Fuel dipstick

[Greg Arehart]

Since fuel-related accidents are among the most common, I thought I would post my fuel dipstick photo here. This is modified from soemthing I read on the forum several years ago, and I really liked the idea. Basically it is a piece of 0.063 Al, 0.75 inches wide, bent at the top end with a hole so it can be attached to the fuel cap (and never lost or forgotten!). The little holes are a #60 drill and I calibrated every half-gallon (actually every gallon then put a midpoint in). Gallons were marked using a HF stamp set ($8.99 on sale). The holes are small enough that fuel stays in place by surface tension, so one simply puts the dipstick in the tank, pulls it out, and by looking through the holes with a light background can see the fuel level. (The two larger holes are simply registration marks from the fabrication process.)

Photo is a bit fuzzy because the closeup on the iPhone isn't the greatest.



Cheers,
greg

[erich weaver]

Hey Greg

Can you really read down to 4 gallons on the RV-9 tanks? On my -7A, anything below about 10 gallons is not visible at the fill port.

erich

[Greg Arehart]

Yep, I did the calibration twice to make sure I hadn't miscounted. Initially I didn't believe it either, although when it was a 9A, I could see/read fuel easily at 5 gallons. This was calibrated with the tailwheel sitting on the ground (as compared to the fuel sender calibration being done when it was in level flight position).

greg

[lostpilot28]

Originally Posted by erich weaver

Hey Greg

Can you really read down to 4 gallons on the RV-9 tanks? On my -7A, anything below about 10 gallons is not visible at the fill port.

erich

Hey Erich, there may be differences in perspective here, but when I have fuel barely on the bottom of the tank (straight down from the hole on a -7A), I think that's about 7 gallons. I only bring it up because I think it's less than 10, and I'd hate for anyone to run out of gas thinking they had more than they actually did.

Greg, I saw the dipstick on your fuel cap last weekend in person...I thought that was really slick. If you ever decide to make a spare set, I'll buy them off you!

[B Cunningham]

Hey Greg,
There is a small business opportunity here. You could sell those! Or even detailed plans for them. (and get a government tax credit )
I'll buy two!

[Greg Arehart]

Ben,

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I think the time necessary to make them would exceed the profit potential. And, each model (maybe even each airplane) is likely to require individual calibration, so it doesn't make a lot of sense to do more than just put it out there (magnanimous guy that I am). However, the idea of being able to write off some expenses (i.e., tools, etc.) makes it a bit more interesting.

cheers,
greg

[Ron Lee]

That is a nice piece of work.

[Sig600]

Looks great! Used to use dipsticks made from wooden dowels when I was instructing in Seminoles, fuel shows up wet on the wood longer than drying off a metal one quickly. Those holes look like a great fix to that problem.