Home Cookin'
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- May 26, 2009
- Messages
- 9,715
Re: My family apparently does not belong on the water...
another way the shape of the tank affects things: the boat with the funky guage I described has a very flat belly tank, maybe 4" tall, but holds 20 gallons. theoretically, that shouldn't matter, but we aren't using NASA calibrated sensors here; it's basically a cork on a coathanger. As it drops by quarters (or even eighths) of a tank, there is only a relatively slight drop to the cork, not enough to measure accurately. Then you factor in the slightest change in trim angle--the tank is never level, even at rest. So I say, know your own guage and forget the relationship between actual fuel supply and the hash marks on the dial.
another way the shape of the tank affects things: the boat with the funky guage I described has a very flat belly tank, maybe 4" tall, but holds 20 gallons. theoretically, that shouldn't matter, but we aren't using NASA calibrated sensors here; it's basically a cork on a coathanger. As it drops by quarters (or even eighths) of a tank, there is only a relatively slight drop to the cork, not enough to measure accurately. Then you factor in the slightest change in trim angle--the tank is never level, even at rest. So I say, know your own guage and forget the relationship between actual fuel supply and the hash marks on the dial.
