Fuel tank dipstick

[ron ll]

I like using a dipstick for my diesel tanks, don't trust no stinking guages. Had to get a new stick when I replaced the tanks as the old one wouldn't fit. Easy enough, got a 1/4" dowel at the lumber store. Except the wood of the dowel is so porous that the diesel wicks up it before I can pull it out of the tank and get a reading.

So what's the best easiest to read dipstick? A different kind of wood or a different finish on this dowel? White paint? Black paint? Flat black paint? Wax? Oil?

(And no who's got the best dipstick jokes. )

[chainyank]

I put ridges in mine, at every 5 liters (just filled it 5 at a time one day, marking after each time), you could do the same with gallons of course, this gives the fuel a place to land on for the few seconds it take to pull it up.

This is probably nothing new, it is like many oil dipsticks in cars in fact...

Mine is pine, it wicks but not too fast...

[redbopeep]

Any finish you put on it is likely to be damaged by the fuel. Seems like most fuel tanks aren't that deep--can't you just cut yourself a square one out of a hardwood not as likely to soak up the fuel (e.g. hard maple?)...

We have a tank tender which works fine (not a gage thing, it uses air pressure...works great no electricity, etc. We also have valved fittings for sight glasses but haven't put in the sight glasses just because they don't last) but on our previous boat we used one of those fold-up wood rulers. It was easy to stow away when not in use. I have no idea where you'd get one of those now, though.

[Ian McColgin]

My old ash stick works finast kind. The part that gets wet gets gradually darker with periodic oiling. No finish. Marks with magic marker or sharpie last for quite a while but kerfed lines are nicer.

[ron ll]

Yes, certainly easy enough to cut one. Just thought I would see if there was a concensus on what works best.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

My original Chris craft dipstick is raw mahogany, with fractions and lines cut into it.

[Ron Williamson]

Our current one is white cedar.
The broken one is oak.
With no finish,it's pretty easy to see the shine line,but I think that lighter coloured wood is easier yet.
R

[rbgarr]

Square ash stick, finished with a sharp scraper, marked in gallons, kerfed, no problem.

[The Bigfella]

Mine is teak, with saw cuts every 20 litres. It doesn't wick at all.

[brad9798]

My original Chris craft dipstick is raw mahogany, with fractions and lines cut into it.

I think my original one is teak ... I may be wrong.

[Woxbox]

Business plan: Make high quality teak dipsticks and sell them in the WoodenBoat store. Fancy knotted lanyard extra.

[ron ll]

Business plan: Make high quality teak dipsticks and sell them in the WoodenBoat store. Fancy knotted lanyard extra.

Not bad. Of course they would have to be calibrated in inches or cm, not gallons or liters, but still could be nice. Then again, what wooden boat owner wouldn't make her/his own? And of course plastic boat owners all have plastic guages.

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

.
Serenity's tank was a cylinder on its side, strapped up under the foredeck. You had to be careful to make sure the dipstick touched 'bottom dead centre' when reading it. I made mine from merbau (I think -- a hardwood anyway) using sawcuts for the graduations. And because they couldn't be evenly spaced as the cross-section varied with depth, I did what Ian did, adding a pint at a time and then marking the dipstick accordingly.

Mike

[ron ll]

A pint at a time? Seems like the math would be a whole lot easier. But, empirical is good.

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

.
Well, maybe it was a half-gallon at a time, can't remember now.

Yes, Empirical Is Best (saves scarce brain-power.)

Mike

[BBSebens]

Use a sight tube. simple brass compression 90 degree fittings threaded into the tank, the run clear fuel line between them. we do this on all of our Raspberry harvesters. when you clean out the tank every few years, simply replace the the cheap tube to ensure reliability. if your handy, which as a wooden boat owner you should be, you can pipe it to a location where it is easily visible. that is, given your tank is in a good location.

[boylesboats]

Use a sight tube. simple brass compression 90 degree fittings threaded into the tank, the run clear fuel line between them. we do this on all of our Raspberry harvesters. when you clean out the tank every few years, simply replace the the cheap tube to ensure reliability. if your handy, which as a wooden boat owner you should be, you can pipe it to a location where it is easily visible. that is, given your tank is in a good location.

I were about to say something like that.. thanks

[Bob Adams]

Use a sight tube. simple brass compression 90 degree fittings threaded into the tank, the run clear fuel line between them. we do this on all of our Raspberry harvesters. when you clean out the tank every few years, simply replace the the cheap tube to ensure reliability. if your handy, which as a wooden boat owner you should be, you can pipe it to a location where it is easily visible. that is, given your tank is in a good location.

I wish...my tanks are outboard of the engines, maybe 3 inches clearance! My failure proof gauge is a pine dowel, notched every inch, 10 gallons per inch.

[ron ll]

Maybe I'm nuts, but sight tubes on a boat scare me. Too many extra failure points at the bottom of the tank.