How does your gas gage read?

dropout

Both of my Faria gas gages read at the 3/4 mark when it's full. 

LaRea

Mine are accurate.  In other words, full means full and empty means empty.  

What they lack is precision.  They only read to the nearest 1/8th of a tank (+/- 7 gallons on my 115 gallon tanks).  The sensor builder, ISSOPRO, says they should be good to around 1/20th of a tank (+/- 3 gallons).  I'm not sure why, but at least they are consistent.

Are all of your other gauges reading normal?

youstolemybeer

every boat I have owned, the gas gauge is usually just an estimate. 
The only time a boat has too much gas is when its on fire.  Fill the tank until gas comes out the vent, then drive for an hour. Fill it again and see how many gallons you went thru/. That will tell you a rough estimate of your gph. and give you an idea of how much gas you need to fill it

Michael T

I think my tanks (2014 Rinker EC 360) read slightly high, certainly 5 gallons per tank maybe more. My boat sits lower in the aft ( about 2.5") due to the larger engines and beefier drive. 8.2 Magnums, B 3X drive. As well I have 3 series 31 AGM house batteries. So I just assume that I have at least 10 gallons less fuel than shows and if I were going  a distance from shore or a distance between gas docks I'd assume that I had even less.

TonyWalker

My experience on the Salt Shaker is that the gas guages are worthless for knowing anything about how much gas is used or is still in the tanks.  The solution is a fuel flow guage.  With that, you will be able to travel with confidemce regarding fuel.  When the fuel guages read empty and that does not mean much.

[Deleted User]

My gas gauge is useless. When the tank is full it is accurate. When the tank is half full it shows it's nearly empty. Kind of like a stopped clock being right twice a day.

I rely on my Floscan gauge for fuel management. It gives me GPH burn readings and a running total of fuel used.

Andy

JoeStang

Mine is actually pretty accurate at rest, with more than a 1/4 tank left.

On plane it registers ~ 1/4 tank more than what I really have, and below 1/4 tank remaining it gets sketchy. I plan on installing a flow meter/gauge at some point, but overall its not terrible.

I just know that I average 12 hours per tank (using 60 gallons out of 68 total capacity), so when I get close to 10 hours usage I plan on filling up soon.

Stodge

Mine read full when the tanks are full.  I have not let the fuel get below 1/4.  

JoeStang, if you have Mercs just get a MercMonitor or VesselView and it will tell you the fuel flow,  gallon usage, and lots of other helpful info.

JoeStang

Yeah I plan on getting the Merc system monitor, just havent yet due to the level gauge being relatively accurate and no real great spot to mount the unit. 

I'd really like the Mercmonitor, but at a grand it's pretty pricey for what it is. 

BellevilleMXZ

I guess I'm not the only one then......mines moves around a lot , over 1/4 difference

rasbury

Nope Belleville....same here. I went out weekend before last and had around a quarter tank- put 25 gallons in and made a trip. Went back to around 1/4. Next day, put 25 gallons in, made the same trip and barley used any gas......I for sure want a fuel flow meter although watching it burn at the rate these boats use fuel might be a little scary!

Michael T

@rasbury, fuel flow is scary? Oh yeah - you want to believe that Ras! At one point this summer I was hauling it down a long lake and was burning 30 gph. I think the most I have burned is 44 gph! I should get a thank you card from Sunoco. :-)

Handymans342

Geez, MT I could get a 45 foot with twin diesels that would burn 44GPH or less

Black_Diamond

My gauges are reasonable accurate.  I added in the TwinScan flow meters several years ago.  Worth the addition plus I know (less the generator usage) to the gallon what I have used, so filling is a breeze.

Michael T

@Steve, well, now you're livin' the dream.....what's stopping you?

Handymans342

A fixed income 

Dream_Inn

MT, this is one topic I hate to top you on.  At 32/33mph, 44gph is about right.  Sometimes, if the wind is at my back, flowing with tide, full moon, etc, I may burn below 40gph at that speed.

Handy, you really truly don't know about twin diesels (maybe that's good, cause we'd really never hear the end of it)?  The 390 with twins burns about 20-25gph at 28-30mph.  A buddy with a 4460 Regal burns in the lower 20'sGPH at 28-30mph (he also has pod drives with his diesels).

MarkB

My 260EC burns 16 gph at 30 to 33 mph.  Ha! That's something I'm proud of!

Handymans342

Thats great DI