Fuel Consumption/Gauge Problems

[jiggin9]

I own a '98 Lund Pro Sport with a '99 Mercury 90hp outboard and believe I am having issues with fuel consumption. My fuel gauge, which is questionable, was reading half full at the beginning of our journey on LOW. I went approximately 4 miles out to South Buffalo and back with several drifts and a couple other stops on some reefs on the way. Nothing too drastic of a trip. My trip ended up with my brother in law towing me back with an empty fuel tank. I run non-oxygenated premium fuel and I don't run my boat too hard. The pump at the gas station sold me 19 gallons of fuel. I went against my gut feeling and ran with a half a tank of fuel but 9 gallons should be plenty for a partial day out on the lake. My first guess would be that my gas gauge is off, which is the cheapest fix, but the gauge dropped off rather quickly from half to empty. Any suggestions besides remembering to fuel up more often? I've already taken enough grief from my buddies including naming my boat Runnin' on Empty.

[PerchJerker]

Sounds to me like your gas gauge is not very accurate, which is not an uncommon thing for boats. And lots of guys complain that the 2nd half of their gas goes A LOT faster than the 1st half, if just going by the gas gauge. Fortunately you had a tow close by.

[herefish101]

i'll never trust the gas gauge in any boat, too many of them are wrong.

[solbes]

Been there, done that. Out on Pelican with extended family. Out of gas. Trolling battery was sapped (end of weekend). Used starting battery on TM. That ran out and we got out the 2 paddles. Quite a workout to get to some strangers dock.

I always make sure I have plenty of gas now. I will be using the fuel managment feature of my HDS 7, once I calibrate the thing.

[jiggin9]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I will chalk it up as a "lesson learned" on this one. What kind of miles per gallon can I expect out of 90hp Merc? I would guess somewhere around 4 or so. I realize this is dependent on several factors like wind, direction of travel, fuel, motor performance and operator habits.

[JohnMickish]

In my Lund I try to never let it get to half. When it does it takes about 22 gallons to fill the 32 gallon tank. Don't trust it, just fill it.

[harvey lee]

In my Lund I try to never let it get to half. When it does it takes about 22 gallons to fill the 32 gallon tank. Don't trust it, just fill it.

I totally agree Jon. I run on the top half all the time. If I am going to a larger lake, I fill it all the way.

I would rather be safe than out.