the wall as thick as you want and drill through it then?
Eddie
Av8r_Sed
10-02-2017, 07:31 PM
Mine don't use threaded fittings. I drilled and installed rubber bushings and push-in 90 degree fuel fittings. I believe many are done this way. No leaks in 5 years.
Note: Tubing clamps added later
Flyin Farmer
10-03-2017, 04:55 PM
Thank you for the help the rubber grommet and fitting looks like a winner,where did you get them and what size are they? Your placards look great also
Dusty
10-04-2017, 01:35 AM
It looks like you have a wire inside the sight tube.Does this make it easier to see the fuel level?
Dave S
10-04-2017, 05:45 AM
Dusty,
I believe the reason for the wire is to maintain the correct shape of the tygon tubing - a bow in the tygon would affect the accuracy of the sight gauge.
Having the updated version, I can tell you the wire does not help with seeing the fuel level.
Av8r_Sed
10-05-2017, 08:09 PM
The wire doesn't help nor hurt the ability to see the fuel level. The stripes on the placard help a lot due to the diffraction of the fuel in the tube. The stripes appear vertical through the fuel.
Rocketman
10-07-2017, 12:42 PM
I have the sight tubes on my Series V. They were installed 8 years ago and have worked fine. One caution though. When they start to discolor, check them especially carefully to see if they've also hardened. My aircraft is hangared and I thought the discoloration was normal, but during the annual condition inspection, when I touched them, they were hard and actually cracked and crumbled. My recommendation: replace them at the first sign of discoloration and save yourself a leak issue (replacement is easy and inexpensive.)
Av8r_Sed
10-07-2017, 02:05 PM
I replace mine every year. It doesn't take long and all tubing like that seems to degrade quickly when it sees auto gas, ethanol free or not.
Mine has never met gasoline and they are already discoloring.
Guess I’ll be replacing it before adding fuel.
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