How important is your fuel gauge?

[slick2526]

How many of you really rely on your fuel gauge? I have read about them being very in accurate. The boat I just bought doesnt have a working one and has a in floor 17 gal tank. Its a 87 alumacraft competitor with a 2000 honda 50hp 4 stroke.

First actual fishing boat I have ever owned so I dont know what to expect or how to judge my gas consumption with out adding in more gas. the motor will be used for basically all my fishing needs.

With a full day of trolling and running the motor full throttle for 15-20 miles how much gas would you guess I would be burning through? Should I even mess with trying to fix the gauge?

[amateurfishing]

im all ears on this one as I have exact same issue.

in the past some have said start with full tank, track miles or time till u run out a few times then average it out, others will say always have spare gas on hand, etc. some will even say boat gas gauges r never reliable so don't even use em. would like to hear some better info than all the above if possible.

[Capt. H (Ret.)]

If your going to run without a fuel gauge then you better carry an extra container of gas. Most of the fuel gauges I have had will bounce around when under way and it may be difficult to actually tell how much fuel is in the tank. I think my gauge is fairly accurate (experience)when the boat is on plane and I get a little nervous when it goes below 1/4 of a tank if I am running any kind of distance. There are many things to keep an eye on when boating, fuel level, oil level, dead man's switch, battery condition, etc, etc.

Good Luck and enjoy your boat!!!!

Mike

[slick2526]

thanks for the info. I would rather have the fuel gauge working but looking at the boat I am going to have to rip up the carpet to get to the fuel tank to replace any parts. I think a extra gas can will be in store the first time out just in case.

[delcecchi]

Use the odometer function of a GPS, hand held or on console. Set it to start at some minimum speed so drifting doesn't count.

After some experimentation you will learn how much time and mileage is safe on a tank of gas.

Does your tank have a reserve valve? Many built in tanks do, like in the day on motorcycles. It is a valve that will cause you to run out of gas with a few gallons actually left so you can turn the valve and use that gas to get to a pump.

[h8go4s]

I have a Classic 165 with a 17-gallon tank and a Yamaha 50 4-stroke. I do boat-in camping/fishing trips of 4-5 days on one tank of gas. Your rig should do just as well. But I always have a spare gallon in the boat and a spare 5 at the campsite. Never had to use either.

[BoxMN]

We had that boat, same year. If I am not mistaken, you can get the floor out over the gas tank, I thought it had a section that was screwed down. I can't recall for sure, but I know our current Alumacraft does, for just that reason.

If I had a broken fuel gauge, I would first try to fix it, second would be to FOR SURE have a little spare gas can, and third would be guesstimating fuel consumption, especially if going on rivers, your guesstimate will never come out right.

Good luck though, you will love the boat, it fishes great and ours was tight as a drum when we sold it after having it and using the heck out of it for 10 years. (First thing to do, is put a small carpeted piece of wood on that rear ledge, so when you rest rods on it they have a cushion instead of bouncing on hard metal. In 88 Alumacraft started doing that ) Also, get the right sized net and it fits perfectly in the splash well, and the cables keep it from flying out!

[slick2526]

that is a good question. I really have no idea if it does and if does where would I look? Right on the tank where the the fuel line is like the old dirt bikes? I didnt know that they made tanks like that for marine applications.

[slick2526]

We had that boat, same year. If I am not mistaken, you can get the floor out over the gas tank, I thought it had a section that was screwed down. I can't recall for sure, but I know our current Alumacraft does, for just that reason.

If I had a broken fuel gauge, I would first try to fix it, second would be to FOR SURE have a little spare gas can, and third would be guesstimating fuel consumption, especially if going on rivers, your guesstimate will never come out right.

Good luck though, you will love the boat, it fishes great and ours was tight as a drum when we sold it after having it and using the heck out of it for 10 years. (First thing to do, is put a small carpeted piece of wood on that rear ledge, so when you rest rods on it they have a cushion instead of bouncing on hard metal. In 88 Alumacraft started doing that ) Also, get the right sized net and it fits perfectly in the splash well, and the cables keep it from flying out!

Glad to hear you liked your boat. Cant wait to use mine! I am assuming it does have a section you can pull out but I think who ever re-carpeted the boat went right over the screws on that panel. I am really going to have to look hard at it this next weekend and see what I can figure out.

[slick2526]

Use the odometer function of a GPS, hand held or on console. Set it to start at some minimum speed so drifting doesn't count.

After some experimentation you will learn how much time and mileage is safe on a tank of gas.

Does your tank have a reserve valve? Many built in tanks do, like in the day on motorcycles. It is a valve that will cause you to run out of gas with a few gallons actually left so you can turn the valve and use that gas to get to a pump.

I was going to do this also. I was figuring I will be setting a lot of starting way points and drawing a route so I have a idea how far I am going wide open and then just timing myself how often/long I have the motor running when trolling or jigging. I will have to play with my humminbird a little bit more to see if I can come up with a odometer feature as you mentioned.

[marine_man]

Once you get access to your fuel sender.. here's a how-to on fixing your problem.. which may or may not reside under the floor:

Fuel Gauge Repair

If you post what's not working about yours we might be able to better help solve the problem.

marine_man

[delcecchi]

Do you have an owner's manual? On my lund it is on the front of the back deck that has the starting battery and a live well.

[raymondk]

with that motor and boat the last thing I would worry about is the fuel guage not working unless you keep it docked on a lake all the time .I just would top it off every 4th or 5th trip and just figure out how much fuel you use no need to worry about carring extra fuel..