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Capacitive Fuel Probes

J

jwilbur

Well Known Member
Has anyone attempted to install the 60" capacitive princeton probes into their RV10? I have my ribs all in place but it seems I should be able to drill through the ribs from the drain to the fuel sleeve and get a true empty to full reading. Any advice? Any reasons not to do this?
 
Only negative is that it's more work and money. My floats do not read the top 5 gallons (between 25 and 30 they read 'full') due to the wing dihedral. But they are remarkably accurate otherwise. And they're backed up by the fuel flow totalizer which is amazingly good, as long as I remember to set it properly after adding gas.
 
I used the Princeton probes but got them from GRT (even though I am going to use an AFS system). They have a pre-bent one for the RV10, all ready to go, in both 3 and 5 set points.
 
Capacitative Fuel Probes: Better?

Are these capacitative fuel probes better (i.e. more accurate) for all ranges of the envelope than the Vans floats?
 
CharlieWaffles said:
I used the Princeton probes but got them from GRT (even though I am going to use an AFS system). They have a pre-bent one for the RV10, all ready to go, in both 3 and 5 set points.
Click to expand...

That was the plan. But after placing the order in February for the pre-bent probes (before I started my tanks) then calling about them every few weeks until June, I decided they probably aren't coming, so I cancelled the order. The guy making the probes seems like a good guy, but he just never made the time to fill my order. So I'm doing them myself. How hard can it be? I've got some scrap tubing to practice with and when I can bend that correctly, I'll do the real thing.
 
I went with the fuel indication system for accuracy, and reliability. Being a retired USAF Flight engineer having good fuel and indications is a must to me.

What I did was buy the RV-9 Cap. kit from vans, that uses 2 plates attached to 2 ribs. Made new plates to fit the RV-10 tanks and then AFS sells the kit to connect to them and will work with the AFS system that i am planning on using.

Was very simple and looks like it is well built and will work just fine for my needs.

Your welcome to contact me and i can send you more info if you need it.

I like the plate ideas way better then the probe ideas.
 
jc11378 said:
...What I did was buy the RV-9 Cap. kit from vans, that uses 2 plates attached to 2 ribs. Made new plates to fit the RV-10 tanks and then AFS sells the kit to connect to them and will work with the AFS system that i am planning on using.

Was very simple and looks like it is well built and will work just fine for my needs.
Click to expand...

John, Any chance you might have some pictures to share?
 
Cap Fuel Indication

Yep I sure do. I will have to down load them from my camera, then upload them I will try and get a post of some pics in a few days.

I am in the process of finishing a annual on our Piper Pa-32 Saratoga and it has to be done by the end of the week or it turns into a pumpkin on Sunday. so that will take priority. But will try and upload soon.


John
 
SkySports

We got some custom length probes from SkySports for our RV-10, and then bent them ourselves to fit. They only measure the fuel in the first bay, so we only measure up to about 25 gallons before they top out.
My understanding is that Aircraft Spruce bought out SkySports, but you can still get custom lengths through Spruce special order.

I thought it was a more elegant solution than floats . . .

Tim
N52KS
 
Princeton probes seem to be working well

I used the Princeton bendable probes in my RV-10. I mounted the base in the lowest position I could in the end of the tank. It has a large base that held it about 1.5" off the bottom of the tank so I bent the probe downward before bending it up on an angle to run the length of the tank to the outer top edge. If I remember correctly, the first 6" or so are not a readable part of the probe output. In any case, I seem to be reading effectively from above the bottom 2.5 gallons to the top 2 gallons.
 
Nick Leonard said:
I used the Princeton bendable probes in my RV-10. I mounted the base in the lowest position I could in the end of the tank. It has a large base that held it about 1.5" off the bottom of the tank so I bent the probe downward before bending it up on an angle to run the length of the tank to the outer top edge. If I remember correctly, the first 6" or so are not a readable part of the probe output. In any case, I seem to be reading effectively from above the bottom 2.5 gallons to the top 2 gallons.
Click to expand...

Nick,

Would you mind posting any pictures you might have?
 
NPT Probes

I've got a set of Princeton's NPT probes. Can anyone tell me what the proper hardware is to mount these to the inboard rib - maybe with some pictures? The probes don't come with any mounting hardware. I've read on one builder's log to use a 1/4" brass compression fitting nut (without the sleeve). This would go on the inside but it seems there should be a washer on the outside. There isn't much there beyond the diameter of the hole it goes through.

Thanks,
 
CharlieWaffles said:
I put nutplates on the inside of the rib and sealed the capacitive sender in place. Sealed under the sender disc and then encapsulated the screw heads as well. Posts with info and pictures:
Click to expand...

What you did will work for the standard probe. But I bought the NPT probes which have the electronics seperately. The probe looks like this:
NPT-Bendable-500x288.jpg


You drill a hole and stick the probe through and then tighten a nut on the inside and then seal it with proseal. With this probe I can get into the second bay and will be able to read closer to full. The thing that looks like a nut just to the right of the threads is fixed and will be on the outside of the rib. What concerns me is the part which stays on the outside is barely larger than the hole you drill to insert the probe. Either a washer is a really good idea or I'm misunderstanding how to install this probe.

Any help out there will be appreciated.
 
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