2004 fourwinns vista 288 port gas going fast!

[ingham01952]

I have a 2004 four wins Vista 288 with dual Volvo penta 5.0. Picture attached. I have dual 60 gallon fuel tanks that are controlled by shut off valves in the event you want to direct one tank to both engines, etc.. I have questioned whether or not these gauges are accurate or in sync. I learned the hard way that empty on port tank, is in fact emtpy. The reason I put myself in that position is that I had same amount of fuel in both tanks and noticed the port fuel tank depleting much faster than the starboard. Yesterday I put in over 50 gallons each tank. I noticed the port tank once again significantly lower after a couple hours of use. I put in another 20 gallons and after about an hour of use I noticed it again lower than the starboard tank. My thought is that though the valves are wide-open, they are possibly misscalibrated? Picture attached.

 

[alldodge]

Boats always burn a lot of fuel but one motor will not burn a lot more then the other unless there is a problem with the motor. So unless your leaking it out somewhere, then it might just be the valves.

The one in the middle should be closed, this way port motor burns from port tank, and starboard burns from starboard.

With the center valve open, both motors will pull fuel from the tank with the least resistance and appears to be from port side

Only time to open the center valve is if there is a problem with one of the tanks and you can then run from just the other

 

[ingham01952]

Boats always burn a lot of fuel but one motor will not burn a lot more then the other unless there is a problem with the motor. So unless your leaking it out somewhere, then it might just be the valves.

The one in the middle should be closed, this way port motor burns from port tank, and starboard burns from starboard.

With the center valve open, both motors will pull fuel from the tank with the least resistance and appears to be from port side

Only time to open the center valve is if there is a problem with one of the tanks and you can then run from just the other

OK, so that center valve is allowing each engine to pull from both tanks? So basically at the moment with how the valves are my tanks are not consolidated per engine?

 

[alldodge]

OK, so that center valve is allowing each engine to pull from both tanks? So basically at the moment with how the valves are my tanks are not consolidated per engine?

Correct

 

[ESGWheel]

Here are the diagrams of the three configurations that would normally be used. They are Both Tanks, Port Only and Stbd Only. Your pictured configuration not only causes confusion as you have experienced but could very well draw air into the fuel system.

Additionally, there is no ‘calibration’ of the values, they are (or rather should be) only fully open or fully closed. And there is no synchronization between the tank gauges, they are their own independent level meters.

One of the guidelines for how much fuel to load is 1/3 of the tank to get out to where you are going, 1/3 to get back and 1/3 in reserve. To that end, depending on how the boat rides and how easy to get to the values, you may consider running on the Port Only tank with the Stbd in reserve (or vice versa). This way when you notice you need to swap tanks, it’s a good reminder you have only so much left. Might be interesting to know how other dual engine& tanks folks manage this. If you are suggest posting that question in the “Non-Repair I/O and Inboards” forum.

 

[ingham01952]

Correct

Thank you!

 

[ingham01952]

Th

Here are the diagrams of the three configurations that would normally be used. They are Both Tanks, Port Only and Stbd Only. Your pictured configuration not only causes confusion as you have experienced but could very well draw air into the fuel system.

Additionally, there is no ‘calibration’ of the values, they are (or rather should be) only fully open or fully closed. And there is no synchronization between the tank gauges, they are their own independent level meters.

One of the guidelines for how much fuel to load is 1/3 of the tank to get out to where you are going, 1/3 to get back and 1/3 in reserve. To that end, depending on how the boat rides and how easy to get to the values, you may consider running on the Port Only tank with the Stbd in reserve (or vice versa). This way when you notice you need to swap tanks, it’s a good reminder you have only so much left. Might be interesting to know how other dual engine& tanks folks manage this. If you are suggest posting that question in the “Non-Repair I/O and Inboards” forum.

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View attachment 400745Thank you for the help!