Re: Faria fuel guage and sender
The problem with fuel gauges on a boat are primarily related to the shape of the fuel tank. Tanks are generally long, wide, and shallow so there is a lot of sloshing going on. Put cork on a wavy lake and you can envision what goes on with the sender. Couple that with the fact that the "attitude" of the tank changes dramatically with speed. Sitting at the dock is the best time to check fuel level -- and remember this is a fuel level gauge, not a fuel amount gauge. Depending on the shape of the tank 1/2 full may actually be only 1/3 full as you could figure out using a cone shaped cup. Fill that cup half full and you can see where there would be much more fuel in the top half than the bottom. Moving on -- when you hit the throttle, the bow of the boat goes up, fuel goes to the back of the tank and the fuel gauge responds accordingly. Once on plane you get a different reading which will vary by how hard you are hitting waves. So - the long and short of this is to fill your tank either at a marina or gas station. With the boat stopped, in the water, verify that the gauge shows full. If not, note what is actually reads. Go boating and when you are done for the day, stop the boat and note the reading again. Now either at a marina or gas station, fill the boat to determine how much fuel you used. If you have a 40 gallon tank and it took 20 gallons of the fuel to refill, but the gauge showed between 1/4 and 1/2 (say 1/3 full) you now know that you have roughly 20 gallons of fuel when the gauge is in that 1/3 position (with the boat stopped). Of course the opposite can also happen -- it all depends on the sender arm adjustment. You obviously know when your tank is full. You want to calibrate the gauge so you know when the tank is empty.
