dip stick

[Mike Devins]

With years of the experimentation I have still not found a way to use a dip stick in a gas tank that is really readable.

please tell me it is not a carbon fiber stick.

[chuck cecil]

5/16" Wooden dowel with notches for each gallon.

[S Lathrop]

Have you thought about something like this:

FUELHAWK UNIVERSAL 16 INCH FUEL GAUGE from Aircraft Spruce?

[glenn cooper]

100% that this is an impersonator, pretending to be "Mike Devins".
The Mike Devins I know is a pretty sharp guy.
I call BS on this whole thread .

[Neil_Roberts]

Here is my solution. It works really well for me.

[Albatross]

Took a yard stick and cut it off at the 16" mark.. Painted the metric side with flat black. Easier to see the wet gasoline against the flat black in the sun. Put in 1 gal of gas and marked it on the opposite side which just happened to be at the 2 inch mark, 2 gal of gas registered at the 4 inch mark, 3 gal at the 5 1/2 inch mark, 4 gal at the 8 1/8th inch mark. etc. 16inch dip stick fits nicely in my tool box. Wife didn't notice the missing yard stick - yet.

[alangbaker]

Here is my solution. It works really well for me.

An engineer's solution! Very nice.

Took a yard stick and cut it off at the 16" mark.. Painted the metric side with flat black. Easier to see the wet gasoline against the flat black in the sun. Put in 1 gal of gas and marked it on the opposite side which just happened to be at the 2 inch mark, 2 gal of gas registered at the 4 inch mark, 3 gal at the 5 1/2 inch mark, 4 gal at the 8 1/8th inch mark. etc. 16inch dip stick fits nicely in my tool box. Wife didn't notice the missing yard stick - yet.

And for a small bribe, I won't tell her the next time we're at the track together.

[Jasonrmbell]

Pump Out

[jaltaman]

Hi Mike.

Well, this is a first - me having an answer for you!

Here's exactly what you're looking for:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Fuel-S...ick,76656.html

At $54 it is overpriced, but after using it now for a few months it's been worth it - no more pumping gas. We actually took our own shrink tubing and used it to mark the levels on our stick as the shrink tubing they include was pretty weak. But other than that, it does exactly what we wanted - it measures the fuel level accurately and quickly.

Cheers,

John

[racerdad2]

Thx for sharing !

[Mike Devins]

100% that this is an impersonator, pretending to be "Mike Devins".
The Mike Devins I know is a pretty sharp guy.
I call BS on this whole thread .

OK the is the issue the fuel evaporates so fast that it is hard to get a good reading and FUELHAWK pipette may be the trick.

Thanks

[Mike Devins]

or maybe I just need a set of younger eyes to read the wooden dowel, it seemed to work OK 15 years ago.

[Firesmith]

When I was looking for a dowel to use as my fuel dipstick, I happened upon one I had stained for a project and used only a portion. It had stain only, no final finish like poly or lacquer. It works great! My old eyes, and those of my crewman who refuses to wear his glasses, can see the level just fine. Use a dark stain and your problem is solved for minimal cost!

[brownslane]

I use an antique mortuary measuring stick. It is old pine, and graduated. It darkens up with the fuel so shows up well. And it is really cool!

I really like the pipette however.

T

[David Locke]

Hi Mike.

Well, this is a first - me having an answer for you!

Here's exactly what you're looking for:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Fuel-S...ick,76656.html

At $54 it is overpriced, but after using it now for a few months it's been worth it - no more pumping gas. We actually took our own shrink tubing and used it to mark the levels on our stick as the shrink tubing they include was pretty weak. But other than that, it does exactly what we wanted - it measures the fuel level accurately and quickly.

Cheers,

John

John, do you poke this stick down through the fuel cell foam? If so, how do you avoid shredding the foam?

[Dick R.]

I use thin wall PVC pipe (with holes in the pipe) inserted through the foam of my 85 VD. Since the filler angle doesn't allow a straight dip stick I use black fuel hose with small ty-wraps as gallon markings (calibrated). The fuel shows up pretty clearly on the dull hose.

[rickb99]

John, do you poke this stick down through the fuel cell foam? If so, how do you avoid shredding the foam?

I have the same question of any of the above people who stick rods, sticks or probes in to the cell foam?

Having experienced small 'chips' of foam plugging an in line fuel filter and causing a high speed miss during a race, I just cannot imagine damaging the foam like the above would seem to.

[Dick R.]

I assume pushing/pulling a stick through foam would damage foam going in and tend to wipe the fuel off coming out. Hence my PVC tube.

[David Locke]

I assume pushing/pulling a stick through foam would damage foam going in and tend to wipe the fuel off coming out. Hence my PVC tube.

The Fuel Safe Fuel Level Indicator Stick that John provided a link for involves the fuel entering a clear fill tube via a one-way check valve in the bottom of the stick, so there shouldn't be a problem with wiping the fuel off when you pull it out. How did you insert your PVC tube through the fuel cell foam without chipping the foam?

[jaltaman]

Sorry for the delayed reply - been out doing "honey do's" all day.

We don't have any issues with the foam and the plastic tube doesn't damage it at all. You just insert it in the top of the tank and gently tap it up and down a little as you feed it in until you feel it at the bottom of the tank. It works like a charm.

I do like the dark stain on the wooden dowel idea - I never thought of that.

[Dick R.]

How did you insert your PVC tube through the fuel cell foam without chipping the foam?

Carefully when access was good prior to installing the filler neck and/or putting the cell in the car.

[alangbaker]

Sorry for the delayed reply - been out doing "honey do's" all day.

We don't have any issues with the foam and the plastic tube doesn't damage it at all. You just insert it in the top of the tank and gently tap it up and down a little as you feed it in until you feel it at the bottom of the tank. It works like a charm.

I do like the dark stain on the wooden dowel idea - I never thought of that.

I've now done both of those: I carefully fed a plastic tube down through the foam to the bottom of the tank when I was initially installing the cell after it was refurbished, and now I've lightly painted one side of my dip stick with black spray paint; avoiding a glossy finish by only applying very little paint.

[Albatross]

The question arises as to how to insert the stick, rod or probe into and down to the bottom of the fuel cell without damaging the foam.. With my fuel cell, the filler opening is located near the back facilitating the careful insertion between the foam and the back of the tank without damage to either. The probe hardly makes contact with the foam material. Naturally, a nice sanded smooth and rounded end should have been made on the end of the probe to preclude any damage. The fuel filter inserted just before the fuel pump and changed annually never has contained any fuel cell material in five years. For those who have a centrally located filler neck, I too would be concerned with damage to the foam with often repeated insertions. Contact your fuel cell manufacturer for suggestions.

[john f]

I use the attached digital manometer with a permanently mounted tube in my cell. My filler neck is not straight and does not allow a "stick" of any kind. I measure the static pressure in the tube by pumping some air into the tube using a pressure bulb from a blood pressure cuff. I calibrated the system in Mb as it gives a larger scale in my case. A small conversion chart is taped to the meter and with a couple quick pumps the static pressure is reached and reading taken. The tube is in the fill neck and easy to hook to and always available. Works on any tank of any car as long as you calibrate for the particular tank. Just my $0.02.

john f


http://www.amazon.com/Test-Instrumen...ital+manometer

[rickb99]

...... The fuel filter inserted just before the fuel pump and changed annually never has contained any fuel cell material in five years......

Well, we did in only three years, Clayton

Forty minute race at Pacific Raceway. Jeff was right on the rear of Mike Lensen contending for a win in FC when all of a sudden, the car started missing as he grabbed 4th coming out of Turn 9. Then misfired all the way to Turn 2. Post race, I took the in line filter just before the fuel pump off and there, BEHOLD! two tiny pieces of fuel cell form. And yes, the filter was a 'new that season' flavor.

Cell was never poked or prodded with sticks, wands or tubes.

[Rick Kirchner]

I use the PVC pipe in the cell trick, carved the foam away so that there's a groove for it to sit in. You have to really swiss-cheese the pipe or it becomes quite tedious and slow to fuel the car. I rounded the bottom edge to prevent it from wearing the bottom of the cell.

For a stick I used a piece of steel strapping. folded the end over so no sharp edges at the bottom, rolled the top into a finger-pull, painted the length and did the one-gallon-at-a-time trick. Incredibly non-linear!

[Steve Demeter]

Put the dip stick in the PVC pipe to avoid false readings from touching wet foam on the way down.

[dereklola]

I use the attached digital manometer .............

John - I know what a manometer is - but could you please explain how you measure fuel level with your arrangement? What do the two quick pumps of air into the tube do? Maybe I just suddenly got senile! Thx - Derek

[DaveW]

John - I know what a manometer is - but could you please explain how you measure fuel level with your arrangement? What do the two quick pumps of air into the tube do? Maybe I just suddenly got senile! Thx - Derek

I think the air displaces the fuel in the tube. Reading the pressure needed to do that gives you, indirectly, the head-pressure of the fuel at the bottom of the cell. Calculating the height is then a matter of converting that pressure to height using the fuel's density as a conversion factor.

[rickb99]

....... the head-pressure of the fuel at the bottom of the cell. Calculating the height is then a matter of converting that pressure to height using the fuel's density as a conversion factor.

Wholly math Batman!

[john f]

John - I know what a manometer is - but could you please explain how you measure fuel level with your arrangement? What do the two quick pumps of air into the tube do? Maybe I just suddenly got senile! Thx - Derek

The bottom of the tube in the cell is open to the fuel. The system is sealed except for that. By pumping air into the system you must raise the pressure enough for air to bubble out the bottom of the tube. The taller the fuel above, the higher the pressure to create the bubbles, or the higher the static pressure. Calibrate the system by adding 1 gallon at a time, record static pressure, and you are done. I have a 7 gallon wedge tank in my Tiga and have used this for 3 years now. The 1 & 2 gallon readings are a little iffy because of the large area but from there very accurate. It also beats trying to fish a wire down the filler to get a reading. I have not run out of fuel since putting this system in.

john f

[DaveW]

I think the air displaces the fuel in the tube. Reading the pressure needed to do that gives you, indirectly, the head-pressure of the fuel at the bottom of the cell. Calculating the height is then a matter of converting that pressure to height using the fuel's density as a conversion factor.

The bottom of the tube in the cell is open to the fuel. The system is sealed except for that. By pumping air into the system you must raise the pressure enough for air to bubble out the bottom of the tube. The taller the fuel above, the higher the pressure to create the bubbles, or the higher the static pressure. Calibrate the system by adding 1 gallon at a time, record static pressure, and you are done. I have a 7 gallon wedge tank in my Tiga and have used this for 3 years now. The 1 & 2 gallon readings are a little iffy because of the large area but from there very accurate. It also beats trying to fish a wire down the filler to get a reading. I have not run out of fuel since putting this system in.

john f

While one COULD calculate as I suggested, the empirical way you described is much easier and more accurate. Sorry I rambled off into an excessively complex discussion!

[dereklola]

..... the air displaces the fuel in the tube

..... pumping air into the system you raise the pressure enough for air to bubble out the bottom .....

Obvious really - maybe I was just sleepy (not senile) last night.

[Pi_guy]

While one COULD calculate as I suggested, the empirical way you described is much easier and more accurate. Sorry I rambled off into an excessively complex discussion!

Yes but that is why we enjoy your output, you are always teaching us something.

[john f]

If you goggle "tank bubble gauge" you will find that this is a very common way of measuring tank levels in very large storage tanks. It is where I got the idea from. Just applied it to a smaller scale. There are no new ideas, just ideas re-applied to a different application.

john f

[dereklola]

Why do you need to 'blow out' the fuel - can't you just measure the static pressure ('head' of fuel) at the bottom of the cell - assuming you have a low mounted 'fuel-out' port?

[john f]

Why do you need to 'blow out' the fuel - can't you just measure the static pressure ('head' of fuel) at the bottom of the cell - assuming you have a low mounted 'fuel-out' port?

Yes, if you have a low mounted fuel out. How many cars have that? Also, the outlet will have to be right at the bottom or you will not be able to measure to the bottom of the cell. If the outlet is down low but has a dip tube to get to the bottom inside the cell the amount below the outlet will be unreadable unless you "blow out" the dip tube part. The blowing out gets you a reading on the total head.

john f

[DaveW]

Yes, if you have a low mounted fuel out. How many cars have that? Also, the outlet will have to be right at the bottom or you will not be able to measure to the bottom of the cell. If the outlet is down low but has a dip tube to get to the bottom inside the cell the amount below the outlet will be unreadable unless you "blow out" the dip tube part. The blowing out gets you a reading on the total head.

john f

Also, if the manometer is higher or lower than the bottom of the cell, and fuel goes all the way to the gauge, you will get an error due to that height (and head-pressure) difference. With fuel all the way to the gauge, if the gauge is higher than the cell bottom, you will read less than correct, and if the gauge is lower, you will read more. So the most fool-proof way is the "tank-bubble-gauge" method john f described.