Where does your fuel sender float rest?

[danielhv]

I think mine sits on top of one of the stiffeners... (Inverted setup) I bent the wire according to the directions (including the little 90 degree bend that keeps it from swiveling)... Is this right? If not... my only options are to shorten the wire or replace it.... And how do I tell if its able to make full travel? I cant see it once the rear baffle is clecoed on...

[danielhv]

ok, I got a meter and put it on Ohms... and I have .247 empty... I flipped the tank upside down and have .032 full. Sound right?

[RV10Rob]

Mine hits the top and bottom skins. It was a huge pain to bend it just right to avoid the stiffeners, especially since I had to do it with the baffle already on (QB tanks). With the senders installed you only have the fuel pickup and drain holes to work with. I used a bent up wire coat hangar to push the float up and down, then I would shine a flashlight in one hole while looking in the other to see where it was hitting. I removed the senders, adjusted the bend, reinstalled, and repeated about 10-15 times before I got it right.

If I had it to do over again, I'd just let it hit the stiffeners... I don't think the little extra matters much. Plus, if it hits the stiffeners cleanly, you don't have to worry about it getting wedged against the side of a stiffener someday.

-Rob

[RV10Rob]

Originally Posted by danielhv

ok, I got a meter and put it on Ohms... and I have .247 empty... I flipped the tank upside down and have .032 full. Sound right?

I don't remember the values... look at the documentation that came with the senders and make sure neither of those numbers is the maximum/minimum.

[danielhv]

Originally Posted by RV10Rob

I don't remember the values... look at the documentation that came with the senders and make sure neither of those numbers is the maximum/minimum.

The documentation says nothing about this... The plans however say .032 for full, and .240 for empty... will the .007 make a difference?

[lorne green]

I had the same thing when I mounted mine. The float came to rest on top of a fuel tank stiffener.
I removed the float from the wire holder and reversed its orientation 180*.
There, it should drop on top of the wing skin bottom now. Your ohm value is correct for full/empty.
The orientation of the fuel sender (with the wings..as in level flight) should be angled downward.
Regards,

[RV10Rob]

If you're getting the minimum resistance reading when full, how do you know you're not getting the minimum reading when 60% or 80% of full? Same thing with the maximum resistance.

Seems to me you'd want to move the float so that it's just off the top/bottom and make sure you're still not getting that minimum/maximum. Alternatively, if you're using an EMS, you could make it so you get not quite to the min/max when full/empty and the calibration will take care of it.

Of course, senders aren't that accurate, so you could also just not worry about it

-Rob