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Direct Fuel Level Indicator

GrinchF16

Well Known Member
Anyone have SA on where I can get a RV7A Fuel Stick? Or, any thoughts on checking fuel levels….
 
I second the paint stick. Start with an empty tank and just add 2 gallons at a time, using a sharpie to mark the levels. A bare wooden stick is the easier to read over one that has been sealed..
 
Stir Stick

Guys, great input. My goal though is to see how much fuel is currently in the airplane.. I am going to be draining the tanks though so the stir stick idea is a great one.
 
tank indicator

GrinchF16,

You can go "old School" like the Taylorcraft that I have flown and had the cork and wire built into the fuel tank cap. As the fuel was used the end of the wire got lower and the end had an area at the end painted red.

I do like Art"s note of checking on the ground.

Jon
 
A little off topic, does anyone know about the optical “eye” that can set a light off when it senses lack of fuel? I thought I saw something out there that you plum in-line and at the first indication of no fuel, it can alert you that the tank is empty, and you only have what’s in the line.. could be useful for emptying a tank and knowing when to switch tanks without waiting for the engine to surge.
 
Fuel level device

Anyone have SA on where I can get a RV7A Fuel Stick? Or, any thoughts on checking fuel levels….

I have a long, half-inch wide hard plastic tube with a 2-3 mm hole that I probably got at the Home Depot Aviation Supply. It's been so long I have no idea where I got it. If you look up Fuel Level Indicator in ACS it will give you some examples. I put in two gallon increments of fuel and marked the plastic with gently place lines. Works well......
 
A little off topic, does anyone know about the optical “eye” that can set a light off when it senses lack of fuel? I thought I saw something out there that you plum in-line and at the first indication of no fuel, it can alert you that the tank is empty, and you only have what’s in the line.. could be useful for emptying a tank and knowing when to switch tanks without waiting for the engine to surge.

Hmmm, I personally don’t think it’s wise to run so low…YMMV
 
A little off topic, does anyone know about the optical “eye” that can set a light off when it senses lack of fuel? I thought I saw something out there that you plum in-line and at the first indication of no fuel, it can alert you that the tank is empty, and you only have what’s in the line.. could be useful for emptying a tank and knowing when to switch tanks without waiting for the engine to surge.

I installed the Aircraft Extras Fuel Guardian. I placed the sensor to it triggers with a couple gallons left and trips my low fuel annunciator.
https://www.aircraftextras.com/ It's about half way down the page.
 
There are times when making a max range trip, and I’m planning on landing with 5 gallons remaining (45minutes), I would rather have all 5 gallons in my remaining tank than to have 2.5/2.5 per side. The real application that I have in mind is actually on a Rotax powered plane that has a 2.5 gallon header tank. The thinking is that the sensor could alert when the associated wing tank is empty, and only header tank fuel remains. That 2.5 gallons on a rotax powered plane is 30 minutes..
 
A little off topic, does anyone know about the optical “eye” that can set a light off when it senses lack of fuel? I thought I saw something out there that you plum in-line and at the first indication of no fuel, it can alert you that the tank is empty, and you only have what’s in the line.. could be useful for emptying a tank and knowing when to switch tanks without waiting for the engine to surge.

Yes, I have this system on my RV-6.

There are a number of different installation options out there but the one I went for is fitted to the tank access plate from the inside and I used a little Proseal to ensure I don't have any problems. The sensor needs a 4.8 Vdc power supply (I took mine from the GRT EIS 4.8 Vdc output) and then one wire goes to ground and the other is the output. In my case it goes back to the EIS AUX 5 and AUX 6 inputs for left and right tanks. If you run that to an LED warning light you're done. Obviously the location of the sensor will depend how much fuel you have when the light goes on.

The optical sensors are not that expensive and I'm hoping they last forever as they're all solid state with no moving parts.


Cheers,
 
Yes, I have this system on my RV-6.

There are a number of different installation options out there but the one I went for is fitted to the tank access plate from the inside and I used a little Proseal to ensure I don't have any problems. The sensor needs a 4.8 Vdc power supply (I took mine from the GRT EIS 4.8 Vdc output) and then one wire goes to ground and the other is the output. In my case it goes back to the EIS AUX 5 and AUX 6 inputs for left and right tanks. If you run that to an LED warning light you're done. Obviously the location of the sensor will depend how much fuel you have when the light goes on.

The optical sensors are not that expensive and I'm hoping they last forever as they're all solid state with no moving parts.


Cheers,
The one I was thinking of was contained in an inline fitting, so we could hook it up without intruding into the tank.

Did you have a link to the sensor you used? Thanks!
 
The one I was thinking of was contained in an inline fitting, so we could hook it up without intruding into the tank.

Did you have a link to the sensor you used? Thanks!

I used something like this but it was a lot less expensive:

https://nz.rs-online.com/web/p/level-sensors/1936733

If that link doesn't work for you try dropping the "nz" out of the RS-online dot com or look up Honeywell LLE level sensor. There are dozens of different types. SST make them as well. I think they were about US$50 each or something.

Cheers,
 
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