I am considering a mechanical fuel gauge on top of fuel tank

[GRAY D]

Would anyone know what moeller mechanical fuel gauge would be appropriate for 2003 Tournament 22’. I guess what I am really asking is, how deep is this 96 gal tank?
understand that I could just uncork the tank and measure with a stick. But, I am lazy.

 

[Parthery]

Welcome to the forum.

A quick call to GW customer service at 252-752-2111 will get you the answer.

if you are concerned about accuracy, swap the sender for a WEMA that is custom cut to the depth of the tank. Connect it to your fuel gauge in the speedo. Or, better yet, consider a fuel flow meter (Garmin GFS 10) connected to your MFD. Knowing you pumped in 50 gallons and burned 40 is super accurate.

 

[seasick]

Why a mechanical sender? I think you are asking about a sender with a built-in gauge. Is that so?

Pulling the sender to check the gas is nuts and dangerous. If the tank happens to be kind of full, gas will pour out when you loosen the sender flange. You also don't want to remove and replace the sender screws more than necessary.
My advice? The fuel measurements are not super reliable, A lot depends on the angle of the tank bottom which changes with load and passenger.equipment placement. That said is is a decent approximation if you understand what the levels mean based on conditions. Just you going aft to 'stick' the tank will affect the measurement since load has moved aft and the tank will read fuller than it is.

 

[GRAY D]

Why a mechanical sender? I think you are asking about a sender with a built-in gauge. Is that so?

Pulling the sender to check the gas is nuts and dangerous. If the tank happens to be kind of full, gas will pour out when you loosen the sender flange. You also don't want to remove and replace the sender screws more than necessary.
My advice? The fuel measurements are not super reliable, A lot depends on the angle of the tank bottom which changes with load and passenger.equipment placement. That said is is a decent approximation if you understand what the levels mean based on conditions. Just you going aft to 'stick' the tank will affect the measurement since load has moved aft and the tank will read fuller than it is.

Good info! Yes built-in gauge. Thank you!

 

[GRAY D]

Welcome to the forum.

A quick call to GW customer service at 252-752-2111 will get you the answer.

if you are concerned about accuracy, swap the sender for a WEMA that is custom cut to the depth of the tank. Connect it to your fuel gauge in the speedo. Or, better yet, consider a fuel flow meter (Garmin GFS 10) connected to your MFD. Knowing you pumped in 50 gallons and burned 40 is super accurate.

Thank you! What is WEMA and MFD? Your recommendation sounds a hell of a lot smarter.

 

[SkunkBoat]

MFD= Multi Function Display


No gauge is "extremely" accurate. There are a lot of factors including how you filled up..on trailer?..in water with boat leaning toward dock because of your weight?..somebody standing on the bow?...

A "belly" tank holds less fuel in the bottom third of the tank because of the shape.....


The LEAST accurate fuel gauge is a mechanical one. You probably won't find one for such a large built in tank because nobody uses them.

The next one up is the good old float arm sending unit. Pain in the a... to install and get right....

WEMA is a brand name(which has changed to KUS) for the new style of sending unit which is superior to the previous two.

 

[GRAY D]

Much thanks! I really appreciate your responses. I am 72 years old, bought the 225 new in 2003 and just love it. Use to work on outboards up until 1986... lots of new stuff I do not know about. Went to Johnson, OMC, Chrysler, and Volvo mechanics schools. But that was 30+ years ago.

 

[GRAY D]

 

[Sparkdog118]

Look into the Yamaha oem fuel management gage. It gives fuel used, and when hooked up the gps output NEMA 0182 wire ( blue on the Garmin) it gives you the instant mpg reading. If you cut the data plug off the back of the gage and splice the white wire of the gage to the blue output of the gps the mpg function will work. It is super accurate and I have them on both of my boats. They work so well, I don’t pay much attention to the fuel tank gage.

 

[seasick]

Much thanks! I really appreciate your responses. I am 72 years old, bought the 225 new in 2003 and just love it. Use to work on outboards up until 1986... lots of new stuff I do not know about. Went to Johnson, OMC, Chrysler, and Volvo mechanics schools. But that was 30+ years ago.

The gauges still work the same as they did 30 years ago.
Do the pink wire test first because if it doesn't show the gauge is working, a new sender, old mechanical or tube type (HUS/WEMA brand) isn't going to help

 

[Boomhauer]

Hi,
I have a 1983 226 seafarer.
A few years ago I replaced the old unreliable electrical sending unit/gauge with a swing arm moller (sp) with a built it gauge.... I had to measure the depth of the tank with a dowel.
I then replaced the inspection plate over it with a clear one.... now I can easily see The gauge through the plate.... no more electrical gremlins etc.... works great

 

[fastexas]

I did the same with my '05 225 tournament. Moeller 14" arm gauge fit exactly, and gives reliable readings. Just flip up the inspection plate & take a look.

 

[seasick]

I did the same with my '05 225 tournament. Moeller 14" arm gauge fit exactly, and gives reliable readings. Just flip up the inspection plate & take a look.

The though makes me cringe a bit. Back in my younger days, I had a car (sporty little british thing) that had the fuel filler mounted on top of the trunk area. In those days, I didn't have a lot of money and gas was pretty cheap about 35 cents a gallon. So I would buy a dollars work of gas at a time. The problem was that the gas gauge didn't read levels that low so I carried a stick that I would put into the tank to measure how much gas I had and therefore be able to estimate how far I could drive
To be totally transparent, In the years I drove that car, I ran out of gas twice and one was waiting at the gas station for the pump to free up. So in a way, my mechanical gas gauge worked pretty well.

 

[GRAY D]

I did the same with my '05 225 tournament. Moeller 14" arm gauge fit exactly, and gives reliable readings. Just flip up the inspection plate & take a look.

So the 14” arm sender unit fits the same hole and screws as the electric unit? Just remove and replace?

 

[georgemjr]

The WEMA would be a factory replacement and likely what is wrong with your gauge. If that is the only thing that is wrong, the simplest fix is to replace with a new one. Six screws and two wires and the dash gauge will work like factory new. I have replaced them on my Grady and Regulator and they have worked perfect ever since. Not sure what benefit you see in the mechanical one.

 

[fastexas]

So the 14” arm sender unit fits the same hole and screws as the electric unit? Just remove and replace?

Gray D...yes the 14" model fits bolt-in. same holes, just use the new screws and gasket supplied with the unit.
I found a schematic of the 92 gallon GW fuel tank on-line, and the depth of the tank at the aft end of the tank was 14". so just a bit deeper where the gauge/ sender arm sits.
Close enough!