Gas gauge calibration....

[Moose-Hunter]

Howdy All....

I found out yesterday that the dash mounted gas gauge in my Lund may need to be calibrated. I have Yamaha gauges and a 15 gallon built it tank in my 1997 Lund Angler SS.

At the station (the tank was empty) I turned on the gauges and proceeded to fill in my gas. I had a bit over four gallons in before the gauge even started to read. The gauge then went up towards the full mark and peaked out as I reached about the 12 gallon mark on the pump. I continued to fill until I heard the gas coming up the pipe. Total fill was 14.7 gallons. It's sort of nice knowing that when the needle is on the "E", I still have gas to make it back to the dock. BUT.... I'd rather have my gauge read accurately and know when it's about time to paddle, rather than trust a make-believe reserve system.

Can I do the calibration of the gauge myself, or does this mean a trip to the dealer?

Thanks.....

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M-H (aka: Dan)

[kwkfsh]

Thats all well and good, but you need to remember that the gauge can read much different with the boat in the water, than with it on the trailer.

This depends on the angle the boat sits at in the water as well as where the sending unit is positioned in relation to the front/back of tank.

A good check would be to run the gauge down to say 1/4 tank with the boat at rest in the water. Then fill it up and see how much is left in the tank in a real world scenario. This will give you a base as to how much range/reserve you have left at 1/4 tank.

Also a good rule to follow for long distances is to allocate your fuel by thirds. Use 1/3 for going out, this leaves 1/3 for coming back, with 1/3 left for reserve in case of a problem (damaged prop, eng trouble, or other unforseen issues which can cause you to burn more fuel.

[kwkfsh]

Thats all well and good, but you need to remember that the gauge can read much different with the boat in the water, than with it on the trailer.

This depends on the angle the boat sits at in the water as well as where the sending unit is positioned in relation to the front/back of tank.

A good check would be to run the gauge down to say 1/4 tank with the boat at rest in the water. Then fill it up and see how much is left in the tank in a real world scenario. This will give you a base as to how much range/reserve you have left at 1/4 tank.

Also a good rule to follow for long distances is to allocate your fuel by thirds. Use 1/3 for going out, this leaves 1/3 for coming back, with 1/3 left for reserve in case of a problem (damaged prop, eng trouble, or other unforseen issues which can cause you to burn more fuel.

[waterwolff]

Dan same problem here It is a common problem and I don't believe the problem can be corrected by simply calibrating the sending unit. I believe that Levorsi Marine manufactures a after market sending unit to correct the problem it involves pulling out your sending unit measuring the tank from the bottom to top giving them that measurement and they will send you a new sending unit. The problem as I see it is in the fact that the sending unit you have now is located at the rear of the tank which is located toward the rear of the boat so as the boat sits in the water at a slight pitch down at the rear the sending unit sits on more fuel for a longer period than if the boat were plumb so when the gage finally starts to drop it really drops quickly