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 Post subject: fuel level, no sensors.
PostPosted: November 3, 2015, 3:20 pm 
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I'm trying to keep everything as basic as possible. Meaning, minimal electronics. So I don't want to add a float sensor or similar to my fuel cell. What I want to do is use two push to connect fittings from McMaster Carr on the side of the cell. One at the lowest point, and one at just below the top with a clear hose in line with eachother.

The problem is, my fuel cell is only .090" thick aluminum and I don't trust the small amount of thread engagement to keep it from leaking. O-ring is an option. But I still see that being a problem as the fuel drys the O-ring out. I also cannot get on the back side to use a nut to keep it tight.

What are some other fittings I could use to be able to do this? Or other ideas?

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PostPosted: November 3, 2015, 3:52 pm 
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Maybe a sight glass off a hydraulic tank , they come in any length you need. You could install a couple of countersunk rivnuts in your tank and screw the banjo bolts of the sightglass straight into them with a decent sealing washer between the two.

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PostPosted: November 3, 2015, 3:53 pm 
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sen2two wrote:
...Or other ideas?

You could weld in a bung and then thread a swivel 90 into it and you'd be set. Use that PVDF material and you'd have no issues with the o-rings and gasoline interactions.

Cheers!

KS

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PostPosted: November 3, 2015, 3:57 pm 
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Lol...

I was thinking of using the same type of sight glass. But the same problems come when mounting it.

Then I thought I would just make a bung and weld it on. I've already cut the bungs on my lathe and will be welding them on tonight. Hopefully...

So I had the same thoughts in that same order. Cool...

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PostPosted: November 3, 2015, 4:01 pm 
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Stat-O-seals.
http://www.parker.com/literature/Seal%20Group/CSS%205125.pdf

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PostPosted: November 4, 2015, 1:54 am 
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Motorcycles and early VWs just came with an odometer. You filled up by mileage, not fuel level.

Most bikes had a "reserve" setting on the fuel petcock, for those too lazy to keep track of mileage.

Or you could just use a dipstick... if you can't slide one through the filler tube, an AN bulkhead fitting and an AN cap is what many racers use for a dipstick port.

edit: I just read that the Series I Lotus 7s came with a dipstick and a cap on the top of the tank. It wasn't until later that they added a fuel gauge and external filler. "The old cars, you poured petrol onto your luggage. The new cars, you poured it onto your shoes."


Last edited by TRX on December 3, 2015, 7:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: November 4, 2015, 8:23 am 
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McMaster Carr has a tank fitting section. my get you what you need.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#tank-fittings/=znv2lp

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PostPosted: November 4, 2015, 9:53 am 
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Do you have any holes in the bottom of your tank or is it only top access? If you have a drain plug or bottom outlet to the fuel pump, just tee in a gasolene proof clear plastic tube and re-connect it to the top vent hose. The off road guys have been doing that since God invented sand.

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PostPosted: November 4, 2015, 11:27 am 
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if you have any outlet at the bottom of the tank, Toms idea will work.

the top doesn't matter much, it could be connected to the filler neck.

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PostPosted: November 4, 2015, 2:18 pm 
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As mentioned, motorcycles don't have fuel gauges. Just set your trip odometer.

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PostPosted: November 6, 2015, 9:19 am 
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If you tee off the outlet and the vent, then there will be no reason to cut the tank.

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PostPosted: November 6, 2015, 12:58 pm 
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Adding a tee to the fuel line and using the vent is all well and good but if the car was efi or had a bit of thirst there would be a fair chance of the pump dragging the fuel down the sight glass and allowing the pump to suck air. Just thoughts

Bob

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PostPosted: November 6, 2015, 6:17 pm 
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Excellent point!

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PostPosted: November 6, 2015, 7:10 pm 
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Well if the fuel line is not good to tie into, then tie into the drain plug. We all installed a drain plug right?

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PostPosted: November 6, 2015, 9:26 pm 
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bob wrote:
Adding a tee to the fuel line and using the vent is all well and good but if the car was efi or had a bit of thirst there would be a fair chance of the pump dragging the fuel down the sight glass and allowing the pump to suck air. Just thoughts

Bob
As long as you check it with the engine off then it wouldn't matter if it's tapped at the tank outlet.

Had this issue with guys working on boilers and inexperienced techs. They'd check the water height under pressure and it was low, so they'd adj the probes and then it'd read high. Taught them to look at it with the blow-off open and they never had to adjust the probes again!

One hiccup with this method is that it can be inaccurate based on the position of the ports and the angle of the tank. It's needs repeatable level ground to be accurate. It beats a blank, but you have to take it's readings with a knowledgeable grain of salt.

K "leveled" S

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