Any recommendations for an electronic fuel gauge?

[Gord Tessier]

Ahhh, ok now I get it. I just ordered one. I was always filling the tanks and relying on the Shadin to tell me how much fuel I had left. I never felt really comfortable doing that.
Thanks Ernie.
Gord

[jchronic]

Being highly fuel-conscious on our extended overwater surveys, I agree with the kudo to the Shadin. Over time, with a visual verification of full tanks on departure, and careful tracking of fuel adds after landing (I keep a running spread sheet), I've found it to be consistently accurate within 1-2 gallons. I try to maintain my fuel gauges, but just as a 'sanity check against' the Shadin and time flown/fuel burn - and in case of a leak somewhere that doesn't register on the Shadin sensors.

At our usual (low) altitudes and distance offshore I can't risk waiting for an engine to stumble before switching tanks. So when using the aux tanks, I burn the mains for 1 hour, then switch one engine to aux at a 'cardinal' time (e.g. on the hour or at 15, 30, or 45 mins after) and note the time on my kneeboard. Then 15 mins later, switch the other engine to aux, burning both aux tanks exactly 1 hour.

Since our survey cruise is 100 knots, there's aux fuel left at the end of an hour. If I need to use it, I go back to each aux tank - one at a time - for another 15 minutes. Again, at a higher altitude I'd wait for the fuel flow to start dancing around, but not where we are.

Joe

[n86121]

I use the mains until there is abouot 30 min to 1 hour left - 16 gals.
I have a shadin set to warn me "low fuel" to switch to aux at 76 gals used from mains.
That assures me fuel in the mains for landing.

Then I switch to aux.

When there are about 4 gals left in each aux, i.e. 30 used out of 38,

I switch back to the mains for landing.

I assume each tank may be 4 gals low, just because...
Un-level filling, combustion heater use, whatever.

I set the totalizer to assume only 120 gallons, not 128.

It would be really nice if the aux tanks could be ported somehow into the mains....

As they did with later models.

D

[Ernie Martin]

For clarity, I added a sentence in italics to my March 3 post above.

Ernie